With just over two weeks left in the session, the Texas state Senate has not yet debated a suddenly controversial proposal to ban storage of high-level nuclear waste in the Lone Star state.
The Senate-side version of H.B. 2692, introduced in March by state Rep. Brooks Landgraf (R), is still listed on the state Senate’s calendar under “regular order of business.” Despite that, floor sessions on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday adjourned without a vote on the measure. The next meeting of the state Senate is Thursday.
There’s not much time left for a floor debate on the bill — the last day of the session in Austin is May 31.
Landgraf’s bill briefly saw the light of day last week on the state House floor, but before any votes could be cast state Rep. Tom Craddick (R) moved to halt debate on procedural grounds. Craddick argued during the May 5 session that the measure’s legislative analysis didn’t adequately address sections of the bill that appeared to repeal parts of the Texas health and safety code.
The House-side bill is currently back in the chamber’s environmental regulation committee. At deadline Thursday for Weapons Complex Morning Briefing it hadn’t yet been scheduled for a vote on that panel.
If it became law, Landgraf’s bill would ban the storage of high-level waste in Texas. It would also reduce the state’s comparatively high costs for low-level waste disposal through an interstate cost analysis program that would form the basis for rebates to generators.
Debate, or lack thereof on the measure, occurs while Waste Control Specialists — which currently operates a low-level waste disposal facility in Landgraf’s district — seeks federal approval to build a consolidated interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Texas. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is working on an environmental impact statement for the proposed site, which the agency has said won’t be done until the summer.
