87th Texas Legislature Regular Session Pre-filed Bills: November 9-30, 2020
Monday, November 9, 2020, was the first day that Texas legislators and legislators-elect could begin filing bills for the upcoming regular session, which will last for 140 days from Tuesday, January 12, 2021 to Monday, May 31, 2021. Texas legislators may continue filing bills until Friday, March 12, 2021, which is the deadline for the unrestricted filing of bills and joint resolutions other than local bills, emergency appropriations, and emergency matters submitted by the governor. The 87th Texas Legislature filed the following bills in the month of November 2020 relating to environmental issues and regulations in the state of Texas.
Pre-filed bills relate to air contaminant emissions, hydrofluorocarbons, renewable energy, fuel, groundwater, aboveground storage tanks, aggregate mining, pipelines, property tax, seismic monitoring, solid waste facilities, and more.
Several pieces of proposed legislation relate to concrete production. This may seem odd, but the way concrete is produced creates overwhelming and disruptive noise, particulate, and other pollution for the communities that are near concrete batch plants. Many homeowners, who own or live in properties in close proximity to these plants, have raised this issue with their legislators. More information on the issue can be found here from The Texas Tribune. We have included bills related to concrete in the list below.
Senate:
- SB 87: Relating to the consideration of the cumulative effects of air contaminant emissions in the emissions permitting process.
- SB 125: Relating to the regulation of hydrofluorocarbons under the Texas Clean Air Act.
- SB 126: Relating to performance standards for certain aboveground storage tanks.
- SB 127: Relating to phasing out the tax reduction for certain high-cost gas.
- SB 170: Relating to a study regarding the feasibility of implementing certain renewable energy standards.
- SB 182: Relating to customer choice for certain municipally owned utilities.
- SB 211: Relating to judicial review of acts by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
House of Representatives:
- HB 37: Relating to the issuance of a permit by the Public Utility Commission of Texas for the routing of certain oil or gas pipelines; authorizing administrative penalties.
- HB 50: Relating to the issuance of an air quality permit for a concrete plant located in an area of a municipality not subject to zoning regulations.
- HB 56: Relating to the prohibiting of concrete plants and crushing facilities at certain locations.
- HB 65: Relating to the requirements for notice of a standard permit for certain concrete plants.
- HB 152: Relating to a study by the Texas Water Development Board of groundwater conditions in certain counties.
- HB 186: Relating to an exemption from ad valorem taxation of the portion of the appraised value of a person’s property that is attributable to the installation in or on the property of certain water conservation systems.
- HB 207: Relating to the rates of the state gasoline and diesel fuel taxes; increasing tax rates; authorizing a change in tax rates.
- HB 222: Relating to liability of burn bosses in connection with certain prescribed burns.
- HB 242: Relating to the authority of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to require water pollution abatement plans from certain facilities regulated by the Railroad Commission of Texas.
- HB 289: Relating to who may request a public hearing from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality related to the construction of a concrete plant.
- HB 286: Relating to the eligibility for grants for alternative fueling facilities.
- HB 291: Relating to the regulation of certain aggregate production operations by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; authorizing an increase in the amount of a fee.
- HB 303: Relating to testing for lead contamination in public school drinking water.
- HB 348: Relating to a requirement to make certain environmental and water use permit applications online.
- HB 351: Relating to air filtration efficiency at certain educational and child care facilities.
- HB 416: Relating to plot plan requirements for an application for a standard permit for a concrete batch plant issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
- HB 427: Relating to imposing an additional fee for the registration of electric and hybrid vehicles.
- HB 433: Relating to imposing tax on the generation of electricity by certain electric generators; providing penalties; creating a criminal offense.
- HB 623: Relating to the designation of wind-powered energy device construction areas by certain counties.
- HB 631: Relating to local government and other political subdivision regulation of certain solid waste facilities.
- HB 632: Relating to the establishment of an advisory committee for the TexNet seismic monitoring program.
- HB 668: Relating to the regulation of groundwater conservation districts.