ISSUES AND POLICY
8. Providing the landowner with an indemnity, proof
of insurance, or written assurance that any damages occasioned by the survey or other activities, including construction, on the property will be the responsibility of the condemnor; 9. Requiring the condemnor to take full responsibil-
ity for themselves and contractors, including reason- able measures to monitor all gates, cattle guards, and fences securing livestock as well as repair or replace any damaged gates, cattle guards, or fences; 10. Prohibiting access beyond the proposed and
fi nal condemnation area for unauthorized purposes; 11. Providing the landowner with a written state-
ment or certifi cate of the condemnor’s right to exercise eminent domain as well as a copy of the condemnor’s resolution authorizing the taking of the landowner’s property and its letter to the Texas Comptroller regis- tering the right of eminent domain; 12. Requiring that the condemnation will specifi cally
reserve to the condemnee all rights to groundwater and minerals unless the taking is specifi cally designated for the taking of groundwater pursuant to Texas law; 13. Ensuring that the condemnor limit the width of
any temporary or permanent easement to the minimum essential for the proposed project, restore any surface area and vegetation, and take steps to prevent and/or eliminate the invasion of noxious plants; 14. Requiring the condemnor to pursue alignments
along existing right of ways or other utilities to mini- mize damages to the landowner; and 15. Requiring the condemnor to provide the con-
demnee with an estimate of reasonable attorneys’ fees required to evaluate the offer and proposed taking along with the appraisal and make an additional offer to pay this amount in a fi nal settlement. We have come a long way toward strengthening
private property rights in Texas. Less than 5 years ago, entities could condemn private property for private use. Thanks to the voice of landowners like you, today the law allows eminent domain to be exercised only for public use. While that is great progress, there is much more work still to be done. As more people move to Texas, more resources will
be needed to sustain the growth. Cattle raisers’ land, water and minerals will be highly sought after. The battle over private property rights is ongoing
and requires our constant vigilance, but I am confi dent that with your help, this association will continue to press on toward stronger reforms that protect all land- owners.
tscra.org
The Trusted Leader
By Scott George, NCBA President I
T’S EASY TO LOSE SIGHT OF YOUR GOALS SOMETIMES. AS INDI- viduals, we’re focused on the operations that provide
a livelihood for our families and our employees. Those efforts should, correctly, guide our daily thoughts and decisions as cattlemen and -women. There is another group of individuals whose mission
is to be the trusted leader and defi nitive voice serving the beef industry. I am proud to be a member of an organization that does such a fi ne job fulfi lling that mission statement. It’s not an easy job to represent an industry as large
and as diverse as the beef business. On nearly every issue there are a multitude of angles to consider and balance when a solution is sought and the leaders, staff and members engage in a thoughtful process to achieve the best possible outcome for our industry. At National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) we
represent our members, and it’s important to remember that our members span every aspect of the global beef business. We’re looking for answers leading to a better tomorrow for every one of us. There are times when that decision-making process
isn’t as tidy as we’d like it to be, and it becomes more diffi cult when the economics of our industry aren’t as positive as we’d like them to be. We face conditions such as these in our industry
today, and that makes membership in an organization like NCBA — which balances the needs of all sectors of the beef industry, for the common good of each of our individual operations — all the more important. By taking a balanced approach to managing complex issues like international trade, immigration, the farm bill or even working to defeat regulations that threaten to harm our industry, NCBA is working to better the beef business. It’s that wide-angle approach that has made NCBA
an effective leader for the beef industry for more than a century and benefi tted our members and our industry as we all work together to be the world’s trusted and preferred source of beef and beef products.
December 2013 The Cattleman 77
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