Today, the Sierra Club released its 2019 Texas Legislative Scorecard, ranking every member of the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate on their environmental voting record in the 86th Texas Legislature.
(Download the full report here or view as webpage here.)
This session’s scorecard differed from the 2017 Scorecard in that it assigned weights to votes on environmental bills based on two factors: how high were the stakes, and how difficult was it to secure votes for the pro-environment position for each bill. The 2019 Scorecard also adjusts some lawmakers’ scores based on special efforts or circumstances.
Eight Representatives and three Senators received perfect scores of 100%. First-term legislators whom the Sierra Club endorsed in 2018 were excellent on environmental bills. Among them, Reps. Vikki Goodwin, Ana-Maria Ramos, and John Rosenthal, as well as Sen. Nathan Johnson, received perfect scores. The average score for the entire Texas House was 47.3%. The average score for the entire Texas Senate was 53.3%.
Perfect Scores
Rep. Ana-Maria Ramos (HD 102)
Rep. Diego Bernal (HD 123)
Rep. Donna Howard (HD 48)
Rep. Erin Zwiener (HD 45)
Rep. Vikki Goodwin (HD 47)
Rep. Gene Wu (HD 137)
Rep. Jessica Gonzales (HD 104)
Rep. Jon Rosenthal (HD 135)
Sen. Jose Rodriguez (SD 29)
Sen. Kirk Watson (SD 14)
Sen. Nathan Johnson (SD 16)
“We cannot say enough good things about Rep. Erin Zwiener’s first term,” said Cyrus Reed, Interim Director of the Sierra Club’s Lone Star Chapter. “Her Hill Country constituents should remember her incredible efforts going to bat for them fighting against the anti-protestor bill, HB 3557. She also nearly single-handedly stopped a bad bill that would have limited cities’ ability to preserve water quality. When it comes to protecting the environment and its people, Rep. Zwiener gets it. There’s no fear from us that she would succumb to fossil fuel special interests.”
The 2019 Scorecard also revealed significant discrepancies within party caucuses on environmental votes. The top Democratic score was 100%, but the lowest score was 24%. The top Republican score was 70.33%, and the lowest score was 10%.
The non-partisan Sierra Club adjusted several raw scores to account for special efforts on specific pieces of legislation and funding, such as the effort to ensure the funding from the Sporting Goods Sales Tax goes to its intended purpose - the Texas Parks & Wildlife Commission and the Texas Historical Commission. Bipartisan bills elevated the scores of both Republicans and Democrats who led pro-environment efforts, while the weighted votes on bills targeted by polluting industries exposed the influence they have on Republicans and Democrats alike.
“Much as we like to believe, political parties are not monoliths,” said Matt Johnson, Political and Communications Director for the Sierra Club’s Lone Star Chapter. “Yes, party line votes do happen, but we really wanted to illuminate who actually has the guts to stand up to the oil and gas industry, and who is actually interested in pragmatic solutions to environmental problems. That doesn’t always fall on party lines.”
The votes used in tabulating each legislator’s score represented a broad cross-section of environmental issues, such as air pollution, renewable energy, water conservation, and parks funding, but the Scorecard was not based on every consequential vote that affected the environment.
Johnson added that he hopes Texans can use the Sierra Club’s Scorecard as a tool to hold their state lawmakers responsible.
“There are some great leaders at the Capitol, but we don’t have enough of them to tackle the huge issues like climate change and toxic pollution that need to be addressed right now. Texans can use this Scorecard as a barometer on their legislators and decide for themselves if they measure up,” added Johnson.