{"id":26851,"date":"2013-04-22T15:12:46","date_gmt":"2013-04-22T20:12:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/?p=26851"},"modified":"2013-04-22T17:24:05","modified_gmt":"2013-04-22T22:24:05","slug":"what-to-watch-for-at-the-texas-legislature-this-week-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2013\/04\/22\/what-to-watch-for-at-the-texas-legislature-this-week-3\/","title":{"rendered":"What to Watch For at the Texas Legislature This Week"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Photo by Nika. http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/nika\/<\/p>

State lawmakers will discuss whether to recognize the City of Garland at the cowboy hat capital of Texas this week.<\/p><\/div>\n

Time is winding down at the State Legislature, but the pace is picking up.<\/p>\n

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 of\u00a0honorifics as well.<\/p>\n

(The bills are not listed in any particular order, and the list isn\u2019t meant to be comprehensive.)<\/p>\n

Railroad Commission Name Change and More\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Texas Railroad Commission’s<\/a> misguiding name could change to the Texas Energy Resources Commission, if a bill, SB 212<\/a>\u00a0by Sen. Robert Nichols<\/a>, R-Jacksonville, passes the legislature. The bill would also implement changes to the agency outlined in a 2011 Sunset review that didn’t pass\u00a0 last session, such as authorizing\u00a0the commission to impose a fee for permitting pipelines to help pay for safety programs. The\u00a0Senate Natural Resources Committee<\/a>\u00a0will discuss the bill\u00a0Tuesday morning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Saltwater Pipelines for Fracking Fluid<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hydraulic Fracturing<\/a> uses a lot of water. It also produces a lot of waste water. A bill, SB 514<\/a> by Sen. Wendy Davis<\/a>, D-Fort Worth, could allow for the transport of used liquid by pipeline instead of by truck. The Railroad Commission would have oversight. \u00a0The\u00a0Senate Natural Resources Committee<\/a>\u00a0will discuss the bill\u00a0Tuesday morning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Beach Closure for Space Flights<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sunbathing near a space flight launch could be dangerous. A bill, SB 1574<\/a> by Sen. Eddie Lucio<\/a>, D-Brownsville, would make sure the General Land Office<\/a> can temporarily close public beaches nearby a proposed South Texas space launch site.\u00a0The\u00a0Senate Natural Resources Committee<\/a>\u00a0will discuss the bill\u00a0Tuesday morning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Changes to Environmental Flow Regulations<\/strong><\/p>\n

A bill, SB 1894<\/a> by Sen. Troy Fraser<\/a>, R-Horseshoe bay, could alter the way environmental flow<\/a> plans are reviewed. Environmental flows are the waters that must flow through Texas’ rivers into the ocean to maintain a sound ecosystem.\u00a0The\u00a0Senate Natural Resources Committee<\/a>\u00a0will discuss the bill\u00a0Tuesday morning<\/a>. Previously: “What Are ‘Environmental Flows’ and How Does Texas Protect Them?”<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Customer Notification About Water Loss<\/strong><\/p>\n

If a public water utility loses more than 10 percent of its total water supply, the utility could have to notify customers on their billing statement according to a bill, HB 1641<\/a> by Rep. Jimmie Aycock,<\/a> R-Killeen. The bill would also require public utilities to explain how the water was lost. The House Natural Resources Committee<\/a> will discuss the legislation\u00a0Tuesday morning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Definition of Drought\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

What exactly is “drought?” A bill, HB 1776<\/a> by Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, would define drought in Texas as a level of dry weather considered “exceptional” or D4 on the\u00a0National Drought Mitigation Center’s\u00a0Drought Severity Classification scheme<\/a>. The classification would be used for emergency orders concerning water rights issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality<\/a>\u00a0(TCEQ), as<\/p>\n

Only in Texas, Big Honors<\/strong><\/p>\n

Where the buffalo roam? The first week of May could be designated Texas Bison week by\u00a0SCR 20<\/a>\u00a0authored by\u00a0Sen. Craig Estes<\/a>, R-Wichita Falls.<\/p>\n

Hats off to Garland. The City of Garland could be designated the Cowboy Hat Capital of Texas by\u00a0HCR 96<\/a>\u00a0authored by\u00a0Rep. Ryan Guillen<\/a>, D-Rio Grande City.<\/p>\n

Break in your boots before you head to the City of Canton, it could be declared the Walking Capital of Texas by\u00a0SCR 13<\/a>, which was\u00a0authored by\u00a0Sen. Bob Deuell<\/a>, R-Greenville.<\/p>\n

Wait an hour after eating before you swim. Texas could name April as water safety month if SCR 1<\/a> authored by Sen. Jane Nelson<\/a>, R-Flower Mound, passes.<\/p>\n

The honorary bills (and more) will be discussed at the House Culture, Recreation and Tourism Committee<\/a> meeting Wednesday afternoon<\/a>.<\/p>\n

David Barer is a reporting intern for StateImpact Texas.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 of\u00a0honorifics […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":26867,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[60],"tags":[61,268,50,33,280,310],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26851"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/72"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26851"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26851\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26871,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26851\/revisions\/26871"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}