LEGISLATIVE NEWS
To check the status of any bill or find out who your legislators are, see the legislature’s website.
SO MANY BILLS, SO LITTLE TIME
The legislative session will end May 28, so the pace of action is hard to keep up with. Here are reports from some of our member groups about bills that might benefit from phone calls or faxes.
GLOBAL WARMING BILLS:
SB 1687 by Watson would require TCEQ to report to the legislature about how to protect the climate and save Texans money. The bill has passed the Senate and is out of the House committee. Ask your representative to ask Calendars to schedule the bill for a vote by the full House
HB 3693, an omnibus energy efficiency bill, is expected to pass the Senate and become law, but it may cut out the Solar Demonstration Project, rebate on solar energy, and tax holiday on energy efficient appliances. Ask your senator to keep all the House amendments to HB 3693.
SB 483, about regulation of electric generation capacity ownership, is in a conference committee. It is feared that the committee may cut amendments by environmentalists. The conference committee is Senators Fraser, Averitt, Harris, Eltife, and Janek, and Representatives Phil King, Christian, Pena, Todd Smith, and Swinford. Ask members of Conference Committee to keep the House amendments.
CLEAN AIR:
SB 12 by Averitt will receive a third reading in the House soon. The bill extends and expands two important air quality programs for cleaning up diesel engines and encouraging cleaner cars and includes important energy efficiency programs. Ask your House member to support the bill.
WATER:
SB 3, the omnibus water bill that includes good provisions for environmental flows and water conservation also includes bad language designating unique reservoir sites. SB 3 is scheduled to come to the House floor on Monday. Contact your state representative and urge him/her to: 1) do not vote for SB3 if it has Unique Reservoir Site Designation still in the Bill; 2) do not support any amendment to put Marvin Nichols Reservoir or Fastrill Reservoir back into the Bill; and 3) do support any amendment to take Lower Bois d’Arc Creek Reservoir or other reservoirs out of the bill.
PARKS:
George L. Bristol, President of Texas Coalition for Conservation reports that negotiations regarding park funding have made substantial progress and requests park supporters, “All to stand down on the fax, e-mail and phone campaigns.”
Evelyn Merz of the Sierra Club reports that at this point, the budget does not include $3.84 million in bond funding originally requested by Texas Parks and Wildlife to develop and open the padlocked Levi Jordan Plantation State Historic Site in Brazoria County. Merz says the site is fast crumbling. She is urging voters to contact the two Houston-area legislators (Rep. Sylvester Turner and Sen. John Whitmire) on the budget conference committee about this issue.
AMENDMENT ENDS CLASH OVER AIR QUALITY BILL
Houston Chronicle 5/18/07
A dispute over an air quality bill ended Thursday when the House sponsor agreed to accept a colleague’s amendment to regulate toxic pollution.
REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS SCRAMBLE TO STOP WHITE
Houston Chronicle 5/10/07
Republican lawmakers are derailing Mayor Bill White’s plan to clean Houston’s air, hoping to deny him a statewide platform from which to launch a bid for governor in 2010.
SUBSTITUTE TRANSPORTATION BILL GLIDES ON IN LEGISLATURE
Houston Chronicle 5/17/07
State lawmakers voted overwhelmingly Thursday for a transportation bill that includes a moratorium on most new private toll roads as part of a compromise supporters hope will satisfy Gov. Rick Perry.