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“Texas independents have little bandwidth for partisan bloodbath on elections.” Open letter from Texas independents sent to Texas Senate and House Committees deliberating on Election Bills, HB 6 & SB 7 The following letter was sent as a media release by the League of Independent Voters of Texas to Texas media and members of the Texas House Elections and Senate State Affairs Committees in light of their deliberations on HB 6 and SB 7. Dear Members of the House Elections and Senate State Affairs Committees: The League of Independent Voters of Texas (LIV) is a 501c4 non-profit, non-partisan organization. Founded in 2013, we seek laws to secure electoral competition and the foundation of life and prosperity in our communities — water and land resources. The January 2021 Gallup poll tells us that there are approximately 8 million independents in Texas – a plurality of approximately 50% of our state’s eligible voters. Dating back to the Perot movement, we also know that Texas independents lean toward either party in the Texas open primaries. On elections, we believe both parties agree on at least one important fact. Our 2020 election was, with a few exceptions, secure and fair. Therefore, LIV respectfully requests a candid discussion by our legislative leaders of the following stark facts of life for Texans as you deliberate on making significant changes to our election system: Texans are reeling from two disasters — the pandemic and damn near freezing to death in our own homes. As the finger pointing goes back and forth between Republicans who have enjoyed one-party rule at the state level for decades, we must also remind you that both parties are guilty of ignoring the disaster unfolding on drinking water. Independents have warned you about this since 2013: The mining of aquifers (groundwater) driven by an unholy alliance between government and private profiteers is ignored by most in both parties. Given these facts, we Texas independents believe there is little bandwidth among a super-majority of Texans for the partisan bloodbath unfolding on the rules of political engagement – elections. House Bill 6 and Senate Bill 7 endanger the right to vote for all Texans. Ironically, the bills will do real harm to Republican leaning independents. The elderly, disabled, veterans and overseas military voters will resent undue hassles to vote by mail and to curbside voting. We must add that the targeting of convicted felons — who have served their time — is a cheap sale and exhibits for all to see the mean-spirited Texas GOP in our majority-minority state. Therefore, we implore members of both committees to apply these principles in your decisions on all election bills: Was this legislation fairly vetted in the interim? (The pandemic made it difficult to impossible for legislators and citizens alike to participate.) Does this legislation address unfairness or fraud that took place in the state of Texas? (If so, is there clear and undeniable evidence, and is there a wide-scale pattern or just a few bad actors?) In light of question 2 above, does this legislation make it more difficult to vote by any person, and is it justified, in your non-partisan heart of hearts? (We ask you to remove your party hats when under the Capitol dome as you make laws that affect all Texans, regardless of party and ideology.) Thank you for your consideration and service to the state of Texas. For more information contact LIV here . # If you liked this article, you might also like this one,” Grab and Squat Briscoe .” For more on LIV efforts on electoral reform, visit our “2021 Lege” page here . #fairelections #Texaslegislature

March 8, 2021 Presentation to Joint Meeting of Electric Utility Commission and Resource Management Commission Commission Members: I am Paul Robbins.  I am an environmentalist, consumer advocate, and observer of Austin Energy since 1977. Before my main comments on the outages, I want to ask the Chair of the Resource Management Commission to post me on the next agenda to discuss the utility’s broken Customer Assistance Program.  Money has been given to the wrong people or the wrong purpose for far too long. My purpose in speaking though regards my observations about the recent power outages and how they affect Austin going forward.  Please refer to the chart in the back-up material  on page 9.  It shows Austin Energy power generation by fuel during the outage. I have asked for more specific information by power plant as opposed to power source.  But since the utility has a habit of spiking my requests, I am not sure that I will get this information in a timely or graceful manner. This chart is instructive about what is stated and not stated.  It does not show what the power use should have been if electricity were not curtailed.  It does not show which units were down for maintenance or lack of winterization.  Still, given that most of the power came from dispatchable sources and not renewables, it prompts enough caution in me to suggest that until more is known, the planned retirements of Decker gas plant and Fayette coal plant be temporarily deferred. Had this disaster occurred two years from now after these plants are scheduled for retirement, Austin would be in a precarious economic position, and the public would be blaming the people who shut these plants down. This speaks to the subject that I have repeatedly stated over the last 7 years.  We have no dispatchable power that is renewable.  This leads to my second point.  Austin Energy, along with other utilities, cities, and non-profits in Texas, needs to start investing in the development of dispatchable renewable energy. Austin Energy is vehemently opposed to this.  Two of its executives have told me to my face that it is not the utility’s place to develop technology.  I disagree strongly. If you want a grid that is free of dirty fossil and fissile power, you are going to need dispatchable alternatives, and the utility will need to take a very active and aggressive role. # #alternatives #dispathablepower #PaulRobbins

