Nathan Macias - Texas State Representative District 73

Re-Elect Nathan Macias - Heart for Service, Heart for Texas

	TEXAS REPRESENTATIVE NATHAN MACIAS DISTRICT 73: Serving Bandera, Comal, Gillespie, and Kendall Counties
	For Immediate Release May 12, 2007	Contact: Adam Bell 512-463-0325

Cave Protection Legislation Increases Penalty for Vandalism

Austin, TX - The House of Representatives unanimously approved House Bill 3502 on third reading. Joint-authored by Rep. Nathan Macias (Bulverde), the legislation would increase the penalty for anyone convicted of vandalizing a state or privately owned cave formation such as Natural Bridge Caverns or Cascade Caverns.

"Each year thousands of people visit and explore the beautiful and unique caves throughout the state of Texas," Rep. Macias said. "Protecting these natural and historic landmarks is a priority for the tourism industry of our state and for the enjoyment of future generations."

The impetus for this legislation stemmed from an incident of highly damaging vandalism to the trademark formation of the Caverns of Sonora (Sonora, TX) in November 2006.

House Bill 3502 increases the penalty for a person convicted of vandalizing a state or privately owned cave from a Class B to a Class A misdemeanor, unless the person has been previously convicted of violating this law, in which case the crime would be considered a state jail felony. The bill also clarifies language that a person must possess a valid permit in order to excavate, remove, destroy, injure, alter or deface any part of a cave owned by the state of Texas.

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