The 2017 Texas Legislative Scorecard

 

 

Evidence of this was on display during the so-called “Mother’s Day Massacre” where, in the last days of the session, right-wing Texas Freedom Caucus members intentionally and arbitrarily killed more than 100 non-controversial bills out of pure spite for House Speaker Joe Straus and other Republican legislators’ unwillingness to support their anti-woman and anti-immigrant legislative efforts. 

 

Good environmental legislation was practically a non-starter this session. Unfortunately, what few champions remain in the Legislature these days are more unlikely to file good environmental bills or amendments because there is no way they are going to pass. There was no real chance to unlock clean energy’s massive job-creating potential, or take the next step on water protection and water conservation. Real reform of the Railroad Commission rolled over at the feet of the oil and gas lobby. Putting the word “climate” in any bill would have been a mark of death, and in one case, it was. 

 

To be fair, though, there were a few good bills filed this session, a handful passed, and some members fought polluting interests bravely. 

 

 

How has it come to this? How has the Legislature become so irresponsible and unscrupulous? How have its priorities become so out of sync with the vast majority of Texans? If it were a living organism, you could say it is sick. It should surprise no one that polluting interests, such as the Texas Oil and Gas Association, have a tight grip on the Texas Legislature. Campaign cash from polluters gives them unprecedented access and influence, and their lobbyists clog the corridors of the Capitol. (Check out the Texans For Public Justice report on the influence of oil and gas money at the Legislature here). Our Conservation Director, Cyrus Reed, noted early in the session that when the Railroad Commission Sunset bill was being voted on in the House, there were some 75 oil and gas lobbyists outside the House chamber and in the gallery, texting legislators to ensure they got the outcome they wanted. In contrast, our Conservation Director and only a handful of other conservation organizations were there to protect people and the environment.

 

Another symptom of a sick legislature is lack of competition. There are serious structural barriers to more competitive electoral races. Since 2003, federal courts have found over and over that the Texas Legislature has violated the voting rights of minorities and diluted their power when drawing electoral districts. Other reasons include: no limits on campaign contributions, which gives incumbents a huge fundraising advantage; a part-time citizen legislature that pays $7,200 a year weeds out potential candidates that don't have family and job flexibility, and favors those of independent means; and a lack of local party and grassroots support to help new candidates. 

 

All this means that too many seats are safe and secured for Republicans and Democrats to the point where would-be contenders don’t even bother running against incumbents. In the last election, 81 of 150 House seats went uncontested. That’s more than half of the Texas House. Even in races with a contender, 17 contests did not have a Democrat or Republican challenger. Yes, they did have either a Green Party or Libertarian challenger (or both), but none were even close to a competitive race. That’s 98 seats, or 65% of the Texas House, that felt virtually no electoral pressure. 

 

It’s no wonder that so many legislators treat consensus building and compromise as relics of a bygone era of lawmaking. The spirit of compromise appears dead. It means that neither Democrats nor Republicans, in most cases, fear ramifications from their votes.

 

 

It is in this context that we release our Legislative Scorecard for the 85th Texas Legislature, including the Special Session. 

 

But wait, isn’t that a waste of time given what we just said? No, because constituents like you need to know what these lawmakers are doing in your name. We are shining a light on bad votes and good votes so that Texans across the Lone Star State will be more informed about the actions of their elected officials, because they hide behind official positions and talking points too often. What matters is action – in other words, their votes. 

 

 

We’ve selected 10 distinct votes in the House and 11 in the Senate that we feel represent the issues and priorities of the Sierra Club’s Lone Star Chapter. Some are votes on bills, some are on crucial amendments to bills or a vote to table good amendments. In some circumstances, we supported a “yes” vote, and in others a “no” vote. In each case, we clearly stated what our position was. 

 

While there are certainly some unsurprising scores, like Rep. Eric Johnson’s A+ and Sen. Konni Burton’s F-, there are some that may surprise you. Again, what counts is action and actions are votes, not words. We acknowledge that the Legislature is a frenzied circus and some votes can be legitimate mistakes. The legislative session is far too short a time to meet the needs of such a large and complex state as Texas. But in the end, it is your elected official’s responsibility to cast each vote intentionally. 

 

Omissions 

 

What’s missing from these scores is a stronger lens of social justice. While we oppose discriminatory legislation such as SB 4, SB 8, and the attempts made to discriminate against transgender Texans, our limited capacity to actively lobby against these bills meant that we left them off the scorecard. Nevertheless, we encourage you to learn what your legislator did to oppose these hateful bills by checking out: 

 

Worker’s Defense Project (workersdefense.org) for information about the anti “sanctuary cities” SB 4.

NARAL Pro-Choice Texas (prochoicetexas.org) for information about the anti-choice SB 8. 

Equality Texas (equalitytexas.org) for information about SB 6 and other anti-LGBTQ bills. 

 

Also missing from this scorecard is legislative legacy. In many cases, members are solidly anti-environment or pro-environment, but some of them received higher scores or lower scores than they deserve if you consider their career as a lawmaker. For example, Rep. Drew Darby received a 5/10 (D) because he voted with our position on five of the 10 bills we scored on this session, but it doesn’t factor in that he authored the notorious HB 40 from the 84th Legislature that took away cities’ rights to protect their citizens from urban fracking operations. 

 

Another example is Rep. Rafael Anchia’s 7/10 (B), mostly due to a couple of missed votes. This doesn’t reflect the great work he has done in past legislative sessions to advance strong clean energy bills, to say nothing of his heroic work standing up for immigrant communities. 

 

 

However your legislator scored, we hope this helps you get more involved and spurs you to action. There is a concerted and coordinated effort underway at the national and state level to consolidate power and bypass democratic process. From Trump to Abbott and in each chamber of the Texas Capitol, our leaders are stripping away our rights and freedoms to live how we choose to live, and to ensure environmental protections are in place for all Texans now and in the future. 

 

It takes people like you to step up and administer the medicine the Legislature needs, and that means your vote and your voice. If you would like to get more involved in our efforts, please consider donating, becoming a member, or getting involved with our Chapter Political Committee. You are the key to turning the Texas Capitol back to your Texas Capitol.  Let’s Turn Texas Green! Let’s have more legislators who are not afraid to stand up to corporate polluters and vote to protect public health, clean water and clean energy! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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