TCEQ Under Sunset Review

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is currently under Sunset review, a legislative process that critiques and could even abolish the agency. Public comment will be invited in mid-December. The Alliance for a Clean Texas (a coalition of Texas environmental and public interest groups) is organizing a campaign to demand changes at TCEQ, as part of the Sunset review process. According to the organization's website, "In the coming year, Texans have a once-in-a-decade opportunity to improve the way our state environmental agency carries out its mission to protect our health and natural resources. ... The sunset review process offers all concerned Texans a chance to advocate for much-needed reforms at TCEQ."

The commission's report on an agency must include a recommendation to abolish or continue the agency; it may also recommend changes. If the Legislature continues the agency, it should correct problems identified during the Sunset review. For more info on ACT's grassroots campaign, see www.acttexas.org.