Here’s a little inside baseball for everybody who’s keeping score. During the last three sessions of the Texas Legislature, almost all major bills relating to electric service passed through the House Committee on Regulated Industries. But under plans for the new House under the leadership of incoming Speaker Joe Strauss, Regulated Industries will disappear and its duties split among five separate committees.
According to the pending House Resolution 2 (which also sets forth permanent rules for the chamber): the Business and Industry committee will handle issues relating to the competitive market; the Energy Resources committee will handle electric utility regulation as it relates to energy consumption and production; the Environmental Regulation committee will handle electric generation as it relates to air and water quality; the Natural Resources Committee will handle electric generation as it relates to state water resources and the State Affairs committee will handle regulation of noncompetitive electric systems.
Still a mystery is the eventual fate of Rep. Phil King, the former chair of Regulated Industries. King has been a the helm of Regulated Industries since its creation in 2003. He also was a top lieutenant of former House Speaker Tom Craddick. “I don’t know where I’ll land,” he told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for its Tuesday editions.