79th Legislative Session (2005)
ACT Legislative Recommendations for 79th Legislature
Clean Energy Legislative Recommendations
1.) increase Texas’ efficiency goal to require that 50% of load growth be offset by efficiency
2.) adopt SECO recommendations to improve efficiency standards on ten appliances
3.) require cities, counties and other taxpayer funded entities to decrease energy use by 25% over the next 5 years
4.) allow SECO to regularly update building codes
5.) create a tax holiday for efficient ‘Energy Star’ products.
6.) establish a solar rebate program through the Public Utility Commission
8.) require that solar panels become a standard option for all new homebuyers, enabling new home buyers to add solar
panels while their home is under construction
9.) ensure fair value for excess solar production by allowing any home or business owners that generate solar power to have
the right to connect to the electrical grid and sell excess power to their local utilities for fair market value.
10.) The Legislature should clarify Section M in order to prevent a cap on the market for renewable energy in Texas and to
protect customer protection standards.
Download the ACT Clean Energy Policy Paper (pdf)
Water Legislative Recommendations
The Legislature should:
1.) Provide local governments and groundwater conservation districts with better tools to guarantee sustainable water supplies for their communities, not laws that hamstring their efforts.
2.) The Texas Legislature should adopt the recommendations of the state’s Water Conservation
Implementation Task Force.In addition the Texas Legislature should restore full funding for the
municipal water conservation program at TWDB in order that the agency may implement already
existing water conservation initiatives effectively and efficiently.
3.) The State of Texas should adopt a producer takeback recycling program so that computer and television companies have
an incentive to design their equipment for recycling and to take the burden of handling hazardous waste off of local
governments and taxpayers. The State of Texas should also repeal the provisions of the Government Code (adopted as SB
1105 in 1999) that has the Texas Department of Criminal Justice selling the state’s electronic waste.
Download the ACT Clean Water Policy Paper (pdf)
Clean Air Recommendations
The Legislature should:
1.) Call a time-out on the permitting of new coal-burning power plants until all the information is in,
including a full evaluation of cleaner alternatives and the relative impacts of all the options for meeting
federal air quality requirements. Existing coal-burning power plants should be required to meet additional emissions
reductions for smog-forming nitrogen oxides, soot-forming sulfur dioxide, global-warming carbon dioxide, and toxic mercury.
2.) Enact policies to protect public health by reducing emissions in toxic hotspots, increasing scrutiny of facilities in areas
where toxic pollution levels are already excessive, and increasing public access to air toxic information.
3.) Pass SB 124 (Ellis) and HB 344 (Strama) requiring automakers to comply with the Clean Cars Program.
4.) The Legislature should follow the Governor’s new Budget Reform Plan, and appropriate all collected funds associated with
TERP and LIRAP programs for their intended purpose: cleaning up the air. The accumulated fund balance in the TERP
account should be used to augment the Legislature’s FY08-09 clean air initiatives. Finally, the Legislature should adequately
fund the Texas Clean School Bus Program.
Download the ACT Clean Air Policy Paper (pdf)
Environmental Justice Recommendations
The Legislature should:
1.) The 80th Legislature must establish criteria and working groups within key state agencies to analyze
and address potential disproportionate environmental and health risks for minority and low-income
populations in agency decisions, including those related to funding, permitting and enforcement. State agencies should be
required, internally and through an inter-agency working group, to make sure their decisions do not unfairly impact affect
already disadvantaged communities.
2.) The 80th Legislature must level the playing field for law-abiding businesses and require the TCEQ to fully recover all
“economic benefit” derived by polluters who break the law.
Download the ACT Environmental Justice Policy Paper (pdf)
State Parks Recommendations
The Legislature should:
The 80th Legislature should grant TPWD’s exceptional item requests to restore the 10 percent reduction,
provide an additional $85 million per year for state parks, and appropriate the remainder of Proposition 8
General Obligation Bonds for park repairs approved by the voters several years ago.
Download the ACT State Parks Policy Paper (pdf)
