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	State Rep. Harvey Hilderbran (R-Kerrville) introduced a bill last week that targets the followers of FLDS Prophet Warren Jeffs on the YFZ Ranch here in Schleicher County. H.B. 3006, would make bigamy and polygamy a felony in Texas and raise the age of consent to marry from 14 to 16. Other provisions would change the state’s education and election codes and make it illegal for any government or religious official to preside over an unlawful wedding. Link to Rep Hilderbran CLICK HERE SEE TEXT of HB 3006 CLICK HERE

Hilderbran takes aim at YFZ Ranch

Bill would hinder polygamous lifestyle

Only a year ago this week did Eldoradoans first learn that a sect of fundamentalist Mormons had purchased property in Schleicher County and that their prophet, Warren Jeffs, was planning to move a portion of his polygamous flock from the Utah/Arizona border to his new enclave near Eldorado.

Since that day, citizens of Eldorado and Schleicher County have been hard pressed to keep up with the steep learning curve confronting them and to stay ahead of the horde of print and broadcast journalists that seemed to descend on the town in waves.

Likewise, Eldorado’s neighbors found themselves drawn into the story as it swept out of Schleicher County, across the Concho Valley, into the Permian Basin and Hill Country, and finally into Austin where State Representative Harvey Hilderbran last week brought the issue to the floor of the Texas Legislature.

House Bill 3006, introduced by Hilderbran last week, calls for the state to raise the age at which girls may legally marry with parental consent from 14 to 16. It would also prohibit step-parents from marrying their step-children and elevate violations of the state’s marriage laws from misdemeanor to felony status.

The legislation also targets the concept of plural or celestial marriage, as taught by Jeffs and openly practiced by his followers. More specifically, the bill would makes it a felony to marry more than one person or to purport to marry or live under the appearance of marriage.

Male members of Jeffs’ Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints practice celestial marriage, a process by which they marry one wife legally, then marry multiple other wives in the church.

“It’s been reported that this self-proclaimed prophet encourages his followers to take dozens of wives, many of whom are underage and forced into marriage.,” Hilderbran said after the bill was filed. “I’ve heard that he encourages them to “bleed the beast” by cheating the government and draining the welfare system of funds that should be used for hard-working families who are facing difficult times. The people of Schleicher County don’t want this type of activity going on in their own backyards, and neither do I.”

Many of the bill’s provisions mirror laws already on the books in Utah, the state where the first showdown over polygamy forced the mainline Mormon church to abandon the practice more than a century ago. Since that time isolated small splinter groups in far flung and often isolated towns have held on doggedly to what they call “The Principle.

The largest of the polygamous groups settled in the community of Short Creek, located south of St. George, on the Utah/Arizona border, where it eventually grew to include some 10,000 members. The group’s current prophet, Warren Jeffs, ascended to power in 2002 following the death of his father and former prophet Rulon Jeffs.

Warren Jeffs has been a lightning rod since taking control of the FLDS church. He began by marrying several of his dead father’s wives, days after the elder Jeffs died. He then excommunicated several church leaders, evicting them from their homes on church controlled property and reassigning their wives and children to other men.

As dissension within the FLDS ranks grew, so did attention from the media. Soon, Utah and Arizona began ratcheting up the pressure on Jeffs and his followers, even going so far as to charge and convict one of the town’s policemen on bigamy charges.

If Warren Jeffs thought he would find Texas law more to his liking, Hilderbran’s bill should come as a wake up call.

“I filed this legislation because I want to prevent Eldorado, Schleicher County, and all of Texas from becoming the next Colorado City, AZ, or Hildale, UT,” Hilderbran told the Success.

On provision in H.B. 3006 would clarify the roles of truant or attendance officers who are charged with ensuring that school age children are indeed receiving an education. Changes to the state’s election code are also included in the bill, changes that would increase state residency requirements from six months to two years and local residency requirements to one year before a person could vote in an election or run for office.

Hilderbran says he knows that the bill needs fine tuning in order to avoid unintended consequences. He adds that he looks forward to working with the Juvenile Justice and Family Issues Committee as it reviews the bill.

“This is an issue that impacts more than just Eldorado and Schleicher County,” Hilderbran told the Success. “It affects the whole state..”

Rep. Hilderbran and State Senator Robert Duncan have met with local officials about the issues surrounding the YFZ Ranch. Senator Duncan has not indicated if he will support Hilderbran’s bill should it make it to the Senate floor.

If Hilderbran’s bill is passed by the State House, it would then need to be passed by the Senate, before going to Governor Rick Perry for his consideration.
Access the bill on the Internet at: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlo/79R/billtext/HB03006I.HTM.

Heightened Scrutiny

Locally, Sheriff David Doran has played host in recent days to a number of law enforcement officials, all of them with questions about the YFZ Ranch.

Investigators from the Utah Attorney General office were in town last week and this week the investigators from the Texas AG office met with the Sheriff.

Doran says that the increased attention comes in advance of the FLDS annual conference on April 6, which happens to be the 175th anniversary of the LDS church. He says that he continues to monitor things closely but doubts doomsday predictions for April 6.

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The Eldorado Success invites Warren Jeffs and/or other leaders of the FLDS church to comment on this or any other story surrounding the FLDS and the YFZ Ranch.