We can all have a good laugh about this year’s Texas House Elections Committee, now that it’s being chaired by Rep. Briscoe Cain (R-Deer Park). This has everyone we know – from all political camps – scratching their heads. Some have likened the appointment to giving someone with COVID the right to sneeze into the punch bowl. Here’s another laughable irony. We independents call the practice of legislators filing a bill then sitting on it, “Grab and Squat”. Last session, Briscoe Cain grabbed (filed) a bill for fair ballot access for independents and minor parties. ( The Voter Choice Act is now the subject of a federal lawsuit backed by Mark Cuban . ) Briscoe couldn’t get a hearing in his own committee – Elections. That’s a squat if there ever was one. The next thing we hear is Briscoe is chairing Elections! Get ready for the BIG SQUAT, y’all! Briscoe believes Trump was denied the election due to voter fraud. While we at LIV will defend his right to believe whatever he wants, putting him in charge of the Elections Committee, the committee that sets the rules for voting, must be seen for what it really is.  It is a challenge – by the GOP itself – to the rule of law. Did you happen to notice the one about secession? It’s bad joke. Most Texans happen to remember this issue was already settled in a bloody Civil War. That’s right. HB 1359 is not only an affront to African American Texans — it is flat out unconstitutional. What has gotten into the GOP? Many Texas independents, even those who voted for Trump, would really like to know. The GOP appears to be so deeply focused on their own permanent one-party rule that we nearly froze to death in our own homes last month. Be sure to join us for our next Forum, April 12, 7 pm, “The Big Freeze, We Shall Never Forget” Let’s not let the Democrats off the hook either. Their definition of “voter suppression” does not include the voting rights of approximately 8 million Texans who are likely independent, non-aligned voters. The Democrats, when they enjoyed one-party rule in 1967, set the rules allowing them to monopolize ballot access in Texas, arguably the most independent state in the nation. Moreover, today, Democratic City Officials in Austin and San Antonio have engaged in extreme maneuvers to squash citizen’s petitions. ( See what happened to the SAWS Accountability Act Petition here .) The January 2021 Gallup poll has American voters moving into the independent (non-aligned) column at a now all-time high of 50%.  See Bill King’s article . What is LIV? We are a cross-partisan non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to POLICY NOT POLITICS. We want government to solve our problems — not make them. Oh my! What You Can DO! For Who Represents You, click here Call your Legislators — Texas House and Texas Senate, the Governor too. Tell them you’re an independent and you’re paying attention to their votes on Election Bills. Ask them to refrain from voting for any legislation that makes it harder to vote in Texas. Take a look at some of our favorite election bills. How about a little Rank Choice Voting! See Rank Choice Voting for Texas and be sure to take their survey. See Mark Miller’s slide show on LIV’s 2021 Lege Page for more favorite bills (see p. 19). Volunteer to review some of the 489 election bills. There are so many bills, we need your help to build a list of “Good, Bad and Ugly Election Bills”. See LIV Advisory Board Member Mark Miller’s slide show on LIV’s 2021 Lege Page . Join LIV for our weekly conference calls/Zoom meetings on Monday night’s at 7 pm. Learn more some of the history (1992-2006) of Texas independent politics in Divided We Stood . If money is holding you back from becoming a dues paying member , volunteer some time — we even prefer it! If you liked this article, you might also like this one, “ Little Bandwidth for Partisan Bloodbath in Elections .” For more on LIV efforts on electoral reform, visit our “2021 Lege” page here . #BillKing #MarkCuban #BriscoeCain #RankChoiceVoting #DadePhelan

