Info on HB770:
Following the death of his bill, HB4025, that would have allowed him to overturn the Texas Open Beaches Act and rebuild his vacation home on the public beach that he unfortunately lost to Hurricane Ike last year, Representative Wayne Christian made a last minute attempt to serve his self interests.
Late in the night on May 31st, Christian interjected wording from HB4025 into HB770, a bill that would have allowed homestead exemption to continue for primary residences that were destroyed in a hurricane until the owner built somewhere else. Christian has severely compromised this bill by adding wording that would bar the Texas Attorney General or any other entity from filing suit for the removal of a damaged or destroyed structure that found itself on the public beach after a "meteorological event" and allow them, more accurately himself, to rebuild that structure on the public beach. This bill, like HB4025, essentially overturns the Texas Open Beaches Act and is detrimental to the access to and use of Texas public Beaches.
Unfortunately, unlike HB4025, this bill was filed right at the end of the 81st Texas Legislative Session and went directly to Governor Rick Perry' desk to await his action. He could do one of three things at this point. (1) veto the bill outright, (2)sign it into law or (3) take no action and after 21 days the bill will become law anyway.
The Beach Access Coalition and all four of the Texas Surfrider Foundation Chapters ran a campaign to call Governor Perry's office and ask him to veto HB770. Unfortunately, the campaign was not enough to entice Governor Perry to veto the bill. A huge thank you to all of you who called, emailed, or faxed Governor Perry to express your concerns and ask for the veto of HB770.