On Tuesday, January 10th, the Texas Legislature began its 88th legislative session, gathering to pass a variety of laws and a two-year state budget. From January until May, legislators will gather at the Capitol to vote on, amend, and “kill” legislation regarding education, LGBTQ+ issues, climate, and more.
What’s unique about this session is that the PUCT, ERCOT, and OPUC are all under Sunset review, a legislative oversight assessment. The Sunset review is comprised of three steps: Sunset Staff Evaluation, Sunset Commission Deliberation, and Legislative Action.
Click here for a full breakdown of the Sunset review process.
For this legislative session, the Sunset review began in September 2021, beginning a years-long process of review and evaluation that will conclude in June 2023. After evaluating these agencies, Sunset staff provided written recommendations on agency improvements. These recommendations are then voted on by the Commission and, lastly, sent to the Legislature to draft and vote on a sunset bill regarding those recommendations.
Texas Impact heavily participated throughout the Sunset process by providing policy recommendations directly to Sunset staff in a one-on-one meeting with other environmental organizations. To see the full list of our recommendations, view our policy primer, Light and Life.
In addition to providing policy recommendations, Texas Impact also provided written comments and public testimony. This was a part of Step 2 of the Sunset process; we emphasized the importance of establishing a consumer advisory council at the PUC. However, this was the last opportunity for the public to engage in the Sunset review.
As of yesterday, the Sunset Commission, comprised of five senators, five representatives, and two public members, voted on Sunset staff’s recommendations. The Sunset Commission adopted all of the original recommendations, and the full list can be viewed here. Some exciting recommendations are the allowance of public testimony on all agenda items, the development of a state reliability standard, and several communication improvements, such as the website redesign.
With the Sunset Commission having voted, this completes Step 2 of the Sunset review. Now the next step is the creation of the Sunset Bill, which will be drafted and filed following the normal legislative process. During the third and final step, the legislature will conduct committee hearings and debate the bill, likely adding, changing, or removing some of the recommendations provided by the Sunset Commission.
The commission’s recommendations are now on their way to the Texas Legislature for approval, which will happen over the course of the next couple months.