TX Sen. Committee Hears Testimony For WORD, SB 965 – A San Marcos River Bill

Don’s Fish Camp and Texas State Tubes, signed a Memorandum of Understanding and agreed to “self-police” their patrons; the two companies also promised to hire off-duty sheriff deputies and post them along the river.

by, Terra Rivers, Managing Editor

For the last six years, river activists and property owners, living along the San Marcos River, have been fighting for legislation to create a Water Oriented Recreation District.

Senate Bill 965 was reviewed in a hearing Monday, April 10, by the Texas Senate Intergovernmental Relations Committee. The committee heard testimony from affected local property owners and the San Marcos River Foundation on current issues related to recreation in the 3-mile stretch of the river used by tubers.

SB 965, WORD, is a bill put forth by State Senator Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, in the last two legislative sessions. The bill passed in the Senate in 2013 and 2015 but failed to pass in the House.

The legislation would create a Water Oriented Recreation District, which would incorporate both Caldwell and Guadalupe counties, to help police recreationists on the river and improve safety.

The number of citations written for trespassing, littering and underage drinking on the San Marcos River has decreased since the bill failed in 2015. However, those who own property along the river and conservationists say the issue has not improved.

Senator Zaffirini said local tubing outfitters, Don’s Fish Camp and Texas State Tubes, signed a Memorandum of Understanding and agreed to “self-police” their patrons; the two companies also promised to hire off-duty sheriff deputies and post them along the river.

However, in the summer of 2016, three citations were written for minors in possession of alcohol while zero individuals received citations for trespassing, littering or alcohol consumption by a minor according to citing figures compiled by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Task Force.  

Riverside property owners, Max Schleder and Terry Alford, said the issue hasn’t improved. Schleder reported anywhere from 20 to 120 tubers will stop on his gravel bar in a single day leaving piles of trash, cigarette butts and defecations on his property.

Alford said the deputies hired by outfitters to monitor the river don’t enforce the laws and merely keep tubers from coming onto his private property.

Dianne Wassenich, executive director of the San Marcos River Foundation, described the safety issue running alongside littering and trespassing. Alcohol has been the source of several tragic accidents on the river. In August 2016, a San Marcos resident lost her husband and unborn child in a head-on collision when a Texas State student crossed over the center line and later admitted to officials that she had spent the day on the river drinking.

Wassenich said she had witnessed drunk tubers threatening and scaring boaters and young children; on at least one occasion, she had to intervene to keep a tuber from capsizing a canoe.

Texas State Tubes and Don’s Fish Camp sent a representative each to give a statement on their MOUs.

Richard Lawrence, representing Texas State Tubes, said the company had spent thousands of dollars to put in place the 14 off-duty sheriff deputies along the river with full enforcement power. However, Lawrence said they were unsure how much power the company had to monitor and manage the productivity of the security.

According to the outfitters, the Caldwell County currently does not have boats to put off-duty sheriff deputies on the river, but they are working with the Caldwell County to supply funding to change that.

Sen. Zaffirini said the report by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department stated Texas State Tubes and Don’s Fish Camp had only partially fulfilled the MOU contract signed in 2015. She said to her, it meant the tubing companies’ efforts to address the issues on the river was not working.

“We have to do something about this, members,” Zaffirini said. “The Senate has tried twice. I hope that we can pass this bill a third time, and I hope that this time the proponents of this bill will be more effective in the House.”

Committee Chair State Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, said the members of the committee “have some issues with this legislation” and that “obviously, public welfare was at stake here.”

The committee left the bill pending. Sen. Lucio said they would continue to work on it and add additional recommendations to help get SB 965 through the Senate this session.

The full video of the hearing can be watched here. Discussion of Senate Bill 965, aka WORD, begins roughly around 0:30:00 and plays through till 1:51:00.