As we enter the final stretch of the 89th Texas Legislative Session, we’ve got some cautiously good news: several harmful bills - aimed at undermining renewable energy, favoring climate-polluting power, and clearing the way for SpaceX land grabs - have missed critical deadlines and could be done for the session. It’s a moment worth celebrating… with a healthy dose of vigilance.
Anti-Renewable Legislation
Let’s start with SB 819 (Sen. Lois Kolkhorst) and SB 388 (Sen. Phil King), two of the session’s most aggressive anti-renewable energy bills. SB 819 would’ve imposed unnecessary permitting hurdles and setbacks on solar and wind projects, while SB 388 proposed a “dispatchable” credit system designed to favor polluting power plants over clean energy and battery storage. Both bills passed the Senate but were never heard in the House - effectively killing them.
The same fate appears to have met SB 383 (Sen. Mayes Middleton), which would have prevented offshore wind power from connecting to the ERCOT grid, and SB 715 (Sen. Kevin Sparks), a bill that would have forced solar and wind facilities to buy redundant and unnecessary backup power (hint: climate-polluting power) - costing customers more and making the grid less reliable.
Bad SpaceX Bills
Two SpaceX-friendly bills also seem to be stalling out. SB 2188 and SB 2230 (both authored by Sen. Adam Hinojosa) would have given even more unchecked power to SpaceX and the newly founded SpaceX city of “Starbase” to limit or even criminalize access at Boca Chica Beach. Thousands of Texans made phone calls, wrote letters, and protested the billionaire landgrab and spoke out to protect Texas public lands and beach access.
The Legislative Session is Not Over Yet
But here’s the thing: no bill is ever truly dead until the gavel falls. Harmful provisions can still be tacked onto other legislation as amendments or riders in these last few days. So while we take a moment to appreciate how far our advocacy efforts have carried us this session, we’re keeping our eyes on the finish line.
Stay tuned - and stay loud. Your voice is still needed.