Bill Text: TX HR1833 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Urging Congress to enact legislation to expand and extend the current federal tax credit for carbon capture, utilization, and storage under Section 45Q of the Internal Revenue Code.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 3-1)
Status: (Passed) 2017-05-27 - Reported enrolled [HR1833 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HR1833-Enrolled.html
H.R. No. 1833 |
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WHEREAS, Fossil fuels, including coal, natural gas, and oil, | ||
currently meet more than three quarters of primary global energy | ||
demand around the world and in the United States; and | ||
WHEREAS, According to the International Energy Agency, under | ||
current energy and environmental policies, fossil fuels will | ||
continue to play a role of this magnitude for the next quarter | ||
century or more; even assuming global adoption of policies | ||
consistent with the IEA's "climate-stabilizing" 450 Scenario, more | ||
than half of total worldwide and U.S. energy demand would still be | ||
met by fossil fuels in 2040; and | ||
WHEREAS, The U.S. Department of Energy has reported that | ||
"carbon capture, utilization, and storage technologies provide a | ||
key pathway to address the urgent U.S. and global need for | ||
affordable, secure, resilient, and reliable sources of clean | ||
energy"; environmental advocates who recognize the value and | ||
enduring role of fossil fuels as an essential source of energy have | ||
come to support the accelerated development and broad deployment of | ||
carbon capture technologies for fossil fuels as part of a | ||
sustainable energy future; similarly, fossil energy advocates who | ||
have recognized the role carbon capture can play in creating new | ||
opportunities support the development and deployment of carbon | ||
capture technologies for fossil fuels; and | ||
WHEREAS, The United States and Texas have abundant supplies | ||
of fossil energy, the production and use of which provide important | ||
economic, energy, and national security benefits to our nation and | ||
our state; Texas is the nation's largest producer of natural gas, | ||
oil, lignite coal, and fossil fuels in total, and it has the | ||
nation's largest proved reserves of both natural gas and oil, as | ||
well as the ninth-largest recoverable reserves of coal; it is the | ||
nation's largest consumer of coal for electricity generation and | ||
the largest consumer of natural gas for both electricity generation | ||
and industrial use; 77 percent of the electricity generated in | ||
Texas is produced from the use of fossil fuels; and | ||
WHEREAS, Reliable and affordable electricity is vital to | ||
economic growth and job creation and to the well-being of all | ||
citizens; according to the U.S. Department of Energy, "A diverse | ||
portfolio of energy resources is critical to U.S. energy and | ||
national policy . . . being more robust and resilient in comparison | ||
to a system that is heavily dependent on a limited set of energy | ||
resources . . . [and] helps insulate the economy from certain | ||
risks, including price volatility and risks from supply | ||
disruptions"; and | ||
WHEREAS, Texas is a leader in the research and development of | ||
technologies that provide clean, safe, and reliable power | ||
generation, and it is committed to continued research and | ||
development of carbon reduction strategies for fossil fuels, | ||
including existing and emerging CCUS technologies such as | ||
geological sequestration, mineral carbonation, and the beneficial | ||
use of captured carbon dioxide; and | ||
WHEREAS, In Texas, many academic, private, and governmental | ||
initiatives and institutions are engaged in efforts to address the | ||
environmental, health, and economic impacts of energy production | ||
and use through collaborations on applied CO2 research, practical | ||
applications, workforce development, and public education; among | ||
them are the Petra Nova Project at the W. A. Parish Electric | ||
Generating Station in Fort Bend County, the Texas Clean Energy | ||
Project in Ector County, the NET Power project in Harris County, the | ||
Energy and Environment Initiative at Rice University, the Texas | ||
Carbon Management Project, and the Gulf Coast Carbon Center at The | ||
University of Texas at Austin; and | ||
WHEREAS, Legislation was introduced in the 114th U.S. | ||
Congress to enhance and extend current federal tax incentives, | ||
under Section 45Q of the Internal Revenue Code, that sustain and | ||
promote such collaborations and encourage private industry in | ||
energy generation, manufacturing, and agriculture to adopt and | ||
deploy existing and emerging technologies that increase carbon | ||
capture, utilization, and storage; environmental and energy | ||
advocates have come together in support of this legislation in a | ||
groundbreaking coalition of environmental advocacy groups, labor | ||
unions, and energy producers from the coal, oil and gas, ethanol, | ||
and algae-biomass industries; moreover, the legislation has | ||
received strong bipartisan support in both the United States Senate | ||
and the United States House of Representatives; and | ||
WHEREAS, Congress and the president are also currently | ||
considering a large-scale federal infrastructure initiative to | ||
strengthen our nation's transportation, public works, and energy | ||
infrastructure, which could also serve as a vehicle for advancing | ||
"jobs-ready" carbon capture projects; the U.S. Department of Energy | ||
has determined that "a combination of tax incentives and research, | ||
development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D) will be | ||
critical to developing transformational carbon capture | ||
technologies and to driving down the costs of capture"; and | ||
WHEREAS, The Lone Star State has long been committed to a | ||
forward-looking energy strategy that maximizes both environmental | ||
quality and economic opportunity; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas | ||
Legislature hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United | ||
States to enact legislation to expand and extend the current | ||
federal tax credit for carbon capture, utilization, and storage | ||
under Section 45Q of the Internal Revenue Code; and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That the Texas House of Representatives | ||
respectfully urge Congress to provide appropriations to the U.S. | ||
Department of Energy sufficient to achieve and sustain a robust | ||
carbon capture research, development, demonstration, and | ||
deployment program and to support the inclusion of economically and | ||
environmentally beneficial carbon capture projects in any | ||
forthcoming federal infrastructure initiative; and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That the Texas House of Representatives | ||
respectfully urge Congress to support policies to increase the | ||
operational efficiency, and thereby the environmental performance, | ||
of existing electric-generating units and to support the | ||
preservation of a fuel-diverse electric generation portfolio | ||
critical to our domestic economic, energy, and national security; | ||
and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That the chief clerk forward official copies of | ||
this resolution to the president of the United States, to the | ||
president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of | ||
Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the | ||
members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that | ||
this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a | ||
memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. | ||
Craddick | ||
Paul | ||
Reynolds | ||
Thompson of Brazoria | ||
______________________________ | ||
Speaker of the House | ||
I certify that H.R. No. 1833 was adopted by the House on May | ||
24, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 135, Nays 8, 2 present, not | ||
voting. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||