The following press release was issued today by the Office of the Speaker of the House, Joe Straus:
The Texas House Committee on Environmental Regulation will review newly proposed federal rules to determine their impact on the Texas economy, as well as their impact on the reliability and affordability of electricity, Speaker Joe Straus said Thursday.
The Obama administration recently proposed a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions nationally by 30 percent, as compared to 2005 levels, by 2030. Because individual states may have to reduce more than 30 percent in order for the country as a whole to meet that threshold, Texas faces a reduction of 39 percent.
“It’s important for legislators to understand the potential impact of this federal mandate, not only on the cost and availability of electricity, but also on the broader Texas economy,” Speaker Straus said. “The committee’s work will guide the House’s approach to this issue in next year’s legislative session, and the seriousness of these proposed rules demands that we start working on that approach soon.”
The committee will also review the state’s standards for renewable energy and energy efficiency to determine if those standards can help meet any proposed reductions in emissions. In addition, committee members will work to determine what changes to those policies, if any, could help the state meet the new federal standards.
“A reliable energy supply is especially critical in a state like Texas because our population is growing twice as fast as the country as a whole,” Straus said. “A number of Members have expressed concerns about the effects of these proposals on our power supply and our economy. The House will work with a range of stakeholders to make sure that Texas responds to these regulations in a prudent and responsible way.”
Speaker Straus gave every House committee interim charges at the beginning of the year. Since that time, he has continued to highlight other House priorities heading into the next legislative session. That session will begin in January.
The interim charge below was issued to the House Committee on Environmental Regulation:
Review the Environmental Protection Agency's newly proposed Clean Power Plan to determine the potential impact the proposed federal rule would have on Texas. Specifically, the Committee should examine how the proposed emissions reductions would impact the reliability of the state's electricity generation, the potential impact on the price of retail electricity and its affordability, and the potential impact on the economic development of the state. Additionally, the Committee should review the state's renewable energy and energy efficiency standards to determine if they are capable of contributing to meeting any proposed emissions reductions and determine what changes, if any, to these policies could help facilitate meeting the proposed emissions reductions.