The 82nd Session of the Texas Legislature approved two bills to help Texas congregations get greener. The first benefits congregations outside of Austin, the second will include Austin area faith and community organizations. Highlights from those bills: 

SB #981 – “Solar Panel Funding for Houses of Worship”
•  Applies only to church buildings in de-regulated electricity markets (such as Dallas or Houston)
•  Church buildings within “regulated” electric utility markets, such as Austin and San Antonio, are not eligible to participate
•  Allows qualifying congregations to install solar panels as a third party project (Congregation would be lease its roof space to an electricity reseller, receive dividend from electricity reseller)

HB #2077 – “Energy Efficiency Loans to Congregations”
•  Directs SECO to establish a pilot energy efficiency program for faith and community based organizations. SECO will work thru its LoanSTAR program to administer the pilot

Additional program support has been established for the following: TV recycling, better enforcement from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, fracking disclosures from natural gas drilling, converting under-utilized urban space into urban agriculture, low income weatherization, helping low income children eat during the summer holiday, and opening up the market for home-based food businesses (which is believed to have great potential for helping low income people).

Learn more about these bills via a blog from the Interfaith Environmental Network, here.