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Archive for September 26th, 2012

The House Committee on Environmental Regulation held a public hearing today to take invited testimony on an interim charge before the 83rd legislative session starts in January of 2013.  They examined the federal eight-hour ozone standard under the National Ambient Air Quality Standards program and its impact on the State Implementation Plan.  They were also looking to identify counties expected to be in non attainment, the state’s proposed designations of those counties, the time lines for meeting the applicable standard, and the status of the state’s ability to attain the standard.

  • Click here to see the presentation that went along with the testimony of Public Citizen’s Texas office director, Tom “Smitty” Smith.
  • Click here to watch the archived video of the hearing.
  • Click here to see the presentation that went along with the testimony of the Lone Star Chapter of Sierra Club’s interim director, Cyrus Reed.

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The controversial 2010 Supreme Court decision Citizens United – that gave corporations untold influence in our electoral system and said “money” is “speech” – has created an environment in which millions of dollars in corporate cash is drowning out the voices of Texans.

It is time for Texans to demand the end of unlimited money in our elections and take action on a local level.

We are proud to support a homegrown Texas grassroots movement called Texans United to Amend in their efforts demanding local governments across the state of Texas pass resolutions supporting a constitutional amendment to reverse Citizens United and declare that only human beings are entitled to rights under our constitution.

We are joining Texas United to Amend to ask for you to make a difference in your community and sign this petition urging your local government to pass a resolution that seeks an amendment of the U.S. Constitution that firmly establishes that money is not speech, and that only human beings, not corporations are entitled to constitutional rights.

Sign the petition today and call on your local government to pass a resolution.

You might be asking – why local governments? Isn’t this a federal issue?

Social change has always come from grassroots groups, with speeches and marches in the street. This has been true of both the direct election of Senators (17th Amendment) and Women’s Suffrage (19th Amendment). The movement for a constitutional amendment to remedy Citizens United is, at its core, a grassroots one. It is driven by real concerns about the health of our democracy that reverberate in each and every community in Texas.

Passing local resolutions at the local level in Texas is the necessary first step toward restoring free and fair elections to the American people, both locally and nationally. Your work, along with coalitions like Texas United to Amend, can make a difference.

Click here and join Texans United to Amend in calling on your local government to pass a resolution that seeks an amendment of the U.S. Constitution that firmly establishes that money is not speech, and that only human beings, not corporations are entitled to constitutional rights.

Across the country, ordinary citizens like you are making their voices heard.  Nine states have already passed resolutions calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, and many more states are considering the same. If you want to do more, let us help you set up an organizing meeting the week of October 8.  This will be an exciting way to begin planning for the third anniversary of the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling and to prepare to gather petition signatures on election day when millions of potentially interested voters go to the polls.  Click here to get more information and sign up.

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