» Become a Citizen Co-Sponsor of Bill's Plan!

Texas is a national leader in traditional energy, and must have a Governor who will help us be a national and international leader in energy efficiency and energy supplies for our future as well. With a Governor committed and experienced in the energy business, both traditional and renewable, we can attract new jobs, bring down electricity bills, and protect our natural resources so that our children and grandchildren can enjoy clean air, clean water and open land.

Learn about Bill's track record here.

• +   Diversifying our sources of energy.

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  As Texas' Governor, I will promote more clean sources of energy. Texas has some of the best gas, wind, and solar resources in the nation. We should lead the nation in the use of these resources to promote Texas jobs, reduce America's dependence on foreign oil, and clean our air. I helped Houston become the #1 public purchaser of renewable energy in the country.
  
  




• +   Cutting electricity bills through efficiency.

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  We can reduce prices for all consumers by improving energy efficiency. We should:

  • Promote adoption of strong but realistic minimum energy efficiency standards to cut electricity usage in homes and buildings, and enable local governments to adopt even stricter standards in their building codes.
  • Scale up a program to cut utility bills in older homes with modest home improvements. Houston's innovative Residential Energy Efficiency Program cut power use by more than 10% for over 7000 homes, and we should target more than a million homes across the state within five years.
  • Educate homeowners on energy improvements and provide needed summer jobs for young people with a statewide Youth Conservation Corps, which has been successful in Houston.
  • Creating regulatory incentives to protect consumers.
    Texas deregulated prices of electricity in 1999 with support from then Lt. Governor Perry. Since 2007, there has been no limit on consumer prices. Over the last decade, Texas went from having utility bills lower than the national average to bills now higher than the national average. The Public Utility Commission should be given the authority to avoid both blackouts and price spikes by providing incentives for reserve margins, energy efficiency, and cleaner fuels, including natural gas. I have been urging the state to take action on these issues for years.

  
  
  




• +   Protecting our natural environment.

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  Texas is blessed with extraordinary natural resources. Our future economic growth depends on attracting businesses and workers to our state, and that requires a clean environment. In Houston, we have made great progress in reducing toxic emissions by holding people accountable for their actions, and our efforts are benefitting the country. Learn more here. As Governor, I will continue to protect Texans' health and the environment for future generations of Texans.
  
  I will appoint people to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality who understand the importance of public health and fair and open, science-based decision-making. Under Gov. Perry, our state now risks a takeover by the federal government of our air quality permitting program because of the TCEQ's failure to operate a program that meets long-standing rules that protect public health. The TCEQ should allow the public a hearing before it authorizes big plants to put dozens of tons of cancer-causing pollutants into our air.