STAFF REPORT
The Ellis County Press
AUSTIN – State Sen. Kip Averitt, R-McGregor, authored a clean air bill in the recent legislative session that mirrors the federal cap and trade legislation.
Averitt, representing Ellis County in the 10-county state senate district since 2002, blamed the defeat of his clean air legislation on inept lawmakers.
Several provisions of his now-defeated bill is expected to get another hearing in Austin should he win re-nomination in March against primary challenger Darren Yancy include:
• Banning the idling of trucks when driver is asleep restricting when and where this can be done
• Creates a green house gas registry
• Reducing nitrous oxide emissions
• Hybrid rebate of $4,000
Conservative critics of the legislation said the layers of taxes, fees and regulations saddled with the provisions would mirror the federal cap-and-trade bill that passed the Democratic-controlled U.S. House, U.S. Senate and the White House earlier this summer.
Averitt told the alternative weekly newspaper the Austin Chronicle several months ago, Senate Bill 16 his clean air bill numerical notification-was defeated because of our own [31-member senate] incompetence.
A self-described moderate, Averitt served in the state House of Representatives where he accumulated a conservative voting record that did not gauge above 50 percent on most report cards that rank legislators.
While in the senate, Averitt’s votes have largely remained the same. In 2002s GOP primary, he lost Ellis County in the 10-county region to former congressional candidate Ed Harrison.
