There has been a major shakeup in the Texas Legislature with the appointment of Rep. Joseph Straus as Speaker of the House.  Straus was just 9 years old when his predecessor, Former Speaker Craddick, began serving in the Legislature 40 years ago.   While Straus is a newcomer to State politics, having only been in the House since 2005, he has worked with Democrats on energy issues while inspiring Texas environmentalists and business interests.

While Rep. Straus has strong Republican ties dating back to work for Lamar Smith’s first campaign and the Reagan and George H. W. Bush  campaigns, he has worked with several Democrats on energy issues.  For example, he has worked on energy efficiency measures with Mark Strama and Rafael Anchía, as well as Yvonne Gonzalez Toureilles, who is popular among environmentalists and served on the Energy Resources committee.

Besides working across the isle on energy issues, Straus himself has authored or sponsored several important stepping stones to efficiency in Texas. 

According to director of Public Citizen Texas, Tom “Smitty” Smith, ”Joe Straus carried and passed the most far-ranging energy efficiency bill in a decade in the Texas Legislature.  In addition, he was somebody who was very interested in renewable energy and voted for a number of renewable energy measures in committee and later on the floor.”   Indeed, I am pleased to count 8 House Bills involving energy that Rep. Straus has authored or co-authored.   

 In Rep. Straus’ own words, from a recent Texas Monthly interview:

“In many respects, Texas already is a leader in the production of renewable energy. We are the national leader in wind energy, and we’re making strides in solar power and biomass. I authored and passed a bill that enhances the state’s existing energy efficiency programs. It requires all electric providers to participate in efficiency programs, adds new incentives for the sale of energy efficient products, enables customers to better manage their own electric consumption, and updates public building energy codes in order to increase conservation.”

Today is a brand new day.  The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and there is a brand new Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives.  Representative Joseph Straus has been awarded by the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club and the Texas Public Power Association, for his work in energy efficiency and leadership and contributions to public power.  At the same time, Straus is pro-business, with a 94% lifetime rating from the Association of Business.  All I can say is that I am looking forward to working towards progressive energy measures in a legislature with a brand new speaker who is amiable to both business, environmental, and energy interests.

Patrick Meaney

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 15th, 2009 at 2:06 pm and is filed under University of Texas at Austin. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.