Dogs and Cats Living Together
April 9th, 2007 at 9:15 am
In a session of odd alliances, another one’s on the docket for Tuesday. A hearing is scheduled that afternoon on SB 1324, a bill from Austin Democrat Kirk Watson that requires computer manufacturers to create recovery and recycling programs for the electronics they sell. The companion bill, HB 2714, has already passed out of the House Environmental Regulation Committee — aka, “the graveyard of green bills” — thanks to support from the Texas Association of Business, the Texas Chemical Council, the Texas Association of Manufacturers, and the bill’s author, Rep. Dennis Bonnen.
No joke, that Dennis Bonnen, Republican from Angleton, whose reputation on environmental issues is about as good as an old coal plant’s. But the bill also has support from the Texas Campaign for the Environment, which has been promoting the legislation, and other greenies. They’ve scheduled a press conference tomorrow before the hearing on Watson’s bill to add to the media attention. With big names in the industry like Dell and HP on board, along with all those other big biz lobbies and a number of Texas cities, it will be interesting to see who shows up in opposition.
There’s a chance, though, that the debate could swing to a provision not even in the bill now that would add TV manufacturers to the requirement. The enviros want them included, because the tubes in TVs have a lot of the same nasty stuff that’s in computer monitors. In general, the television industry has been more resistant to taking back its products than the computer biz, although the TCE folks say that Samsung supports take-back policies and is the only major manufacturer with a presence in Texas.
Regardless, we’ve got Republicans and Democrats working together on environmental legislation. Mass hysteria can only follow.
April 11th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
[…] primary function seems to be killing sensible environmental legislation by hook or by crook. (An exception or two […]