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Posts Tagged ‘house’

Countdown: 13 Days Left in Legislative Session, 7 High Priority Bills Left

Posted in Efficiency, Energy, Renewables, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 19, 2009 |

Original post found at Alliance for a Clean Texas.

With the deadline for House bills to pass third reading last Friday at midnight, the 81st Session entered its final phase. The good news is that seven of ACT’s high priority bills have made it to the last two weeks of the session. Here’s a run-down of the bills’ current status:

SB 545 Fraser —  Passed the Senate; currently in House Committee on Energy Resources

SB 541 Watson — Passed the Senate; currently in House Committee on State Affairs

SB 546 Fraser — Passed both Senate and House

HB 280 Anchia — SB 546 is companion (HB 280 made it through House)

SB 16 Averitt — Passed the Senate; committee substitute adopted by House Committee on Environmental Regulation (5/18).

HB 1553 Burnam —  Left pending in House Calendars Committee (no longer moving)

SB 184 Watson — Passed Senate; in House Committee on Environmental Regulation

HB 821 Leibowitz —  Passed House; in Senate Committee on Business and Commerce

HB 300 Isett —  Passed House; in Senate Committee on Transportation & Homeland Security

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Stimulus Package is Kosher!

Posted in Global Warming, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on February 12, 2009 |

Just last night the House and Senate came to agreement: a $789 billion Stimulus Package with no traces of nuclear pork! The $50 billion in federal loan guarantees that could have been used by nuclear and coal industries have been carved out.No Nuclear Pork

Thank you, Legislators, for finally seeing that the nuclear sector will not contribute to jobs, nor is it a better alternative for the environment!

Kevin Kamps from Beyond Nuclear says:

This monumental waste of money had to end. The nuclear energy industry cannot solve the climate crisis and fattening the nuclear calf has deprived real energy solutions like renewable energy and energy efficiency programs from essential support for decades.

And a double fist pump for all of the 243 environmental, consumer, and religious organizations that rallied together and sent a joint letter to Senators stating their “dismay and anger over the inclusion by the Senate Appropriations Committee of a provision in the economic stimulus bill to provide up to $50 billion in additional taxpayer loan guarantees that could be used for construction of new nuclear reactors and ‘clean coal’ plants.”

No more nuclear pork!

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Energy Efficiency Stimulates, but Nuclear Pork Fizzles

Posted in Efficiency, Energy, Nuclear, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 11, 2009 |

A message from our director, Tom “Smitty” Smith:

efficient-homeToday the House and Senate are working to reconcile their different versions of the long-awaited economic stimulus package. The stakes are now higher than ever for Texans, who stand to gain from billions that could go toward developing renewable energy and efficiency in the state, reducing pollution from diesel engines, and cleaning up abandoned nuclear waste sites.

But as much as the state needs that massive investment in our energy future, there is a troubling side to the senate version of the stimulus package: Senators amended the stimulus bill to include $50 billion in loan guarantees for new nuclear plants in Texas and elsewhere in the nation.

If Congress needs a reminder why this is a bad deal, it should just ask Wall Street why it doesn’t loan money for nuclear reactors. According to the Congressional Budget Office, nuclear loans default at a rate of 50%. Banks learned long ago that these plants simply can’t be built on budget and aren’t viable without massive taxpayer subsidies. Texans are still paying for the last generation of over-budget nuclear plants each month in a hidden charge on their electric bills. (more…)

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