Bad news from the big pink dome. Looks like two of our key bills to promote solar power this session, SB 545 (Fraser/Strama) and SB 541 (Watson/Farabee) are getting stuck in the gummy gears of the legislative process. These bills have both made it through committee and the Senate, but still need to be voted on by the House. Unfortunately, they may never make it that far due to the tremendous power of a little group called the House Committee on Calendars.
At this point, Calendars has an incredible amount of power over what bills will make it to become laws this session. There are now just ten days left before sine die, and hundreds of bills left waiting to go to the House floor. Calendars is like the legislative bouncer at this point, only letting certain skinny, sexy, well-dressed bills into the club.
SB 545 has yet to come out of Calendars, and SB 541 hasn’t even made it onto the list yet. If 541 isn’t at least on the list by tomorrow, it is dead. If 545 hasn’t made it from the list and into the club by Sunday, it’ll be the bill’s last chance to shine.
You think old Bill had it had it bad, at least he didn’t have a Calendars committee to hold him up.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouZTIqcvb30]
House Reps on the Calendars committee need to hear that these bills are necessary to jump-start Texas’ solar future. If one of the following members is YOUR representative, please give them a call today and tell them that you want these solar bills moved up the calendar and out to the dance House floor!!
Rep. Brian McCall (Chair) — (512) 463-0594
Rep. Eddie Lucio III (Vice Chair) — (512) 463-0606
Rep. Norma Chavez — (512) 463-0622
Rep. Garnet Coleman — (512) 463-0524
Rep. Byron Cook — (512) 463-0730
Rep. Brandon Creighton — (512) 463-0726
Rep. Charlie Geren — (512) 463-0610
Rep. Jim Keffer — (512) 463-0656
Rep. Lois W. Kolkhorst — (512) 463-0600
Rep. Jim McReynolds — (512) 463-0490
Rep. Allan Ritter — (512) 463-0706
Rep. Burt R. Solomons — (512) 463-0478
Note: Word on the street is that the Calendars committee has locked its door and taken the phone off the hook. How’s that for open government? This shouldn’t keep you from calling individual members though, their offices will still be answering the phone.
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Welcome to the debut of the Public Citizen Texas Week in Review. Every day our advocacy staff works to organize citizens and politicians in order to realize our progressive vision of a healthy environment, a sustainable economy, and a government of, by, and for the people.
