Spiller in Austin

This week at the Capitol the Texas House passed seven bills focusing on power and electricity reform. The bills passed will protect ratepayers, fortify our grid, reform the Electric Reliability

Council of Texas (ERCOT), weatherize infrastructure and improve communications between government and industries. This will ensure the fallout that we experienced during Winter Storm Uri never happens again.

I was proud to coauthor and support these bills as we voted for them on the floor this week.

HB 10 – reforms the ERCOT board and makes it accountable to the Legislature,

HB 11 – requires electric generators to weatherize their facilities to prevent the failures we saw during the winter storm,

HB 12 – creates a statewide notification system to alert Texans about coming disasters and electric issues related to them,

HB 13 – forms a council to ensure there is communication between natural gas providers and electricity generators during times of crisis; this should help prevent the kind of black outs we experienced during the storm,

HB 16 – prevents the billing plans that left consumers with electric bills running into the thousands and tens of thousands for a few days of electricity, and

HB 17 – prevents cities and counties from banning the use of natural gas in new construction.

Now, they head to the Senate for consideration. I am proud of the legislation accomplished to deliver workable solutions to prevent another catastrophic failure of our grid.

This Session I was appointed to the House Committee on Land and Resource Management and County Affairs. Both of which I have had experience with professionally during my time as the General Counsel for the Jack County Hospital District and working as the City Attorney for the City of Jacksboro for many years.

As the session progresses, I would encourage all House 68 constituents to contact my Capitol Office at 512-463-0526 or email me at District68.Spiller@house.texas.gov.

It is an honor and a privilege to represent you in the Texas House.