Gavel to Gavel 87th Legislative Session: April 2, 2021
Both the House and Senate advanced legislative responses to Winter Storm Uri this week, with the Senate’s SB3, and a six-bill package in the House: HB10, HB11, HB12, HB13, HB16, and HB17. The cumulative total of the legislation from both chambers would provide for a new energy alert system, prohibit variable-rate plans, mandate weatherization, require Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) Board members to be based in Texas, create a Texas Energy Reliability Council to assist in fuel delivery during disasters, require mapping of the energy supply system, and more.
It’s important to note that none of these bills directly address the spike in wholesale electricity prices during the storm, as the chambers still diverge on the right solution for the market volatility created by that decision and subsequent debt incurred by many ERCOT participants. SB 2142, the Senate’s repricing bill, has not yet been set for a hearing in House State Affairs. Rather, the House appears to be seriously considering securitization. Securitization is a financing instrument that would allow entities or groups to issue debt over several decades through highly rated bonds without the debt expressing on the entities’ balance sheets and damaging their credit ratings. A key sticking point is allocating that debt as fairly as possible, while acknowledging that it’s impossible to find a perfect solution for everyone. Another issue is time—the Legislature only has so many days to intervene before the market settles and participants are fixed as either winners or (possibly fatally) losers.
Thursday, Governor Greg Abbott named Will McAdams as his nominee to the Public Utility Commission (PUC) of Texas. McAdams is currently President of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Texas and previously served as an aide to multiple state senators as well as former Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen. His appointment will require Senate confirmation. Additionally, the PUC announced this week that Davida Dwyer will serve as deputy director of the agency’s Legal Division and head of the agency’s enforcement efforts.
In other news, the Senate made progress on another one of Governor Greg Abbott’s Emergency Items through unanimous passage of SB 5, the statewide broadband bill. This legislation would create a State Broadband Development Office charged with identifying gaps in broadband access throughout the state, and incentivizing expanded access and affordability. Additionally, both the. House and Senate advanced their elections security bills, SB 7 and HB 6. HB 6 received its second attempt in a public hearing on Thursday after narrowly avoiding a fatal point of order last week. SB 7 was finally passed out of the Senate on a party-line vote after a debate that stretched into the early morning.
Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee unanimously passed the Committee Substitute to Senate Bill 1, and it has been placed on the intent calendar. CSSB1 appropriates $250.7 billion in All Funds (AF) and $117.9 billion in General Revenue (GR) for FY 2022-23, representing a 2.6% growth in GR. Highlights include additional staff resources to enhance PUC oversight of ERCOT activities; $34.4 M to support Rape Crisis Centers to provide mental health counseling and to address waitlists; $30 M for new rural and urban community mental health beds; and $3.1 B to fund enrollment growth for public education. House Bill 1 has yet to leave the Appropriations Committee.
The House and Senate are adjourned until Tuesday, April 6th, due to the Easter holiday.
The Texas Department of State Health Services announced that the state will receive more than 2.5 million doses of COVID-19 for Week 17 of distribution. The federal government is expected to directly distribute 900,000 doses to pharmacy locations, dialysis centers, and federally qualified health centers. Additionally, DSHS launched the Texas Public Health Vaccine Scheduler, allowing people to sign up for a vaccine through multiple public health departments across the state.