PhillipMartin

Dad, husband, lifelong Austinite. Senior Manager, Zero-Emission Truck Initiative for @EDFtx. 24-year #txlege alum. Drinks at @meanwhilebeer on me.

[PhillipMartin @PhillipMartin]

Appreciated the chance to testify at State Affairs today on HB 1846 by @RepWalle - a great bill that follows through on a @TxDOT taskforce recommendation to create an Electric Truck Advisory Council and keep Texas at the forefront of innovation and technology #txlege

[PhillipMartin @PhillipMartin]

@MattMackowiak @StanGerdesforTX It was part of an annual retreat, they went to learn how Fredericksburg has grown so they can take ideas back to their cities -- this is literally just like having a legislative committee meet not in Austin but in a local region to learn more

Think before you tweet, Matt

[Amy Fennell @amyDfennell]

Looks like data centers are “bringing their own power,” with all lines leading to Pecos Co, but Texas will be seizing private land for the transmission lines. Abbott knows all of this. His promises of a moratorium are political theater.

[PhillipMartin @PhillipMartin]

@Spooty2000 @amyDfennell You spelled lose wrong, bot

[PhillipMartin @PhillipMartin]

The explanation for this is incredibly thoughtful and normal, FYI - basically this was a retreat where Bastrop wanted to learn how Fredericksburg managed their growth and success as a tourist town

Don't let the online world break your brain #txlege

https://t.co/Zubtjz8v5A

[Stan Gerdes @StanGerdesforTX]

The City of Bastrop is holding a City Council meeting hours away in Fredericksburg, making it nearly impossible for the people they represent to attend and participate.

That’s especially troubling when the agenda includes major issues like the city budget, property tax rate, legislative priorities, data center policy, and Flock camera technology—topics that directly affect Bastrop residents.

Public meetings should be accessible to the public. Moving them out of town undermines transparency and meaningful citizen participation.

This is unacceptable. I will be filing legislation to require that city council meetings be held in the city they represent so the public has a fair opportunity to attend, speak, and hold their elected officials accountable. #txlege

[PhillipMartin @PhillipMartin]

There are 77GW of natural gas generation in the ERCOT queue

Who the hell is this person and why do 200k follow him as an energy expert when he spouts all this nonsense lol #txlege

[Alex Epstein @AlexEpstein]

Myth: Texas proves that a grid with lots of solar/wind and batteries can be reliable and affordable.

Truth: Solar/wind and batteries don't replace TX's need for reliable natural gas plants—but they do undermine gas's economics, which is about to create a huge problem for the state's grid.

By taking operating revenue away from natural gas plants, solar/wind have driven these plants' profits so low that new natural gas plants are no longer economically justified, according to ERCOT’s Independent Market Monitor.

Meanwhile, rapidly increasing demand for reliable electricity due to AI absolutely requires TX to build a lot of new natural gas generation.

These two phenomena are on a collision course that can only result in higher electricity prices, a slower AI buildout, or both.

[PhillipMartin @PhillipMartin]

@AstrosFuture I was in the 316 section, up and behind the plate, in my Correa jersey for this - one of my all-time Astros memories!

[Texas Monthly @TexasMonthly]

It is considered sacred ground for the descendants of those killed in a mass execution.

The border wall threatens to erase it from history. https://t.co/OO7hWgqfBd

[PhillipMartin @PhillipMartin]

@data_atx Any environmentalist who blindly sides with the city or Austin Energy is more interested in their own political well-being than what's best for the people in Austin

[PhillipMartin @PhillipMartin]

@bradj_TX Have you considered they lined up all these announcements last weekend, and they are putting them out each day so it's reported as news/momentum, and you could just bundle these at the end of the week instead of propping up their comms strategy?

[PhillipMartin @PhillipMartin]

@RepRamonRomero Very well said, Rep!

[PhillipMartin @PhillipMartin]

To quote @SheaSerrano:

WATCH ONE MOVIE EVER, PLEASE

[The New York Times @nytimes]

Breaking News: Scientists have used A.I. to create new viruses for the first time, raising hopes for medical advances while also raising the possibility that the technology could someday be used to invent dangerous pathogens. https://t.co/MJG4mp0TTb

[PhillipMartin @PhillipMartin]

The homestead exemption increase which has been the hallmark of the property tax cuts he is championing have been the premiere tax policy Dems have advocated for since at least 2005 🤷 #txlege

[Brandon Waltens @bwaltens]

NEW: @GregAbbott_TX is launching a $10 million statewide television ad buy warning voters about “what’s at stake” in November

[PhillipMartin @PhillipMartin]

@cyrustx @KirkPWatson @austinenergy @GinaHinojosaTX The state of Texas gave $1B for school choice

The City of Austin gave $1.3B for fossil fuel generation

By the numbers and based on the actors, which one was a worse and less forgivable policy decision?

