Alliance for a Clean Texas » Senate Business and Commerce http://www.acttexas.org Tue, 14 Jun 2011 17:40:13 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.5 Bills in Committee–Week of March 21st http://www.acttexas.org/2011/03/21/bills-in-committee-week-of-march-21st/ http://www.acttexas.org/2011/03/21/bills-in-committee-week-of-march-21st/#comments Mon, 21 Mar 2011 21:15:46 +0000 Lize Burr http://www.acttexas.org/?p=1680 As we reach the halfway point in the 82nd Texas Legislature, the pace is picking up. This week, ACT has recommendations about five bills scheduled to be heard in committee meetings.

ACT supports SB 449 (Watson | Estes) in Senate Finance, SB 1125 (Carona) in Senate Business & Commerce, HB 821 (Farrar) and HB 1966 (Chisum) in House Environmental Regulation. More about each of these bills is available here.

ACT opposes SB 875 (Fraser) because it could handicap local enforcement and citizens’ efforts to clean up air pollution. SB 875 would make changes to provide an affirmative defense for administrative, civil, or criminal nuisance and trespass actions as long as a defendant is in “general compliance” with a TCEQ rule or permit. This bill would affect people who are dealing with, for example, large upsets such as routinely occur at refineries and chemical plants, damage from air pollution from coal-fired power plants, cement plants and rock crushers. The proposed changes would provide the permit holder a relatively surefire way to defend themselves from the types of suits that often lead to significant reductions in harmful emissions.

]]> http://www.acttexas.org/2011/03/21/bills-in-committee-week-of-march-21st/feed/ 0 Committee Hearings – Week of April 6 http://www.acttexas.org/2009/04/07/committee-hearings-week-of-april-6/ http://www.acttexas.org/2009/04/07/committee-hearings-week-of-april-6/#comments Tue, 07 Apr 2009 14:09:08 +0000 Lize Burr http://www.acttexas.org/?p=787 The following committees will hear legislation that addresses ACT recommendations to the 81sxt Texas Legislature. If a committee listing does not include bill numbers, ACT-supported bills are already pending in that committee.

Monday, April 6

  • House Technology, Economic Development & Workforce: HB 2492
  • Senate Government Organization: SB 2169

Tuesday, April 7

Wednesday, April 8

Thursday, April 9

  • House Subcommittee on Energy Efficiency and Renewables: HB 4327
  • Senate Finance: SB 483
]]> http://www.acttexas.org/2009/04/07/committee-hearings-week-of-april-6/feed/ 0 Solar Energy Bills Continue to Shine http://www.acttexas.org/2009/03/30/solar-energy-bills-continue-to-shine/ http://www.acttexas.org/2009/03/30/solar-energy-bills-continue-to-shine/#comments Mon, 30 Mar 2009 21:27:05 +0000 Lize Burr http://www.acttexas.org/?p=692 Attention shifts to the House

This week is an important one for solar energy in the 81st Legislature. On the Senate side, the Committee on Business and Commerce can move solar energy legislation, including legislation that calls for a major program for distributed generation such as rooftop solar, out of committee and onto the Senate floor. On the House side, the newly formed Subcommittee on Energy Efficiency and Renewables will hear bills Thursday afternoon.

Chaired by Rep. Farabee, the Subcommittee on Energy Efficiency and Renewables was created to handle the unprecedented number of clean energy bills filed this session. Twelve bills are on the agenda for Thursday. One thing to note: generally, being heard in a subcommittee decreases a bill’s likelihood of passage. It is essential that Texans who want a cleaner, healthier future for the state voice their support for solar and other emerging energy technologies. One way you can do this it to sign ACT’s petition in support of a Renewable Portfolio Standard that will do for solar power what the 1999 RPS has done for wind.

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