ACT Environmental Lobby Day held March 8
by Vicki Wolf, March 2005

On Tuesday morning, March 8, the Texas State Capitol hummed with a special kind of vibrancy. Among the usual politicians, professional lobbyist and tourists, more than 80 concerned citizens wearing blue and white ACT (Alliance for Clean Texas) name badges began their day at the Capitol Grill. They pulled tables together, ordered coffee and breakfast. Then they went to work, reviewing packets with information and talking points on key environmental issues, a brochure with listings of legislators and senators and their office numbers, and a map of office locations. Most participants had attended a lobbyist training the previous night and were geared up for the day. After a brief and somewhat chaotic meeting, small groups and individuals set out to meet with legislators and senators.

ACT organized Environmental Lobby Day to let law makers know Texans are concerned about the environment and to educate them on environmental issues. ACT is a statewide coalition of more than 30 environmental, public interest, consumer rights and religious organizations dedicated to improving the public’s health, quality of life and environment in Texas. ACT membership includes a diverse list of organizations including Physicians for Social Responsibility, NAACP Environmental Justice Committee, Republicans for Environmental Protection, National Wildlife Federation, Texas Environmental Democrats and many more.

ACT Lobby Day priorities focused on four areas:

Energy Security: Increase the state’s renewable energy goal to ensure Texas will get 10 percent of its electricity from renewable sources of energy by 2015, and 20 percent by 2020.

Water and Quality of Life: Ensure that cities counties and groundwater conservation districts have the authority necessary to protect water quality, aquifer recharge, spring flows and to minimize aquifer depletion to ensure a clean environment, public health and a rural way of life.

Healthy Air: Reduce toxic mercury pollution from coal-burning power plants to 10 percent of 2002 levels at all plants in Texas.

Enforce Existing Law: Require TCEQ to recover any “economic benefit” derived by polluters who break the law and increase TCEQ’s enforcement budget by $15 million over the 2-year budget cycle.

I accompanied a few groups to find out what it’s like to talk with government representatives about the environment.

During morning visits, Executive Director of Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) Coalition Karen Hadden and Elliot Trester, MD, Physicians for Social Responsibility member, had an appointment with House Representative Bob Hunter from District 71. They were greeted by Hunter’s chief of staff who listened to their concerns. Hadden talked about the need to reduce mercury pollution in fish to protect Texas children, the need for better enforcement of clean air laws at the TCEQ, and support for development of renewable energy. Dr. Trester talked about the insidious health effects of mercury. The aide commented that, “Representative Hunter doesn’t eat fish, but he goes fishing.”

I later joined Lisa Doggett, MD, Physicians for Social Responsibility member, and others who talked with Senator Sylvester Turner’s staff member. Doggett, who was pregnant and a few weeks away from her delivery date, said she had stopped eating fish because of mercury dangers. She asked that Turner sponsor a bill to cap mercury emissions. “600,000 children have developmental brain disorders due to mercury pollution,” she said.

The staff member said Senator Turner is aware of these issues, but they have their own bills in committee, and it is hard to get bills in and out. He added that they don’t hear much on the environment from Turner’s constituency. More calls come in about the need for low income assistance for electricity bills, he said.

Members of Blue Skies Alliance, a Dallas environmental organization, Clean Water Action and others visited Representative Richard Hardcastle from District 68, to encourage him to support House Bill 910, which would increase fines for polluters.

After the meeting, I talked with Missy Warren, Hardcastle’s chief of staff. Warren described a day in the senator’s office as “organized chaos.”

“The day can start at 7 a.m. with people coming in every 15 minutes,” she said. “We hear from people all over the state, calling on bills – it’s the education bill this week and then the tax reform bill.”

Warren, who has worked in government for 25 years, says the grass roots effort is “still extremely effective.” She suggests calling or sending letters to request support of specific bills rather than E-mail. Legislators and senators are overwhelmed with the amount of E-mail they receive, Warren said.

“The most effective thing is for representatives or senators to hear from their own constituency,” she adds.

A seasoned lobbyist, Sparky Anderson said it was great to be a part of ACT Environmental Lobby Day. Anderson is government relations director for Texas Black Bass Unlimited and former State director for Clean Water Action. He has been lobbying at the State Capitol for 14 years.

“I liked being in the room with citizens who talked about their concerns back home such as dangers and health risks, and wanting to preserve nature,” Anderson said.

Legislators and staff told him they noticed ACT members in their offices and in the hallways throughout the day. “That visibility helps elevate environmental issues and concerns,” he said. “It helps make our job easier when we make visits later as bills come up for a vote.”

At the end of the day, 86 participants from 18 Texas cities had meetings or dropped by to leave information with 48 representatives and 22 senators.

ACT Environmental Lobby Day was a success, according to coordinators Donna Hoffman, Sierra Club, and Lisa Fithian, Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance, and the work continues. In an E-mail to Lobby Day participants. Hoffman and Fithian said bills are coming up that need to be defeated: Senate Bill 848 and House Bill 1704, which take away cities rights to regulate their water; and Senate Bill 1542, which takes away public input into the permitting process.

For more information about ACT and ways to work together to make a difference, go to www.allianceforcleantexas.org and/or sign up for ACTNews: ACTnews- subscribe@yahoogroups.com.