By: Fraser S.C.R. No. 20

(In the Senate - Filed February 23, 2011; February 28, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on Natural Resources; March 23, 2011, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; March 23, 2011, sent to printer.)

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The business climate in Texas has been consistently ranked as the best in the United States, and the state's economy regularly outpaces the rest of the nation; and

WHEREAS, Texas produces approximately 60 percent of all chemicals manufactured in the United States, as well as 30 percent of the nation's natural gas and 20 percent of its oil; in addition, the state leads the nation in overall electricity production, and its competitive wholesale power market is among the most robust and demand-responsive in the country; and

WHEREAS, The manufacturing sector contributes $96 billion annually to the Texas economy and employs more than one million Texans at some of the highest salaries in the state; the continued economic health of the state is dependent on this vital sector, and Texas is competing globally to protect existing business investment and attract new jobs; and

WHEREAS, Texas has not been immune to the global economic recession; over the past two years, some manufacturers have shut down and there have been significant job losses; yet in spite of this challenging business climate, the Environmental Protection Agency has moved forward with the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources such as refineries, chemical plants, power plants, and other commercial establishments; and

WHEREAS, The Environmental Protection Agency claims that greenhouse gas emissions are air pollutants under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act, but that act was designed to regulate conventional pollutants, such as ozone and particulate matter, that create local air quality problems, and not unconventional pollutants, such as greenhouse gases, which are found in essentially equal concentrations around the globe; in formulating its plan to regulate greenhouse gases, the Environmental Protection Agency failed to identify cost-effective technology to meet the demands of such regulation and instead invoked the legal doctrine of "absurd results," essentially admitting that implementing the new rules would overwhelm the administrative capabilities of state permitting authorities and the agency itself; and

WHEREAS, Congress and the scientific community continue to engage in vigorous, legitimate, and substantive debate regarding the regulation of greenhouse gases; meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency has acted on its own to institute a backdoor regulatory regime, an abuse of power with serious implications; these regulations are projected to cost Texas more than 300,000 jobs because of increased energy prices, compliance with required greenhouse gas permit conditions, and greater competition from overseas manufacturers that have lower energy costs; furthermore, as it has communicated to the Environmental Protection Agency, the State of Texas does not have the legal authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources in the manner proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency; and

WHEREAS, The Environmental Protection Agency's regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources will prove highly detrimental to the manufacturing and energy sectors in an already struggling economy and will cause additional job losses that the nation can ill afford; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to take such actions as are necessary to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, to the president of the Senate and speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.

* * * * *