Leg­isla­tive advo­ca­cy is a top pri­or­i­ty for Texas Forestry Association!

Stay Informed: TFA Leg­isla­tive Watch List

The bills fea­tured here are part of TFA’s Leg­isla­tive Watch List and are mon­i­tored close­ly for their impact on forestry and landown­ers in Texas. We will update this list reg­u­lar­ly as new infor­ma­tion becomes avail­able and as these bills progress through the leg­isla­tive process.

Click here: TFA Watch list TX89th 6 4 2025

Engage­ment: TFA Testimony

At the Texas Forestry Asso­ci­a­tion, we are com­mit­ted to advo­cat­ing for sus­tain­able forestry prac­tices, landown­er rights, and the eco­nom­ic vital­i­ty of our state’s tim­ber indus­try through active engage­ment with pol­i­cy­mak­ers. Besides reg­u­lar­ly advo­cat­ing office to office, our mem­bers and staff reg­u­lar­ly pro­vide expert tes­ti­mo­ny before the Texas State Leg­is­la­ture, offer­ing invalu­able insights on leg­is­la­tion that impacts us all. Explore the videos below to wit­ness our ded­i­cat­ed efforts in action and learn how we’re shap­ing a brighter future for Texas forests.

• TX Lege House Res­o­lu­tion for TFA
  
• TX Lege Tort Reform TLC Pres­i­dent VanDusen
• TX Lege David Alders
  
• TX Lege Inter­im hear­ing James Edelen
  
• TX Lege House Ag Committee
  
• TX Lege Tort Reform SB30 Sizemore
  
• TX Lege Tort Reform Sizemore
  
• TX Lege HB 2563 Insur­ance Com­mit­tee hearing
  
• TX Lege Rep Shofn­er SFA­SU Sylvans
  
• TX Lege House Ag Com­mit­tee TFA overview Hughes
  

How Texas Forestry Asso­ci­a­tion Advo­cates for Forestry at the Leg­isla­tive Level

• TFA is the cur­rent Chair of the Texas Agri­cul­ture Coun­cil, a group of 78 orga­ni­za­tions that rep­re­sent a major­i­ty of the agri­cul­tur­al inter­ests in the state.

• TFA is active in oth­er statewide orga­ni­za­tions with sim­i­lar issues.

• Leg­isla­tive Mon­i­tor­ing & Action – Tracks and ana­lyzes pro­posed state and fed­er­al leg­is­la­tion affect­ing forestry, landown­ers, and the for­est industry.

• Engage­ment with Law­mak­ers – Builds rela­tion­ships with leg­is­la­tors and gov­ern­ment offi­cials to pro­mote sound forestry policies.

• Pol­i­cy Devel­op­ment – Works with indus­try experts and stake­hold­ers to craft leg­is­la­tion that sup­ports sus­tain­able forestry and pri­vate prop­er­ty rights.

• Grass­roots Advo­ca­cy – Mobi­lizes mem­bers to engage with leg­is­la­tors through calls, let­ters, and meet­ings on crit­i­cal forestry issues. • Tes­ti­fy­ing Before Com­mit­tees – Pro­vides expert tes­ti­mo­ny at leg­isla­tive hear­ings to ensure forestry inter­ests are represented.

• Reg­u­la­to­ry Involve­ment – Engages with state and fed­er­al agen­cies to influ­ence rules and reg­u­la­tions impact­ing forestry and landowners.

• Coali­tion Build­ing – Part­ners with oth­er forestry, agri­cul­tur­al, and nat­ur­al resource orga­ni­za­tions to strength­en advo­ca­cy efforts.

• Leg­isla­tive Watch List – Main­tains and updates a list of key bills affect­ing forestry, keep­ing mem­bers informed of poten­tial pol­i­cy changes.

• Forestry Day at the Capi­tol – Orga­nizes mem­ber vis­its to the Texas Capi­tol to meet with leg­is­la­tors and dis­cuss forestry-relat­ed priorities.

• Polit­i­cal Action Com­mit­tee (PAC) Sup­port – Sup­ports pro-forestry can­di­dates through the TFA PAC to ensure strong rep­re­sen­ta­tion in government.

These efforts ensure that Texas Forestry Asso­ci­a­tion remains a strong voice for forestry, landown­ers, and the indus­try at every lev­el of government.

88^th Leg­isla­tive Ses­sion (2023)

Tim­ber Asset Pro­tec­tion Act (HB 1772) by Rep. Trent Ash­by, et al — Relat­ing to the doc­u­men­ta­tion required for the pur­chase of cer­tain tim­ber prod­ucts, cre­at­ing a crim­i­nal offense.

• Tim­ber Asset Pro­tec­tion Act (HB1772)
• Texas Nat­ur­al Resources Code Title 6. Tim­ber, Sec­tion 151, Sub­chap­ter A
• Required Doc­u­men­ta­tion for Pur­chase and Sale of Trees
• For more infor­ma­tion on 2023 Tim­ber Asset Pro­tec­tion Act vis­it:
  https://​www​.tex​as​forestry​.org/ and https://​tfsweb​.tamu​.edu/​L​a​w​E​n​f​o​r​c​e​ment/

87^th Leg­isla­tive Ses­sion (2021)

Pre­scribed Burn­ing Lia­bil­i­ty Bill: HB 2004 by Rep. Trent Ash­by — Relat­ing to a lim­i­ta­tion on lia­bil­i­ty and sanc­tions in con­nec­tion with cer­tain pre­scribed burns.

Emi­nent Domain Reform — HB 2730 by Rep. Joe Deshotel — Relat­ing to the acqui­si­tion of real prop­er­ty by an enti­ty with emi­nent domain author­i­ty and the reg­u­la­tion of ease­ment or right-of-way agents.

Tort Reform ‑HB 19 by Rep. Jeff Leach — Relat­ing to civ­il lia­bil­i­ty of a com­mer­cial motor vehi­cle own­er or oper­a­tor, includ­ing the effect that changes to that lia­bil­i­ty have on com­mer­cial auto­mo­bile insurance.

86^th Leg­isla­tive Ses­sion (2019)

Tim­ber Tax Fair­ness Act – Rep. Trent Ash­by, et al — Relat­ing to the qual­i­fi­ca­tion of land for appraisal for ad val­orem tax pur­pos­es as tim­ber land or restrict­ed-use tim­ber land.

Trans­porta­tion Log Loader Act – SB 1364 by Sen. Nichols, Rep. Bailes — Relat­ing to the oper­a­tion of a vehi­cle trans­port­ing equip­ment used to load timber.