Round 2: Are Texas lawmakers ready to renew feral hog fight from two years ago?
Is it deja vu?
Two years ago Republican state Rep. Jonathan Stickland ruffled feathers by filing a proposal to cut funding for a program geared to whittle down the feral hog population in Texas, and called it a waste of money.
In turn, state Rep. Drew Springer, R-Muenster, proposed cutting road and highway funding from Stickland’s hometown of Bedford, something many House members supported.
The two squared off in a heated exchange on the Texas House floor, until colleagues separated them. Eventually, Stickland withdrew his proposal to avoid losing transportation funding in his district.
Now, as the House prepares to debate the proposed state budget on Wednesday, Stickland has filed seven amendments.
One, again, proposes cutting funding for the state’s Feral Hog Abatement Program.
“It’s budget week & looks like we’ll have feral hog round 2,” Springer tweeted to Stickland and others. “Rather than roads what suggestion for redirecting tax savings in HEB do you have?”
“The people of HD 92 are sick of paying to manage your land for you,” Stickland tweeted. “We will restore personal responsibility and fully defund this wasteful pork program! #onward #txlege”
When another state representative tweeted about how feral hogs are a big problem in rural Texas, Stickland responded.
“Why do you think government is the only answer to a statewide issue? Are citizens too dumb to coordinate together? Is there anything preventing them from doing so now? Has this program worked? Hog numbers plummeting? No. Government isn’t the solution, it’s the problem. #txlege”
This story was originally published March 25, 2019 at 4:24 PM with the headline "Round 2: Are Texas lawmakers ready to renew feral hog fight from two years ago?."
