By Ainsley Holyfield, Office of U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson The House Natural Resources Committee has passed H.R. 3133 the Streamlining Environmental Approvals Act of 2017, known as the SEA Act). The SEA Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson (LA-04) in June of last year, reduces duplicative government regulations in the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act while maintaining marine mammal protections and setting firm permitting deadlines for coastal initiatives. “Washington bureaucrats should never have the authority to halt coastal initiatives based on their own politically biased agendas," said Johnson, a member of First Baptist Church, Bossier City. "Yet many permit approvals are prolonged, including coastal restoration efforts and critical naval operations, specifically for that reason. The SEA Act takes important steps to implement strict deadlines for agencies while maintaining appropriate permitting standards, allowing projects to move forward only if they meet the highest requirements. I applaud the Natural Resources Committee for recognizing the importance of this commonsense legislation and my colleagues for moving it forward.” Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop released the … [Read more...]

By Roy Hayhurst, GuideStone Financial Resources public relations GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention will relocate in late summer 2018 to 115,000 square feet of new leased offices at Pinnacle Tower. The new offices are located at 5005 LBJ Freeway in North Dallas, about 10 miles north of its location in Dallas’ Uptown district. GuideStone has occupied its current home since 1989. GuideStone’s headquarters building has been sold, but will be leased back until the move can be completed in the third quarter of 2018. GuideStone trustees have worked closely with staff as it undertook a study in early 2017 to assess its facilities needs in light of its long-range goals. The move will occur as GuideStone celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2018. It has been based in Dallas since its founding in 1918. “The move is part of our Vision 20/20 and GuideStone 100 long-range strategic plans,” GuideStone President O.S. Hawkins said. “Part of our commitment in our strategic plan is to aggressively manage costs to remain competitive for the benefit of our participants. This relocation is one of many changes, along with technology solutions and headcount reductions, that we’ve made over the last three years to … [Read more...]