Where politics, government and energy intersect.
It was possibly the most high profile piece of legislation at the capital this session. It had the backing of the governor, the stateās business community, and many environmental groups. But last night House Bill 11, the plan to pull $2 billion from the state’s rainy day fund to put to Texas water projects, could […]
Time is running out for Texas legislators as the 83rd legislative session nears its conclusion. This week will see plenty of activity on bills that deal with water, eminent domain and roads. In our weekly installment, we pick some of the energy and environment legislation we’re watching this week. Think we missed something? Feel free […]
FracFocus, the online registry used by Texas and other states to disclose information about hydraulic fracturing, “creates obstacles to [regulatory] compliance” and seems “structurally skewed to delete” records, according to a report from Harvard Law School’s Environmental Law Program. The website is an integral part of the way drillers disclose what chemicals they are putting […]
Texas likes to be “business friendly” and as the state legislature considers bills to limit environmental regulation to keep it that way, some economists warn of the longer term consequences. “It’s not as simple as saying yeah, itās a negative for everybody and everybody is going to move out of the state if we have […]
Two bills promoting responsible prescribed burning received a public hearing in the House Agriculture and Livestock Committee Wednesday morning. Both bills would indirectly influence the ease with which landowners could use this wildfire prevention technique on their land. SB 702Ā by stateĀ Sen. Glenn Hegar, R-Katy, would establish standards for prescribed burners, as well as training, education […]
There are lots of retail businesses that have come to Texas recently: Trader Joe’s, H&M, even In-N-Out Burger, a move so bittersweet it brought one Dallasite to tears. But for one gleaming, seductive product with an almost astronomical price tag, youāll have to look elsewhere — the Tesla electric car. BecauseĀ of state law (which is […]
Update, May 2, 2013: The Senate Bill passed on the Senate floor today, and now heads to the House. Original story, April 24, 2013:Ā SB 212, which would change the name of the Railroad Commission of Texas to the Texas Energy Resources Commission passed out committee today. The bill would also restrict campaign contributions for […]
The highest court in the land will hear about Texas’ water woes today. It will be the culmination of several years of litigation over Oklahoma water that Texas wants. Shelley Kofler of KERA in Dallas has more on the story: “Thereās often been tension between Texas and Oklahoma.Ā A dispute over the state boundary line dates […]
Time is winding down at the State Legislature, but the pace is picking up. We’ve put together a list of some important bills on energy and the environment up for discussion this week. They tackle the Railroad Commission, fracking, drought and more. But they aren’t all serious, a House committee will discuss a slew ofĀ honorifics […]
Texas is often called the energy capital of America, so it might come as aĀ surpriseĀ that the oil and gas boom has substantially driven electric prices up in some parts of the state. And in those same areas, prices are expected to spike again this summer. To understand why, it’s best to start with the small […]
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