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.

Great news: Four of ACT’s top priority bills have made it one step farther in the legislative process. The House Committee on Energy Resources passed SB 545 out of committee yesterday afternoon. House Environmental Regulation reported the committee substitute for SB 16 out of committee last night. And this afternoon House State Affairs voted SB 541 out of committee.

The next step for these three bills is to be placed on the House calendar. ACT urges the members of the House Calendars committee to place SB 545, SB 16 and SB 541 on the calendar before Sunday (the deadline for Senate bills to be heard in the House). The people of Texas expect their lawmakers to take bold action on energy this session. The Texas Legislature could make the 81st Session an historic one for the development of the next great Texas energy industries. While many traditional energy businesses and their allies oppose these bills, the people of Texas know that for Texas to be as strong in the 21st century as it has been in the 20th, it needs to stay ahead of the curve on all energy development.

Another ACT high priority bill reaches the next step in the legislative process tomorrow morning. HB 821, the producer TV takeback bill, will be heard in the Senate Committee of Business & Commerce tomorrow morning. An unusual committee referral (most recycling and landfill bills are referred to Senate Natural Resouces), ACT hopes that the members of Senate B & C can see the value of this timely bill that will help keep more lead, mercury and other hazardous materials out of our landfills.