[PhillipMartin @PhillipMartin]

I could get 100% renewable plan in Houston $13/mo cheaper than AE

82% of the ERCOT interconnection queue is clean energy

Meanwhile the $1.3B fossil fuel plan @KirkPWatson just bought would be disclosed in PUC rate cases; AE can hide from that just like #ATX can hide their votes

[Cyrus Reed @cyrustx]

@PhillipMartin @KirkPWatson @austinenergy Lower bills largely because of energy efficiency programs the leader on onsite solar. A customer assistance program none in competitive market. A board of directors that can be voted out not shareholders. 55 percent renewables. And local investment with the profits. Disagree!

[Isaac Saul @Ike_Saul]

Welp. It’s happening.

Bulldozers and heavy equipment arrived in Big Bend National Park today. The most rugged, pristine lands in the lower 48. Trump’s border wall is coming. CBP is refusing to inform residents, park superintendents, landowners, business owners, or Texas legislators what is happening. What we know is that they are now paving new roads where there were none, erecting fencing and walls to protect those roads, and then planning to install technology and border patrol agents in an area where close to zero people ever cross the border.

Ironically, depressingly, they will be spending billions of dollars to destroy this pristine American land while literally making it easier to access, which means easier for coyotes and border crossers to actually traverse the region if they wanted to. Before this, there were no roads, just desserts, cliffs, and cacti, which made it all but impassable.

A few miles upstream, the first border barriers the administration just erected were washed away in the first flood of the season — not even a bad one — but hundreds of millions of dollars wasted, literally floating down the Rio Grande. A few miles downstream, near Eagle Pass, razor wire and debris are washing up ashore from the first floods there, making this critical water source inaccessible for Texans or any wildlife enthusiasts.

Right now, as we speak, $4 billion is flowing to contractors in Trump’s orbit to cut Texans, including me and my family, off from the most critical water source in the state. All for what? Big Bend is 25% of the patrolled southwest border and accounts for less than 1% of all border crossings. Border towns, businesses, tourism — all about to be destroyed. Nevermind the irreversible wildlife damage, the feds stealing land from private citizens via eminent domain, and all the money wasted that could go to actual solutions to secure the border or support these communities.

Ever since I first visited my family here when I was 13 years old I wanted to make a life in West Texas. Three years ago, after so much hard work and planning, I spent my savings on building a home there. One I hoped my son would inherit. A home in one of the most beautiful, rugged, untouched, places in the country. Also one of the safest.

Now, everything that makes this special place special is being upended — for an illogical, wasteful, stupid plan that won't work and won't help the country.

A genuine gut punch. So depressing.

[PhillipMartin @PhillipMartin]

@CurtisAustinTX @KirkPWatson @austinenergy AE operates as a functional private entity right now - too many public-driven initiatives that AE management fight, delay, lie about, ignore, and try to hide from the public

If a public utility doesn't respond to any public oversight, what's the point?

[PhillipMartin @PhillipMartin]

Honestly after watching @KirkPWatson and #ATX City Council mismanage @austinenergy, raise rates, and vote for billion-dollar fossil fuel contracts in secret, I may be the first person in line to testify in favor of this next session #txlege

[KXAN News @KXAN_News]

Abbott said the move would increase competition and that average residential ratepayers would save 10% on their utility bills in Austin and 13% in San Antonio. https://t.co/TCUGX6CZfP

[Travis Bubenik @travisbubenik]

Advocacy groups and businesses say @tedcruz, @JohnCornyn and @GregAbbott_TX "may be the last line of defense standing between access to the Rio Grande and permanent, irreversible damage" in a letter to the trio today on Trump's border plans in @BigBendNPS: https://t.co/aWsuxHnO10

[PhillipMartin @PhillipMartin]

@XCapitalMgmt @ShanuMathew93 No, the infon on local tax impacts, abatements, etc. were never part of the batch process and it's questionable ERCOT and the PUC even have authority (let alone staff) to assess this accurately

A lot to be sorted out; an interim TX House hearing on Aug 19 will be informative

[PhillipMartin @PhillipMartin]

@AustinJustice What's the all in cost for a police officer? Salary, payroll taxes, employer-side health insurance, etc.?

Not challenging the premise, I just don't know the figure