ACTION: Ask TX State Senators to Support Funding for People and the Environment

You probably know the Texas Legislature is back in session. But, did you know our Texas State Senators are crafting the next state budget right now? Well, there’s no time like the present for making your voice heard as this Texas-sized plan will determine how your tax dollars are spent over the next two years. Being Progress Texas, we didn’t think you’d want to miss out! 

With the help and combined reach of the Alliance for a Clean Texas, including allied members like Public Citizen and the Lone Star Sierra Club, we made an easy, how-to guide on contacting your elected officials – as well as a direct email-drive you should join this week.

Contact your elected representatives often

As the state legislature only meets six months every two-years, we recommend that you call and email your Texas State Representative and State Senator often, before they leave Austin in May. 

First, search who represents me, then after getting to your elected officials’ webpages, you’ll have access to emailing or calling their staff directly. 

Call them: If you’re dialing their Capitol offices, make sure to have your name, address, and the house or senate bill number you're referring to readily available. You can typically ask to be logged in their notes for future votes or for a response.

Email them: You can also send emails to their general inboxes. These letters, especially when sent in blasts through multiple organizations, can make a big impact in showing a specific interest, such as environmental justice, needs their attention. We can also band together in showing our support for a good public official or bill too!

ACT: The Alliance for a Clean Texas’ email drive needs you

The members of the Alliance for a Clean Texas support funding priorities for energy and the environment including the following:

• Clean energy and resilience funding from the Texas Energy Fund.
• Staff to develop and implement energy efficiency programs.
• Land, water, and wildlife conservation programs.
• Air monitoring, drinking water, and wastewater management.
• Oil and gas well plugging and enforcement.

Please email your State Senators today using the template below to tell them you support these priorities for a clean, healthy Texas. Don’t forget to sign your name!

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Subject: Support funding for healthy people and environment

Dear Senator,

I am writing to ask you to fund priorities that are important to me as a Texan and a taxpayer. Please prioritize funding items that will protect people and our planet.

Efficient energy use and conservation:

• Meet the promise of the Texas Energy Fund. Voters didn’t just approve money for gas plants, they also approved $1 billion for resilience projects and $1.8 billion for solar and battery storage for vulnerable communities.
• Fix the grid through energy efficiency. Fund 18 additional staff for the State Energy Conservation Office to manage and distribute $700 million in federal funds for rebates and incentives to help Texans save energy and lower bills.

Protections for our air, land, and water:

• $5 million for air quality monitors to track methane, hydrogen sulfide, and other harmful pollutants. 
• Fund 115 new staff members and provide salary increases to current staff for TCEQ to improve air and water quality enforcement. 
• $4.5 million for particulate matter monitoring in counties that could violate federal air quality standards in the future.
• $6 million for Texas Parks & Wildlife fisheries and wildlife programs.
• $30 million for conservation programs to support farmers and ranchers.
• $142.9 million into our drinking water and wastewater treatment revolving funds to bring down $500 million in federal funds.
• Sustainable solutions in the Texas Water Fund: fix leaking pipes, expand drinking water projects, and water reuse.
• Do not cut funding for the TCEQ’s Environmental Radiation and Perpetual Care Account to fund future radioactive site cleanups.

Clean up the oil and gas industry:

• $100 million for plugging leaking wells at the Railroad Commission of Texas through industry fees.
• $2.7 million for 10 full time employees at the Railroad Commission dedicated to investigating underground injection wells to better understand geyser blowouts and earthquakes
• Use industry funds to create a $3 million inspection and enforcement tracker and develop an $8 million system to track fracking wastewater disposal, ensuring transparency and safety.

Please reject items that are wasteful and harmful to the environment:

• No more money for gas plants in the Texas Energy Fund.
• No funding for expensive, unproven nuclear technologies.
• No expensive and harmful marine desalination plants that take water out or discharge into our bays and estuaries.
• No expensive plans to pipe water across Texas.

Thank you for considering my priorities for healthy Texans and a clean, prosperous future.

Sincerely,

(Your Name Here)