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IRWA Membership October
Oct 12th
ATTENTION: If you are a non-member or have an employee that needs to join, the best time to join is NOW. Consider the benefits; if you join now, you can enjoy being a member for the rest of this year and all of next year for one price; you can save money as members on the Conflict Management class being offered by our chapter in November; and you can save even more money on the SR/WA exam prep class being offered November 16-18. For our current members, please continue to invite potential new members to our luncheons.
Feel free to email me at mboyd@pinnaclegroup.biz if you have any questions regarding mem-bership, need your information changed on our chapter website, never received a badge with your name on it, or if you just want to email me.
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October Legal Surveyor question
Oct 12th
QUESTION:
From David Smith of U.S. Right of Way: We have all heard the 2009 Texas
Legislature was very active regarding right of way and eminent domain
issues. What did they actually do?
ANSWER: One law that did pass involves pipelines and public rights of
way. This involves pipeline routing. The Texas Department of Transportation revised its prior policies and decided to oppose pipelines (existing or new) along public rights of way. H.B. 2572 (Gonzales-Toureilles,
D-Alice) establishes that oil and gas operators can install pipelines and gathering lines along a public road, railroad, railroad right-of-way, municipal road, canal, or stream. The bill also stipulates that if a pipeline must be moved (e.g., due to road construction), the state must cover the cost of the
move if the operator owns the pipeline easement. Likewise, if the state owns
the easement, the operator must pay to move the line.
Another significant law that passed involved Eminent Domain. The eminent domain process in Texas has received significant attention in the past three years, especially in North Texas and the Barnett Shale. Refining the eminent domain process was a priority for Gov. Rick Perry and it consumed considerable energy from a diverse coalition of industry and public entity representatives. As a result of a collective effort, the Legislature passed House Joint Resolution 14 (Corte, R-San Antonio), which calls for a
constitutional amendment that prohibits a governmental entity from condemning a property primarily for the purpose of economic development or enhancement of tax revenues. However, for various reasons, the
Legislature failed to pass comprehensive eminent domain reform legislation. Thirdly, through negotiations and input from various interest groups, the Legislature also passed a bill to crack down on so called “bad actors” who attempt to influence land negotiations by inappropriately threatening the use of eminent domain. H.B. 3346 (Farabee, D-Wichita Falls) makes clear that if any non-utility or right of way agent for the non-utility indiscriminately threatens eminent domain, that entity stands to lose its non-utility status.
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Chapter 36 Nominations
Oct 12th
Every year it is the responsibility of the Nominations Committee to maintain Chapter 36’s Board of Officers and certain Commit-tee Chairs.
Moving up from one officer position to the next position is not an automatic action. All elected officers must be nominated and voted into office. The nomination is not required to come from the nominations committee, but from any chapter member.
The President is responsible for leading the chapter meetings and board meetings, attending Regional Winter Forum to repre-sent the Chapter in reports and the responsibilities at the Re-gional Seminar in College Station, required reports and communi-cations from and to IRWA headquarters and representing chap-ter’s interest at the International Right of Way Annual Confer-ence.
The Vice-President is responsible for stepping in when the president is not available to lead the chapter meetings and board meetings, attends the Winter Forum, required reports and com-munications from and to IRWA headquarters and plans all parts of Chapter 36’s Spring Seminar – which is the largest source of income for the chapter.
The Treasurer is responsible for all incoming money, payments made on behalf of the Chapter and detailed monthly reporting to the board, required reports and communications from and to IRWA headquarters and chapter members for all transactions.
The Secretary is responsible for keeping board meeting minutes and monthly reporting to the board and chapter members.
Professional Development Committee (PDC) – Three Year – A member is elected to a three year position to advise and guide members during their education certification process. The PDC Committee communicates with IRWA’s headquarters with all necessary paperwork received from the chapter mem-bers and keeps the members informed of any necessary require-ments. The PDC Committee is the Chapter’s education advisors and connection to IRWA Certification and maintains all reports and communications from and to IRWA headquarters regarding its members’ certifications.
Directors – Two Year – a member is elected to a two year position to represent the Chapter as a voting member and attend the Regional Caucus meeting at the International Right of Way Annual Conference. All changes to IRWA policy or procedures and location of the annual conference are voted on during the International Right of Way Annual Conference and the Directors represent the Chapter’s vote on these issues.
Please read the biographies beginning below and continuing on to page 5 of the newsletter. Voting is scheduled to occur at the end of our meeting, October 13th.
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IRWA Surveyor News – October
Oct 12th
October is an exciting month for Chapter 36. Not only do we have a joint meeting with the local chapter of the Appraisal Institute, but we will be voting on your officers for the next year. Make a special effort to attend and give your support by voting for the candidate of your choice.
If you missed the September meeting, you should know that Chapter 36 voted to update our By-Laws to coincide with those at Headquarters. The major change is that our year will end on June 30th. This allows the incoming officers to attend leadership sessions at the annual conference provided by Headquarters. Consequently, this year’s incoming officers will hold their positions until June 30, 2011 or 18 months. Your officers are dedicated members who have made a commitment to fulfill their duties and responsibilities of their respective office. Do not be afraid to volunteer and volunteer early. They can, do, and will need your support. Step up and ask what you can do to make Chapter 36 the biggest and the best!
IRWA Headquarters has launched a new Uniform Relocation Act (URA) Certification, which is designed for members who can achieve professional status through experience, education and an exam in the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act (URA). The certification program is available on the IRWA website.
The Federal Agency Update (FAU) is scheduled for January 26-28, 2010 in Las Vegas at the Flamingo Hotel. With more than 30 industry workshops, this is a great opportunity to get acquainted with our federal partners, ask those questions that you need guidance on, gain knowledge from the session workshops, hear speaker’s opinions and experiences, and have fun all at the same time. Are you aware that you can earn “Advantage Rewards” and never leave home? During the month of October (only) you can win the following awards:
CLASS PARTICIPANT REWARD: Register for any IRWA class OR attend a class occurring between October 1-31, 2009, and receive a $20 coupon which can be used towards future class registrations, credentialing fees, or any other IRWA education product.
ONLINE PARTICIPANT REWARD: Register for any IRWA online class through BTL (Business Training Library) and receive a $20 coupon which can be used towards future class registrations, credentialing fees or any other IRWA education product. Coupon cannot be applied towards registrations for online classes through BTL.
EMPLOYER REWARD: Register 3 or more attendees for a class and receive a 15% tuition discount. (NOTE: All employees must be registered at the same time by contacting IRWA Headquarters Staff.) SPONSOR REWARD: Employees of current IRWA sponsors will be offered a 15% tuition discount.
(NOTE: All employees must be registered at the same time by contacting IRWA Headquarters Staff.)
CANDIDATE REFERRAL REWARD: Each IRWA Member that refers someone to become an active candidate for the SR/WA Designation and/or any R/W Certifications will receive a $20 coupon to be used towards education products. (NOTE: Referring member need not be certified, designated or a candidate themselves. Candidate must provide referral name at time of application.)
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