Join LIV’s Zoom call, Wednesday night, March 10, 7 pm. Send us a note to i nfo@independentleaguetx.org with your name, phone and city or county. Or give us a call at 512.213.4511. Wednesday Night’s Topic : Election and Energy Reform in the Texas Legislative Session, how LIV is redeveloping, a new party forms in Texas. Note: LIV is non-partisan and does not endorse parties or candidates. Professor Mark Miller came up through the oil fields to become a UT-Austin Faculty member and Professor of Petroleum Engineering. When he retired from UT, he took it upon himself to become fully informed and engaged in independent politics and energy reform. Serving on LIV’s Advisory Board, Mark really is our ‘doctor of democracy’. Mark will review some of the key Election Bills (there are, so far 300!) and a few bills about reforming the PUCT (Public Utility Commssion of Texas). He will also teach us how to participate in this most important Legislative Session to date. Please note that Republican Governor, Greg Abbott, appoints the PUCT! His blame game needs to start with himself. But, the Democrats are not to remain unscathed. Municipal Democrats have long ignored proper oversight at public utilities such as SAWS and CPS in San Antonio. CPS has a $1 billion problem. Folks, they are still finding out about deaths related to the storm. Houston Mayor Turner just reported 68 — so far. Texans, obviously, we are in deep trouble. There will be many ways in which industry and municipal authorities will try to make us pay for years of mistaken public policy or, in some cases, flat-out profiteering (Vista Ridge). What are we to do — we cannot live without water and energy? All we can tell you today is the obvious. Democracy is not a specator sport. We must to find a way — on these big ticket items — not to be divided and conquered. Read more about Mark and other LIV Board and Advisory Board members here . Join us for the call. Thank you! #CPS #GregAbbott #MarkMiller #SAWS

Does anyone not yet get how important water and utility reform are in today’s Texas? Simsboro Aquifer Water Defense Fund (SAWDF) grew out of Neighbors for Neighbors and was co-founded by Michele Gangnes, who also co-founded LIV years later. We owe Michele, NFN and SAWDF bigtime because they are honest and informed solutions seekers to end the Texas water wars for the benefit of all. We are asking you to AMPLIFY SAWDF today by contributing to their fundraising efforts at AMPLIFY AUSTIN. Check our SAWDF’s terrific video and give to the match! LIV invites you to a Zoom Meeting (or just call-in) on Wednesday, March 10 at 7 pm. Guest speaker, LIV Advisor, Mark Miller ( bio here )TOPIC: Election Reform or Deform in the Texas Legislative Session. To join us simply reply to this message with your name, phone and city or county, or call us. LIV is reorganizing.Get in on our newest ground floor! LIV will still be organizing voters from across the spectrum to protect our water, our land and our democracy — but it’s how we get there that must change. The demand for an independent voter association is going up so we must sharpen our game. See Gallup’s newest poll discussed in Bill King’s helpful piece, “ Half of Americans Refuse to Identify with Either Party. ” The SAWS Act PAC in San Antonio has made a big turn this week. Please visit SAWSAct.org as the battle continues. We’re here! Are you? Hoping to hear from you. Tell us you’re OK, please. And join us on March 10th! PS If you’re an independent voter please join us at our Membership Page. #AmplifyAustin #BillKing #GallupPoll #utilityreform

