2017S0289-1 02/21/17
By: Estes S.C.R. No. 26
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The Texas Legislature recognizes that this period in
our nation's history represents an opportunity for Texas to work
with the leadership of the federal government to transcend partisan
politics and correct misuses of federal regulatory power that have
threatened the Texas oil and gas industry, the jobs it creates, and
the economy of the state; and
WHEREAS, Texas oil and gas fields have provided a pathway
toward American energy independence from foreign powers, have
afforded financial security to hundreds of thousands of individuals
in Texas, and have delivered safe and reliable energy to fuel our
nation's economy; and
WHEREAS, During the past eight years, the federal government
has promulgated regulations that jeopardize the productivity of the
oil and gas fields of Texas; and
WHEREAS, New federal regulations have been proposed and
implemented despite the protests of Texas and many other oil and gas
producing states, resulting in overregulation that prioritizes
minor environmental gains over major productive losses; and
WHEREAS, The State of Texas has joined many other oil and gas
producing states to file more than 20 lawsuits against federal
overreach; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby respectfully urge the executive branch and the Congress of
the United States to work in conjunction with the State of Texas to
identify federal regulations promulgated during the last eight
years, especially those promulgated under the authority of the
United States Environmental Protection Agency, the United States
Department of the Interior, and the United States Department of
Energy, and determine whether they should be revised, delegated to
state agencies, or eliminated in order to ease the overly
burdensome regulatory patchwork on the oil and gas industry in
Texas; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of
Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the
members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that
this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a
memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.