In brief, parks do well, TERP and extra inspectors for oil and gas still short-changed, and other bills face uncertain future.
As the 84th Legislative Session comes to a close, Conferees of the Senate and House reached final agreements on the 2016-2017 state budget and a more modest tax reduction plan of $3.8 billion, down from a proposed $4.9 billion package.
That One Bill That Must Pass: The Budget
The budget itself was kind to a number of programs important to the Legislature, including Sierra Club priorities like funding for local and state parks, water conservation programs at the Texas Water Development Board and air quality program. Still, a number of priorities our members care about were not included in the final budget, such as additional water resource planning grants and a larger commitment to the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan. Moreover, any attempt – however modest – to improve oversight of the oil and gas industry fell well short of many advocates’ wishes. Still, despite the late hour, Sierra Club continues to push for an infusion of cash to the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan.
Parks
Among the highlights of the budget bill was the full allocation of the sporting good sales tax to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, including approximately $32 million for local park grants, a significant increase and one of the Sierra Club’s key asks. As in many sessions, the money didn’t come without strings attached, and several local parks were specifically mentioned in the budget as individual legislators sought advantages for their districts, including several in San Antonio, where Speaker of the House Joe Straus hails from. In addition, two bills that would establish sales tax-free weekends for firearms and other hunting goods could still pass. Our Conservation Chair Evelyn Merz has been fighting hard to prevent these bills from passing because of the unintended consequence they would have on parks funding.
Wildlife
In addition to the relatively good news on local parks, the Conferees added some additional funding for aquatic invasive species management – though not at the level Parks and Wildlife had requested – and about $97 million for deferred maintenance. Curiously, $25 million of this was for the Battleship Texas, which initially had been kept out of the budget due to the high cost of “saving” the ship. Other good news included an additional $3.5 million for the Franklin Mountains to build a visitor center, and finally the dedication of $2.7 million to plan and develop the Palo Pinto Mountains State Park west of Fort Worth.
Railroad Commission Needs Love Too
The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) did not fair as well. Despite significant input for increasing the numbers of safety inspectors, in the end, the budget only added 10 new safety inspectors for pipelines, and low-balled any new inspectors for oil and gas facilities. Thus, even as the state now tells cities to back off inspections, regulations, and enforcement of oil and gas facilities, budget writers refused to give the RRC additional funding to do their job. Moreover, Texas legislators specifically removed a recommendation added by Sen. Uresti (D-San Antonio) with guidance from the Sierra Club that would have required the RRC to conduct a best practices report on injections wells for spills and best practices for flaring and venting. Apparently, certain interests felt that more study on these issues was unwarranted. Similarly, the budget kept in a rider that prevents the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality from adopting additional regulations to prevent pollution from oil and gas industry unless a cost-benefit study is conducted, but then provides no money to actually conduct such a study. Working with the Sierra Club, Sen. Uresti got the provision removed but it was later put back in.
TWDB
The Texas Water Development Board received some good news in the form of a small amount of additional funds (~ $1.1 million per year) to quantify and install water conservation strategies as part of the Texas Water Plan.
TCEQ
The TCEQ received additional funds for air quality planning, and received the full amount of money to implement the Low-Income Repair and Replacement Program (LIRAP) – about $55 million per year – as well as an additional $41 million per year in Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP) funds. However, the additional TERP funds, which brought total TERP appropriations up to $118 million per year, still fell well short of the full amount that is generated, approximately $220 million per year and Sierra Club is still hoping that additional funds can make their way into supplemental appropriation bills.
Non-Budget Bills
In the meantime, a variety of other bills – both good and bad – inched closer to the finish line. For example, a bill supported by Sierra Club, HB 14 – known as the “TERP tune-up” bill, passed the House and was voted out of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Economic Development, where it is being carried by Sen. Watson (D-Austin).
