House Committee on Environmental Regulation - 83rd R.S. (2013)

Committee:	House Environmental Regulation
Title:	Interim Report
Subjects:	Administrative Hearings, State Office of | Air pollution | Carbon dioxide | Coal-fired power plants | Electric Reliability Council of Texas | Electric utilities | Electricity supplies | Environmental permits | Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. | Environmental Quality, Texas Commission on | Manufacturing | State administrative hearings |
Library Call Number:	L1836.83 en89
Session:	83rd R.S. (2013)
Online version:	View report [39 pages]
Charges:	This report should address the charges below.
1.	Study the environmental permitting processes at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), specifically the contested-case hearing process at the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) and the timelines associated with the process. Study the economic impact that the state's permitting processes have on Texas manufacturing sectors and how neighboring states' and the federal permitting processes and timelines compare to those in Texas.
2.	Conduct legislative oversight and monitoring of the agencies and programs under the committee’s jurisdiction and the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 83rd Legislature. In conducting this oversight, the committee should: a. consider any reforms to state agencies to make them more responsive to Texas taxpayers and citizens; b. identify issues regarding the agency or its governance that may be appropriate to investigate, improve, remedy, or eliminate; c. determine whether an agency is operating in a transparent and efficient manner; and d. identify opportunities to streamline programs and services while maintaining the mission of the agency and its programs.
3.	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.
Supporting documents
Committee:	House Environmental Regulation
Title:	Committee meeting handouts and testimony, May 13, 2014 (Environmental permitting and contested case hearings)
Library Call Number:
Session:	83rd R.S. (2013)
Online version:	View document [43 pages  File size: 2,122 kb]
Committee:	House Environmental Regulation
Title:	Committee meeting handouts and testimony, September 29, 2014 (Environmental Protection Agency's proposed Clean Power Plan)
Library Call Number:
Session:	83rd R.S. (2013)
Online version:	View document [101 pages  File size: 3,803 kb]
Committee:	House Environmental Regulation
Title:	Committee meeting handouts and testimony, September 30, 2014 (Environmental Protection Agency's proposed Clean Power Plan)
Library Call Number:
Session:	83rd R.S. (2013)
Online version:	View document [190 pages  File size: 18,577 kb]

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