As you know, the League of Independent Voters is a non-partisan organization, but we appreciate Bastrop Democrats for providing this Vaccine and Water War Update to our entire community. We are rushing this notice to you today, hoping you get it in time for a Thursday evening 7 pm meeting via video conference or phone. At the top of this agenda is a report on the COVID Vaccine for our area as well as an update on the “water wars” in our counties east of Austin. Click on this link for the full agenda and how and when you might tune in. Also, for updates on the “water wars” please visit the News section of the Simsboro Aquifer Water Defense Fund — click here . Got questions? Reply to this message or give us a phone call. Watch for a full newsletter coming real soon. There’s so much going on, we’ve been so busy we hadn’t the time to tell you about it. Thanks, y’all! PS PLEASE ALSO, MARK YOUR CALENDARS for LIV’s very first Zoom Call on Monday, February 22, at 7 pm. More soon! #COVIDVaccine #waterwars

We greatly appreciate you taking LIV’s Two-Party Doom Loop Survey.  And, please do share! Got questions or just want to reach out to us at LIV? Email us at info@independentleaguetx.org or call us at 512.213.4511. [os-widget path=”/ljcurtis/we-really-want-to-know-what-you-want-to-know-and-what-it-takes-to-get-your-involvement-in-liv-with-7-6-million-texans-who-identify-as-independent-not-aligned-with-any-party-we-figure-we-can-t-lose-by-asking-for-your-ideas”] #forums #zoom

For sure, LCRA should know better! But, that’s not stopped them yet from demanding in on the siege on the Simsboro along with the San Antone Hose. This is LIV’s reminder as tonight’s hearing (Thurs., Jan. 28, 6 pm), online and on the phone, impacts on you, your drinking water supply provided by aquifers and what you are paying for water policy gone awry. Reminder! FINAL HEARING on LCRA Permit Demand! Please share this message! It’s important to let the Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District Board know you are watching and urge their protection of our water resources. In this dispute has on one side the LCRA (Lower Colorado River Authority) and its demand for a mega-permit — 25,000 acre-feet of groundwater per year. They have no customer demand, but have pushed for a hearing in the middle of COVID, in a rural area without reliable internet connectivity. On the other side are landowners, Aqua Water Supply (a local supplier), the city of Elgin, and even some private water marketers who are working together to put this permit on hold or to ratchet it back and to achieve proper monitoring. Until we know the impacts of Vista Ridge’s massive pumping operation that is already harming local wells at great and unexpected expense to our rural residents, it’s our hope the Lost Pines’ GCD Board will do the right thing. Besides, not to beat a dead horse, but LCRA should know better! You being on the line is a way to show your concern. LIV will have more for you soon on legislative remedies in the current Legislative Session. Just be on the call or Zoom tonight! Click on the link for more details about tonight’s hearing: https://independentleaguetx.org/texas-wretched-water-war-turns-thursday-night-line-yall/ Tonight, just before 6 pm, log in to the Zoom video conference OR dial in to the conference call using the information below. Zoom Meeting Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3690090040?pwd=cDNJcTlWdGRRcnc0UlplM0VRQlJHZz09 Meeting ID: 369 009 0040 Passcode: a0ix0g Telephone conference:Phone number: Dial +1 346 248 7799 Meeting ID: 369 009 0040 # Passcode: 058330 Got questions? Give us a call at 512.213.4511 or contact us here. Thank you! #LCRA #SanAntoneHose #VistaRidge

