BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.H.B. 788 |
By: Smith |
Environmental Regulation |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently the permit authority for greenhouse gas emissions. Interested parties contend that Texas permit applicants are experiencing long delays and that projects with significant economic impact are being stalled due to the bottleneck of greenhouse gas emissions permit applications now pending at the EPA, which is a result, in part, of specific additional federal reviews. C.S.H.B. 788 seeks to put Texas on par with other states that are issuing greenhouse gas emission permits for sources within those states and to counter possible competitive disadvantages Texas businesses are experiencing by directing the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to adopt a regulatory program that would allow it to become the permit authority for sources of greenhouse gas emissions in Texas.
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RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in SECTION 3 of this bill.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 788 amends the Health and Safety Code to remove the authorization for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) by rule to control air contaminants as necessary to protect against adverse effects related to climatic changes, including global warming.
C.S.H.B. 788 authorizes TCEQ, to the extent that greenhouse gas emissions require authorization under federal law, to issue a permit authorizing greenhouse gas emissions. The bill requires TCEQ to adopt rules to implement the permitting process, including rules specifying the procedures to transition to review by TCEQ any applications pending with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for approval under federal law, and to prepare and submit appropriate federal program revisions to the EPA for approval. The bill specifies that the permit processes under these provisions are not subject to the requirements relating to a contested case hearing under the Texas Clean Air Act, statutory provisions governing TCEQ, or certain provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. The bill requires TCEQ, if authorization to emit greenhouse gas emissions is no longer required under federal law, to repeal the rules adopted under these provisions and to prepare and submit appropriate federal program revisions to the EPA for approval.
C.S.H.B. 788 limits TCEQ's authority to impose fees for emissions of greenhouse gas to the extent the fees are necessary to cover TCEQ's additional reasonably necessary direct costs of implementing the permitting process for greenhouse gas emissions.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2013.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 788 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and highlighted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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