green jobs
Kerry and Boxer Release Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act of 2009
Senators John Kerry and Barbara Boxer introduced the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act of 2009 that will create clean energy jobs, reduce pollution, enhance domestic energy production and combat global climate change. The bill is similar to to the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 that passed the House of Representatives in June. Both bills place limits on greenhouse gases, create incentives for energy conservation, and provide for a system of trading carbon emission permits. The Senate bill is headed for a series of public hearings before being brought to the Environment and Public Works Committee, which is chaired by Senator Boxer.
Texas has a large stake in a bill that will address climate change and energy independence. The state has the resources to become a leader in renewable power through wind, solar, and other innovative technologies. According to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, if Texas makes a big investment in energy efficiency now, by the year 2023 we’ll save $5 billion in energy costs, create more than 38,000 jobs, and reduce air pollution by 20 percent.
2009 African American Legislative Summit: “The Momentum of Change”
April 27 – 28, 2009
Texas State Capitol
Austin, Texas
Hosted by The Texas Legislative Black Caucus and presented by Prairie View A&M University & Texas Southern University
View the Whole Agenda
Climate Change, the Green Economy, and the African American Community
10:00-11:30AM, Tuesday, April 28
Location: E1.026
Moderators: Senator Rodney Ellis & Representative Yvonne Davis
Panelists:
Martina Cartwright, Director Environmental Law and Justice
Center, Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Texas Southern
University
Leslie G. Fields, Esq., National Environmental Justice Director,
Sierra Club
Carolyn Green, Vice President, Health, Environment & Safety,
Sunoco, Inc.
John Hall, President, John Hall Public Affairs and Chairman,
Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission
House Budget: Big Strides
12-Month Medicaid for Kids, ARRA Accountability and More
The budget the House of Representatives adopted unanimously on April 18 included a number of high-priority items that represent real progress in Texas' 2010-11 budget processs. Among the most important improvements the House made on the floor were:
- Authorizing the Health and Human Services Commission to use ARRA funds to provide full-year Medicaid enrollment for children contingent upon the passage of necessary legislation
- Establishment of performance measures for agencies receiving ARRA funds to guide their expenditure of those funds
- Authorizing new ARRA-funded programs for energy efficiency/renewable energy loans and green jobs contingent upon the passage of necessary legislation
Among other noteworthy budget decisions, the House voted to take more than $22 million from the Governor's budget to fund services for veterans and community mental health services and to reappropriate funds from the Texas Enterprise Fund to unemployment insurance if none of the unemployment insurance bills currently working through the legislative process fail to become law.
Texas Impact continues to assert that Rainy Day Funds should be used for shortfalls in operating revenue, leaving federal stimulus funds available to improve services and infrastructure. However, the House-passed budget represents a significant improvement over the Senate budget and Texas Impact thanks the 150 members of the Texas House for their hard work.
