Property Owner Responsibilities

In your post, Texas Civil Code Needs a Little TLC, I understand your frustration with feeling safe in temporary housing. I agree that landlords should be required by some sort of code that would protect their tenants. Safety should be paramount, particularly in this college town. And apartments are seemingly not motivated to please their tenants since, as you stated, they could have someone else in your unit in no time.

I wish there was more information in the news story about what the complex did or did not do after the first and second incident. Perhaps they were not even notified, although I find that hard to believe. Perhaps this man was just that good of a thief and the prior thefts hadn't been noticed.

Regardless, property owners should be required to ensure their tenants feel safe. There should be certain guidelines with regard to lighting, access, etc. Although they should not be expected to provide 100% safety, that would be impossible. Tenants must still be diligent and observant. There is no substitution for an effective community looking out for each other. Property owners could help connecting tenants with social events or even just introducing new tenants to existing ones. When everyone knows the people around, they are more likely to note suspicious behavior.

Crime is still a part of all of our lives, as it has been from the beginning of society. There will always be people that take what doesn't belong to them. But I agree that property owners need to do what they can to keep their property as safe as they can without penalizing their tenants.

Lobbyists Honor System

A Dallas News story from February 2015 discussed the rules and loopholes between legislators and lobbyists.  Staff Writer James Drew indicated, “Texas’ lobby law has significant loopholes and weaknesses that make it difficult for the public to track the powerful alliance between lobbyists and lawmakers.”   

Lobbyists are defined as those who are paid to influence state legislation.  They are able to provide the legislators with meals, travel, transportation, gifts and entertainment, such as sports events and concerts.  Because of scandals, lobbyists are required to limit how much they spend on gifts and entertainment, but there is no limit to the amount they can spend of food, drinks, transportation and lodging.  The only limitation they are instructed to follow is to provide a detailed report of expenditures over $90.  This reporting is to illustrate which legislators are “in the pocket” of which lobbyists.   The purpose was to provide some transparency to the constituents that elect those legislators.

However, lobbyists have found a way to circumvent this limitation.  Several lobbyists would get together for an expensive dinner with a legislator and will split the bill, which then takes their contribution below the reporting requirement.   This is only for those who even divulge that they paid for the dinner.  It is an honor system with no true monitoring.  It would be easy for a lobbyist to pay for the entire dinner outright and just not report anything.  Who would tell?

Being labeled as a consultant is another way that “lobbyists” can work outside of the rules.  These consultants can be active in campaigns and lobby at the same time.  Again, there is no real monitoring of these participants.  Some states are already examining whether political consultants doubling as lobbyists represents a conflict of interest. 

These are just two examples of how lobbyists in Texas circumvent a complex system of rules governing their behavior.  There is no real motivation from legislators or lobbyists to change the rules.  Even if one lobbyist wanted to operate in a completely ethical and transparent manner, his opposition may not be so forthcoming.  He would run the risk of losing his influence over the issues he is working to pass (or not pass).    So why take the chance if that is the way the game is played by everyone?

Other states have developed disclosure rules and penalties for lobbyists that violate those laws.  Clearly, it can be done.  But since the players are the ones that create the rules, it would require a great deal of public pressure to actually promote change.   There probably wouldn't be many lobbyists pushing for that bill to pass.

Certainly, these legislators and lobbyists have a symbiotic relationship that benefits both parties.  However, when legislation becomes more about a good steak dinner instead of what is truly right for Texas, there is a problem.  Even if you consider a good steak dinner as the cost of doing business, it should be clear to the constituents why the legislator may have voted a certain way.  Clear and proper disclosure is the key.  Sometimes the fear of getting caught is all that keeps people in line.

Distemper Tantrum

On the blog Texas My Texas, Hallie Lane discussed the recent euthanization of more than 40 dogs due to an outbreak of distemper in Bastrop, Texas.  The shelter was forced to close for a period of time and could not accept more animals.  The Bastrop County Animal Shelter certainly did a commendable job when discovering distemper at their shelter.  Although it truly is sad that so many animals had to be euthanized, it certainly prevented a more significant crisis in the area. 

The saddest part to me is the fact that this issue could have been avoided entirely if people took better care of their animals.  Bastrop County Animal Services Director Erica Thompson indicated that this type of outbreak will happen again if the community doesn’t do its part.  In a Time Warner Cable News story, Director Thompson stated “Whoever owns these animals out in the community are not taking care of them properly.  They need to keep them on their property, they need to get them vaccinated and keep their vaccinations current and get them spayed and neutered so they're not wandering around; otherwise, shelters will always be facing these issues.”

It is undeniable that health care for humans can be expensive, and even more so for the care of their animals.  However, one of the responsibilities for owning a pet is caring for their health and protecting the community from animal-borne diseases such as rabies and distemper.  Additionally, animals that are at not spayed/neutered intensify the problem by increasing the population of unwanted or feral animals. 

My dog, Charlie

Often, veterinary clinics and even pet stores offer lower priced vaccinations to prevent outbreaks of diseases.  Dogs and cats can also be spayed or neutered at a discounted rate at some clinics.  People should take the time to ensure that their animals are protected.  Many programs have been developed to make the basic care of pets more accessible and more affordable.  People just are not always doing the responsible thing and actually taking care of their pets.