Great HUGE news! Last night, the House Calendars Committee chose to put SB 541 – Sen Watson’s bill that would establish a state-wide goal of generating 1,500 mega watts from utility-scale renewable energy – on the Major State Calendar tomorrow. This bill would lay the foundation for the development of large-scale renewable power in Texas. Coupled with Sen Fraser’s SB 545, these two bills would catapult Texas to the lead in renewable energy and create a unprecedented opportunity for our state to expand its reach in the energy industry while helping Texas meet its growing energy needs with clean energy.

The challenge: not only is time short (there are only seven days left in the session and 36 hours until all Senate Bills must pass 2nd reading in the House) – the Texas House has come to a virtual standstill over the last four days. The time has come for all Texans to ask their representatives to put aside the partisan issues that are keeping them from taking up the business of our state. There are many extremely important issues that remain undecided at this time. The Alliance for a Clean Texas believes that clean energy is one of the crucial issues that the House must take up before the midnight deadline tomorrow.

Texans want to breathe cleaner air. They want their water to be used sustainably. They want their state to remain a world leader in energy innovation and production. They want their children to grow up to in a state where the jobs of the 21st century economy are plentiful. They want to be proud of their state – for its historic leadership in energy, for its great gifts of natural resources, and for its unique ability to lead our nation (and our world) into a cleaner, healthier future.

Call your representative right now. Ask her or him to vote for both solar bills. To stop stalling. To take action. This person is your representative in Austin. It’s time for all of us to act on behalf of our state. As we all know, what we do in Texas matters. Let’s show the world that Texas is ready to lead the way.

With only ten days left in the session, things are beginning to feel a little tight. The good news is that SB16 – Sen Averitt’s omnibus clean air and energy efficiency bill – has been put on the House Major State Calendar for tomorrow, May 23. (That’s right – Saturday. The House is expected to meet both Saturday and Sunday this weekend to make it through as many bills as possible by the next big deadline – midnight on Tuesday.) ACT is issuing an Act NOW Action Alert in support of strengthening SB 16. Details of the alert will be posted later this morning after the ACT Clean Air team meets to review the final version of the committee substitute. An action alert will also be sent to the ACT/TexAN activist list.

On the renewable energy bills front, SB 545 has been sent to the House Calendars committee. SB 541 has beed reported favorably by the House Committee on State Affairs; the committee report has not yet been filed. ACT has two urgent recommendations on behalf of these bills:

1. ACT urges the House Calendars Committee to place SB 545 on the calendar for Major State Affairs at its next meeting.
2. ACT urges the House Committee on State Affairs to take all necessary steps to have the committee report on SB 541 in the House Calendars Committee before its next meeting.

Two more ACT high priority bills are poised to move to the next step. HB 821 (producer TV takeback recycling) was heard in Senate Business and Commerce yesterday afternoon and passed out on a 9-0 vote.  It is now eligible for the Senate Intent calendar; ACT will continue to follow this bill and let supporters know if and when calls to the Lieutenant Governor’s office might be needed.

Finally, SB 184, Senator Watson “no regrets” greenhouse gas bill was reported favorably from House Environmental Regulation yesterday. The next step for this bill is for the committee report to be sent to the House Calendars Committee.