As many already know, the pro-oil and gas fracking bill to curtail those pesky cities from doing too much regulations, HB 40, left the Senate and went straight to the Governor’s desk. In a move reminiscent of NRA tactics after a shooting, he took advantage of an event in Denton to sign the bill along with its House and Senate sponsors, and curiously was met by a large number of protesters along the way. And just what kind of reception did he expect giving the commencement address at the University of North Texas? Read our statement on Abbott signing this terrible bill into law here. Another bill opposed by the Sierra Club and many environmental and property owners, SB 709, which undermines the ability of local citizens, cities, and property owners to contest environmental permits (i.e., permits to pollute) also passed the House and Senate and is on to the Governor’s desk for a signature.
Other bills opposed by Sierra Club showed some improvement.
HB 1736, which, as filed, would have undermined building energy codes, was improved through negotiation and legislative intent in both the House and in the Senate, where Sen. Fraser (R-Horseshoe Bay) picked it up. The bill, as it is now, would adopt the energy chapter of the 2015 International Residential Code as the state code – effective September 2016 – for all new homes, though it allows a more flexible compliance path known as an Energy Rating Index and delays any new code until at least 2021. Still, Sierra Club worked with a strange group of bedfellows, from the Texas Chemical Council to the Texas Municipal League, to add language in the House to make sure local cities that are in non-attainment (i.e., bad air quality) areas or in “affected” counties can make these flexible paths more energy efficient should they choose. These new provisions protect cities like San Antonio and Austin, which already have, or soon will adopt, codes that are more efficient than the 2015 standards. Thus, while not a perfect bill, HB 1736 does some good by adopting a new statewide code and allowing local cities to do more should they choose.
Another bill by Senator Fraser, SB 931, which would have eliminated the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) and taken away the potential for the Public Utility Commission (PUC) to do anymore Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ), fell on deaf ears in the House and had yet to have a committee hearing going into the last week of the session. Sen. Fraser, however, is not afraid to keep fighting. It is rumored that he is attempting to add some anti-renewables provisions to a completely unrelated bill, HB 1926 by Rep. Kacal (R-College Station), on the Senate floor to again prevent PUC from doing any additional CREZ lines – basically transmission lines meant to bring West Texas wind and solar to central and eastern Texas cities. It is unclear whether these amendments to a completely unrelated bill will survive the Senate.
Another anti-citizen bill, HB 2595 by Rep. Keffer (R-Eastland), which would disallow citizen-led initiatives and referendums if they would impact private property, sailed through the House and was picked up by Sen. Fraser, who immediately scheduled it for a hearing in the Natural Resources and Economic Development Committee. In what might have been a bit of a surprise to Sen. Fraser and the members of the committee, however, a strange mixture of environmental groups like Sierra Club, Texas Campaign for the Environment, and the League of Conservation Voters were joined by Tea Party activists and local Republican Party leaders in speaking out against the bill. Thus, both the Democrats on the committee, as well as Republicans more associated with the Tea Party wing, voiced opposition. As of this week, the bill had not been reported from committee.
In the meantime, yet another bill opposed by Sierra Club, HB 3298 – the Water Gridzilla bill – appears to have been slowed down in the Senate. However, late on May 21, it has now been added to another unrelated water bill, SB 1301 by Sen. Perry (R-Lubbock) and carried in the House by Rep. Lucio III (D-Brownsville), on the House floor. For more on the Water Gridzilla bill, click here. In the meantime, we are asking our members to urge a no vote on SB 1301 unless the Gridzilla amendment is taken off it, and to keep HB 3298 off the Senate floor. [Editor's Note: UPDATE! Under pressure, and due to a question of whether it was germane to the bill. Rep. Larson pulled the Water Gridzilla amendment from SB 1301 today, May 22, allowing it to pass cleanly! The fight is not yet over though, as Larson said from the House podium that there were other "vehicles" coming for his water grid legislation. Please stay tuned!]
A relatively modest but important energy efficiency bill, HB 2392, by Rep. Anchia (D-Dallas) and Rep. Keffer (R-Eastland), narrowly passed the House on an 81-59 vote, and was referred to the Senate Business & Commerce committee as of the time of this writing. Check out this article to learn what it takes to get modest energy efficiency bills passed. We ask our membership to contact their Senator and Lt. Gov. Patrick and urge them to pass this modest but important bill that would allow creation of a revolving loan fund for energy efficiency retrofits through the State Energy Conservation Office.