Houston Gets Slapped
May 2nd, 2007 at 12:01 pm
The Senate gave tentative approval yesterday to a crude bill that would restrict Houston’s ability to force petrochemical polluters to clean up their act. As we reported in April, SB 1317 by Mike Jackson (R-La Porte), 86s Houston Mayor Bill White’s proposal to use city nuisance ordinances to punish the industry for failures to reduce cancer-causing air toxics such as benzene. In the deafening void of action from the Lege and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, White has made reducing toxic hotspots in his city a top priority.
Republicans fear the City of Houston is overstepping its authority by using the law to clamp down on polluters outside the city’s jurisdiction. There’s also the fear that the chemical companies and oil refineries would suffer financially.
Houston Democrats very nearly beat back SB 1317 yesterday. The bill survived, for the moment, because of Sen. Eddie Lucio (D-Brownsville). Legislation can only be taken up in the Senate if two-thirds of the body - 21 senators - vote to “suspend the rules ” that bills be heard in order. With 20 Rs and 11 Ds in the Senate, the minority can kill any bill if they stick together. On SB 1317, Lucio broke with his 10 colleagues by staying neutral on the key suspension-of-the-rules vote. His abstention denied the Dems of the 11 votes necessary to prevent the bill from coming up for debate.
It was a curious choice since Lucio decided to vote against the bill later (when supporters needed only 16 votes). Lucio has been known to trade his vote before when Senate leadership needs to flip a Democrat.
Lucio told the Observer that Jackson had explained the bill to him a few days earlier as “one city going into another city and trying to pass an ordinance.” So Lucio pledged to support Jackson. And apparently, in typical Democrat fashion, Lucio says no one bothered to give him the memo that SB 1317 was deeply opposed by Houston Democrats, especially the ailing Sen. Mario Gallegos. When Lucio found that out a few minutes before the suspension-of-the-rules vote, he was conflicted.
“I didn’t want to be shown voting against Sen. Gallegos, but at the same time, I didn’t want to desert Sen. Jackson completely,” Lucio explained. He said that after he heard more about the bill, he decided he was against it.
The bill still must pass the Senate on third reading. That may not happen. Lucio says he won’t vote to suspend the rules — which also requires 21 votes — when SB 1317 comes up for final passage.
We reached Mayor White after the vote to get his reaction. To amplify his remarks just a bit, he said the Lege needs to get with the times.
“I was disappointed [with the Senate vote] but I believe the majority of people in our state want a state with cleaner air,” White remarked
He went on: “Texas is changing and from all neighborhoods in our community - with people from all backgrounds, all partisan persuasions, all income levels - I get a sense that people are tired of business as usual on air quality. I feel that, you know, Texas some decades ago including Houston acted as though our land and air was infinite and anything interfering with industry could reduce economic growth. Our economy’s changed. Now the growth in our region which is the economic powerhouse of this state…depends on a broad base of businesses and the ability to attract skilled workers and entrepreneurs that can locate anywhere.”
White said that nuisance enforcement actions would hardly bring the industry to its knees. Civil nuisance violations are a Class C misdemeanor, amounting to a maximum $2000 fine. That works out to about how much profit the Houston petrochemical industry makes in 2 seconds, White calculates. The point of the proposed revisions to the nuisance ordinance, he said, is to set scientifically-based standards for 10 air toxics. Voluntary compliance from industry is preferred - and indeed White has encouraged companies to come to the table to work on an equitable solution - but the city still wants some legal stick to back up the standards.
For Jackson, who isn’t always the most articulate defender of his position, we found a sage, if koan-like, Nietzsche aphorism to guide his way:
“Once the decision has been made, close your ear even to the best counterargument: sign of a strong character. Thus an occasional will to stupidity.”
May 3rd, 2007 at 11:19 am
Excellent insight as usual. I really enjoyed reading Mayor White’s comments.
I watched the proceedings live, and you’re right, Jackson certainly wasn’t the best at defending his bill, but apparently it was enough.
Kudos to Ellis and Whitmire - they did a great job speaking against this legislation. Gallegos is also to be commended.