Governor Perry Addresses TWCA

The following is an excerpt from the presentation made by Governor Rick Perry to the Texas Water Conservation Association at its 2009 Annual Meeting:

"The 2007 Texas State Water Plan projects that water demand will increase 18 percent over the next 50 years, and our population is expected to double in the same timeframe. If we are not wise stewards of these resources, we’ll have only ourselves to blame if we run out.

That’s why we must invest in our water plan before it’s too late.

I think the key strength of our plan is that it was not the product of central planning here in Austin. Instead, our plan is the result of a massive effort on the part of folks like you, local experts who know your local needs.

Fortunately the legislature had the wisdom to approve it. Seven years later, they have not yet found the dollars to make it a reality. That is why I am working more closely than ever with our legislators to find a way to fund that plan.

I am in favor of using $260 million to fund a new Infrastructure Account. This would allow us to utilize principal and interest for debt service on the acquisition of the previously designated reservoir sites.

Speeding up the acquisition and construction of these sites would provide cost-effective and reliable supplies of surface water sooner. This water would be used by industries, municipalities, utilities and other users all across the state.

If we do not take this bold action now, when will we? How long can we keep putting this investment off before we run out of the one thing no person can do without?

I am convinced that the right time is right now, so that our citizens, our children and grandchildren, will have access to this most vital of resources for the next fifty years.

As we build out this key infrastructure, we are also going to find ourselves running up against the issue of eminent domain, an issue that has caused a lot of heartache, because I believe it lacks clarity under Texas law.

I commend the Legislature for working on the issue over time, and their success on fixing individual issues, but it’s time to clear things up once and for all.

For example, in 2005, Senate Bill 7, made it clear Texans won’t tolerate having their land taken and given to another private party.In 2007, I wanted more protection for property owners, but the bill that reached my desk had been so heavily modified from its original form that it would have done more harm than good.

I believe it is now time for a constitutional amendment that clearly codifies these essential protections for generations to come. I also hope we can reach consensus on other laws that protect landowners from other abuses of eminent domain.

For example, government shouldn’t use eminent domain to take someone’s land without making an honest effort to buy it first. It’s wrong for any government to make a lowball offer, then respond to an owner’s righteous refusal by taking the land.

Landowners should also be allowed to buy back land when it isn’t used for the project it was taken for, and buy it for the price the government paid for it, not its value on today’s market. That increase in value belongs to the landowner, not the government, and the landowner shouldn’t have to pay extra to get it back.

When you think about it, there are few things simpler than water. You take a little hydrogen, you add a little oxygen, and you get a substance that is essential to life. However, the issues that surround it demand frank conversations, visionary planning and tough choices.