Zwiener Files Legislation On TCEQ Enforcement, Climate Change, Vote By Mail, Bodily Autonomy Education

Driftwood, TX — On Wednesday, Representative Erin Zwiener (D-Driftwood) filed four more pieces of legislation, House Bills 1820, 1821, 1822, and 1823. Rep. Zwiener has now filed 19 pieces of legislation during the 87th Legislative Session.

You can find a full list of bills filed for this session at https://capitol.texas.gov/Reports/Report.aspx?LegSess=87R&ID=housefiled.

“This is common sense legislation that will improve Texans’ lives,” said Rep. Zwiener. “These bills will protect clean air and water, get Texas on track to address the challenges of climate change, modernize the vote-by-mail process, and teach Texas children healthy boundaries.”

HB 1820: Enhanced Pollution Protection Act. This legislation would strengthen the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s enforcement capabilities. Specifically, the bill would increase maximum penalties and tie penalties to inflation, raise penalties when first responders are injured responding to an emergency event, allow TCEQ to add penalty surcharges for permittees with a history of violations, eliminate loopholes that allow violators to avoid paying fines, and create a toxic alert system. This legislation comes in response to the series of fires and explosions in southeast Texas, including the Arkema explosion, the ITC fire, the TPC fire, and the KMCO explosion where one individual was killed, as well as statewide concerns about polluters slipping through the cracks.

HB 1821: Climate Forward Act. This legislation would require the state climatologist to coordinate with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to prepare a report on the state’s greenhouse gas emissions and strategies for reduction. It also requires an assessment of how climate change will impact the state including, emergency preparedness, agriculture, water supply, and human health. Given that the state does not monitor greenhouse gas emissions, this would be an important first step for the State of Texas to begin tackling climate change.

HB 1822: Modernizing Vote-by-Mail. This legislation would improve security, transparency, and access for individuals who are currently eligible to vote by mail. This bill would allow eligible voters to drop off their ballots in-person at early polling locations as well as at their county election office during the early voting period. This legislation would also require the Texas Secretary of State to establish an online tracking system so that voters can track the status of their mail-in ballot. This both ensures that every voter knows if their vote is counted and if someone has requested a ballot in their name.

HB 1823: Bodily Autonomy Education. This legislation would incorporate an evidence-based curriculum on bodily autonomy into health education. Students would learn, in an age appropriate manner, about the importance of respecting one another’s personal space and how to advocate for themselves if someone else is violating theirs. This will help students have healthier interpersonal relationships and provide another layer of protection from sexual abuse.