Climate Change Update – April 10

Yesterday, HB 1553 passed out of the House Committee on Environmental Regulation. Rep. Burnam’s bill calls for the development of a climate adaptation plan by state agencies whose services and programs will be affected by changes in the Texas climate that are projected to occur.

One thing to note: the vote to pass this bill out of committee was unanimous. Thank you, Chairman Cook, for bringing this bill to a vote this week and to Rep Burnam for introducing this legislation in the House.

HB 1553 is exceptionally pragmatic in its approach to climate change. Rather than focusing on causes or solutions, it establishes a plan of action to respond to changes should they occur. Climate adaptation planning can be seen as a form of contingency planning. The state agencies will report to the Legislature biannually on any climate-related impacts to their programs they foresee in the coming two years. The bill sets the reporting date as September of even-numbered years, to provide the Legislature with information to allocate funds (if needed) in the following session. It’s simple. It’s smart. It’s a way for Texas to move forward.

Climate change legislation also came before the Senate this week. SB 184, Senator Watson’s “no regrets” on greenhouse emissions bill, was passed unanimously on the Senate floor, 31-0, and now moves to the House. Again, there was a unanimous vote in favor of climate change legislation – this time, on the Senate floor. Rep. Chisum introduced his companion bill, HB 4346, to the House Committee on Environmental Regulation Wednesday evening.

The disappointing vote of the week came in Senate Natural Resources, where Sen Ellis’ SB 988 failed to get out of committee. Frankly, this vote was surprising, given that SB 184 passed out of this committee unanimously. Interestingly, SB 988 and HB 1553 are companion legislation. Perhaps the Senate will have the opportunity to reconsider SB 988 if it comes to the Senate in the form of HB 1553.