From the Texas Tribune: A day before an important legislative hearing about the future of the Texas Railroad Commission, interpersonal tensions boiled over at an open meeting of the three commissioners who head the agency. Tuesday’s meeting began routinely, with discussion of oil and gas cases. The commissioners also voted to approve new rules to make […]
This week, a bunch of bills that could affect everything from Texas’ energy and environment to the names of state regulatory agencies will be heard at the Capitol. We’ve compiled a short list of the bills that would have an impact on energy and environment in the state for you to keep an eye on, […]
Update: On March 18, the bill passed in the Senate. It now heads to the House. Original Story, March 5, 2013: Texas is in a third year of drought, with 89 percent of the state in some level of drought conditions according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor Map. In Texas, landscaping can make up […]
The House Energy Resources Committee heard hours of testimony on Wednesday on House Bill 100, also known as the ‘unitization bill.’ The bill, introduced to the Legislature by Representative Van Taylor, R-Plano, would legalize unitization of oil fields in Texas. What exactly does that mean, and why is it garnering such a heated reaction? It […]
Significant new funding for water projects in a dry, thirsty Texas moved one step closer to becoming a reality today. The bill, HB 4, would take money from the state’s Rainy Day Fund to start a loan program for new water projects. It passed unanimously in a committee, and now it heads to the House floor for […]
Certain tax exemptions will cost Texas $43.9 billion in 2013, according to a new report from the Texas Comptroller. Two state senators say it’s time to start reviewing those tax breaks. “We have no earthly idea what they are, what they cost, who benefits from them,” Sen. Rodney Ellis told StateImpact.
Within days of the announcement earlier this year that the state legislature could get serious about funding new water projects in Texas, folks started having questions. Where will that money go? Why not make more of the water we have instead of building more reservoirs? And what’s to prevent the proposed $2 billion ‘water bank’ […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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