For those of us who like to light up a great stogie or a pipe bowl full of a favorite blend, times have changed. The new federal taxes are in place and most of us are getting used to being ripped off by our very unrepresentative elected officials. We have a lull in the unrelenting attack for a few months. However, the Texas legislators did sneak through a $1.10 per ounce tax on pipe and smokeless tobacco in HB-2154.
This was a very shabby bit of political maneuvering attached to a bill to help medical students. Prepare for the next session and be sure to write your legislators before it starts. The only power we have to combat more oppressive tax is our votes. Make sure they know we want this taxation without representation stopped.
The Texas Legislature only meets every two years and the next session is 15 or so months away. It is said that “they only meet every two years, therefore they can only do damage half as frequently”.

Representatives to watch out for are Myra Crownover of Lake Dallas/Denton County and Rodney Ellis of Houston, authors of Texas Smoking Ban Legislation. They are anti-smoking, but last session agreed to some concessions. Please let them know you want to see bars, smoke shops, cigar bars and adult venues exempted from any anti-smoking legislation.

Pop’s is a supporter of hunting, fishing and conservation. Many of you are one or both. Please go to the Internet and examine HR-45 in the U.S. House of Representatives. It is very dangerous. I have expressed my concern to Congresswoman Kay Granger. She wrote me a letter in which she expressed her support for the Second Amendment to the U.S.Constitution and said she would keep an eye on developments. If passed, this could be catastrophic to the Constitution, especially the Second Amendment.