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March 7, 2013

Who Opposes Native Seed Bills? Native Seed Sellers

A few individuals from around Texas took the opportunity to travel to the Capitol and speak out against two native seed bills at the House Livestock and Agriculture Committee meeting Wednesday. And those who kindly opposed the legislation were native seed distributors themselves. While the distributors were glad the state government is championing the native […]

March 6, 2013

Critics Smell Trouble With Sewage Spill Bill

A new bill could stop a lot of the crying over spilled sewage in Texas. Lawmakers and critics voiced various concerns about a sewage spill bill at a House Natural Resources Committee meeting Tuesday at the Capitol. The bill, HB 824 authored by Bill Callegari, R-Houston, would put a floor on the size of spills that must be […]

Why a New Law Aims to Ban Shark Fins in Texas

We all know there are sharks in the Gulf of Mexico. But why would Texas lawmakers care? A bill that went before the Senate Natural Resources Committee Tuesday says they should. State Senator Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, whose district includes Galveston, filed Senate Bill 572, which would outlaw the buying and selling of shark fins. Shark fins are […]

March 5, 2013

Fracking Goes to the Texas Legislature

Update/Correction: 03/08/13 The original version of this story reported that Rep. Van Taylor’s HB 100 would reduce methane flaring by encouraging the capture of more methane gas. In a subsequent interview, Rep. Taylor clarified, saying it reduce Co2 emissions by making carbon gasses more valuable to drillers looking to extract more oil and gas from […]

March 4, 2013

Sewage Bill Would Eliminate Reporting of Smaller Wastewater Spills

Update: On March 5, the sewage spill bill got a hearing at the Capitol. Read about that here. Sewage spill reporting requirements could become less stringent if a bill filed by Rep. Bill Callegari, R-Houston, passes the legislature. The spill bill, HB 824, would exempt wastewater treatment facilities from reporting most sewage spills less than […]

Texas Bill to Ban Shark Fins Up For Hearing

The State Senate Natural Resources Committee will discuss banning the sale and transfer shark fins at a hearing Tuesday. Senator Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, filed SB 572 as a companion to a bill filed in the House, HB 852, by Representative Eddie Lucio, D-Harlingen. As StateImpact Texas reported recently, the bills would ban anyone from buying or selling […]

Legislation Would Require Water Well Owners to Report Usage

A Texas lawmaker has introduced a bill that would help the state keep better track of how much water it’s using. State Senator Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, has filed a bill, SB 272, requiring most farmers to report their water usage to the Texas Water Development Board. “It’s important to have an empirical measure of groundwater […]

Solar Stuggles to Shine in Deregulated Texas Electricity Market

In such a sunny place as Texas, some people think it’s a real shame to waste all that solar energy. They point out the state ranks 13th in the nation for total solar power generation, behind such often gloomy places as New Jersey (#2) and New York (#11) according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. […]

March 1, 2013

Higher Penalties for Oil and Gas Industry Have Bipartisan Support in Legislature

Freshman State Representative Gene Wu, D-Houston, introduced a bill this week that would substantially increase many penalties oil and gas companies would have to pay for violating state rules. HB1863 would increase the maximum fines The Railroad Commission of Texas, the agency that oversees the state’s oil and gas industry, could impose on rule-breaking drillers and […]

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