Testing the waters

The fracas about fracking continues. Hydraulic  fracturing (fracking) involves shooting 4-6 million gallons of water, sand, and chemicals into the earth to break up stone and rock so that oil and natural gas can be released. The practice has grown substantially in the last decade, and today there are over 7,000 dumping sites in Texas which have waste water from fracking operations.

Fracking concerns range from criticisms about water usage to concerns the process contributes to increased risks of earthquakes. While scientists and policymakers continue to study fracking, there are some who think that greater legislative oversight (government supervision over certain types of activities) is necessary.

This week the Texas Senate Natural Resources Committee examined whether groundwater districts could regulate the water sources used to supply fracking operations.   Senate Bill 873 by Sen. Glenn Hegar (R-Katy) lets local authorities require oil and gas companies obtain permits for the water they use.  The bill would not, however, mandate that all water districts be required to do so, thus allowing home rule (local regulatory codes) to govern the process.  Under current Texas law there is an exemption (legal loophole to avoid regulation) for “drilling and exploration” by oil and gas companies. Some lawmakers think that’s not fair because the law regarding water permits was written over a decade ago before fracking became big.  Supporters argue farmers are required to obtain water permits why shouldn’t oil and gas companies?   Opponents argue it will hinder drilling operations.

It’s not been a good week for concerns about regulatory enforcement of oil and gas sites which fall underneath the Texas Railroad Commission.  That agency was criticized for its failure to comply with requests by the Texas Environmental Enforcement Task Force for documents related to the disposal of fluids from an oil and gas site.  Indeed, the Task Force had to get a search warrant (order issued by a judge that authorizes officers to conduct a search of a specific location) to get the information it needed.  Looks like the Commission may be in hot water.

And speaking of someone who doesn’t have to force the issue and who seems to be testing the waters, some political pundits are wondering whether U.S. Senator Ted Cruz may be already queuing up for bigger offices. The freshman lawmaker (his first term of office started January 3, 2013 as specified in the U.S. Constitution) plans to be a guest speaker at the Silver Elephant Dinner to be held next month in South Carolina.  Past high profile speakers reads like a “Who’s Who” of Republican presidential aspirants including Ronald Reagan, Newt Gingrich, and John McCain.

Wonder if the water’s warm.

Happy New Biennium!

Hope all is going well for you so far in 2013! Things have started already heating up for the newly installed 83^rd Texas legislature as it came back into session yesterday with a full set of policy issues facing the state in the short biennial session (the 140 day period which runs in odd-numbered years).   Typically the first day is full of pomp and circumstance to welcome the legislators, but it is also a day filled with agenda setting (a discussion about what issues need to be addressed in the upcoming cycle).  With 150 members in the Texas House and 31 members in the Texas Senate, this session promises to be a rough ride because of the range of policy issues up for consideration.

In the last decade, Texas has become a majority Republican state–meaning that Republicans control the governor’s office as well as both chambers of the legislature.  So it’s no surprise that the GOP also controls the 83^rd legislature (Senate 19 Republicans-11 Democrats; House 95 Republicans-55 Democrats).  What is interesting is that we have a record number of freshmen legislators (those members of the House and Senate for whom this is their first term in office) and that Governor Perry has promised to make this a fiscally and socially conservative legislative year by limiting government spending.  The State Comptroller of Public Accounts-Susan Combs (person responsible for the state expenditures) said that spending must be limited to $101.4 billion dollars for the next two year cycle, so legislators are gearing up for discussing what should be the fiscal priorities this session.

Get ready for a budget battle.

Combs’ report Monday highlighted that the Texas Rainy Day Fund  (the reserve surplus that Texas holds for emergencies) has grown from 8.8 billion to $12 billion, leading some legislators to call for restoring spending on health care and education that were substantially cut in the 82^nd legislative session (about $5.4 billion).   Governor Perry fired back saying “[t]here are interests all across the state who view Monday’s revenue estimates as the equivalent of ringing the dinner bell.” Given that a number of conservative Republican incumbents were upset by Tea Party candidates (very conservative Republicans who adhere to reducing government spending and to promoting conservative social issues), the Governor will have additional support.  Added to the mix is whether the Governor himself may want to try another bid for the U.S. Presidency in 2016.  So while even some conservatives are concerned that Texas is being too tight with spending given how well the economy is doing, other Republicans are saying we need to be even more fiscally lean.

Don’t ring that bell just yet.