NOTICE: We urge you to be on the line this Thursday, January 28, from 6 to 9 pm for a final hearing by the Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District Board, on the LCRA’s (Lower Colorado River Authority’s) mega-permit demand on the same aquifers permitted by Vista Ridge. LCRA, a quasi-governmental agency should know better. This hearing is held at the very same time that Vista Ridge is causing landowner wells to go dry. A temporary moratorium on permits is in order, not more permitting! See instructions for the call at the end of this message.  Click here for the full hearing Notice. More below. Texas Population Growth Far Outstrips Other States , wrote Bill King on January 9th. This picture of the parking lot at the San Antonio Food Bank reminds us to get our growth agenda correctly prioritized. This is the driving force behind the wretched “water wars” unfolding in Texas. It was the driving force in California 50 years ago. We don’t have to make the same mistakes – using groundwater to subsidize development in areas chosen by real estate investors. In just one month all these things have happened to aquifers 40 miles from the Capitol Dome: Vista Ridge’s full bore pumping of 50,000 acre-feet of groundwater per year ( AFY ) is making area landowner wells go dry, costing thousands of dollars in unexpected expenses to either lower their pumps, replace their pumps or even drill a new well, in the midst of this pandemic and economic downturn! SAWS launched an expensive legal action to stop the San Antonio citizen petition for a public vote in May for the SAWS Accountability Act, the focus of which is simply a proper audit of Vista Ridge, something that should have been done years ago! (Ruling expected real soon!) Recharge Water (formerly End Op) and Forestar (now owned by Gatehouse Water), both private companies, are sitting on their own mega-permits on the same aquifers for a combined 74,500 AFY, but haven’t found customers! And THIS THURSDAY the quasi-governmental Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) managed to get a final hearing set on their unnecessary mega-permit demand for 25,000 AFY on the same aquifers What are our elected officials doing? We believe they are watching and they are concerned. They’re also dealing with other crises in our state budget. What is the Lost Pines Groundwater  Conservation District Board doing? They have the last word on the LCRA permit. They must hear from you by your participation starting this Thursday night. You can make a 3-minute public comment or not; you can submit written comments before the hearing. It’s your presence that is most important. Click here for the hearing details . We have also posted the log in information below. We suggest you read the top three news articles by Simsboro Aquifer Water Defense Fund. And this important update here from our friends at Environmental Stewardship. Got questions? Don’t hesitate to reply to this message or to call us T 512.213.4511. Thank you! Log in to the Zoom video conference OR dial in to the conference call using the information below: Zoom Meeting Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3690090040?pwd=cDNJcTlWdGRRcnc0UlplM0VRQlJHZz09 Meeting ID: 369 009 0040 Passcode: a0ix0g Telephone conference: Phone number: Dial +1 346 248 7799 Meeting ID: 369 009 0040 # Passcode: 058330 #Texasgrowth #VistaRidge

There’s an Important Lost Pines Water Meeting Tonight by phone! Hop on the phone TONIGHT –Wednesday night, January 20th, at 7 pm! Within a short few months of full bore pumping by Vista Ridge (“The San Antone Hose”), landowner wells are going dry in Burleson and Lee counties. Meanwhile, privateering water marketers and the Lower Colorado River Authority – a governmental entity, mind you – are continuing their quest for MORE permits on the same aquifers. Read this January 8, media release by the Simsboro Aquifer Water Defense Fund (SAWDF) for important backgroud. This SAWDF report of the December Lost Pines GCD meeting is also very helpful. The Legislature needs to step up for sure, but our local groundwater districts need to hear from those they serve, not to be served up. We support a hold on additional permits (call it a moratorium, if you like) until Lost Pines does due diligence on what exactly is happening to local wells NOT TO MENTION the aquifer itself. Hundreds of thousands of people depend on this resource. The last thing we need is another crisis, and of our own creation. Call us if you need information or any help getting to this meeting – via phone or computer. Remember, it’s your water! PS Mark your calendars for a hearing LCRA has pushed for on January 28 — details soon!

If you think it’s time to end the two-party doom loop, and to put the partisan uncivil war developing our country on hold, you came to the right place. We’ve been working for years to bring people together who DISAGREE! We are hearing from more and more people who want out of the “two-party doom loop”. That’s a phrase we take from Lee Drutman’s book, Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop . Drutman asserts that opening up electoral competition is the peaceful and smart way to resolve our differences in a democratic republic. His argument may seem counterintuitive, but we buy it; we’re convinced that it is the only way out of the political doom loop spiral we’re all in. Clearly, right now we must all pull together to get past the pandemic – without the blame that will not help us. We are playing catch up in San Antonio due to San Antonio Water System’s (SAWS) concertedly unethical use of ratepayer dollars to attack a citizen petition to place the SAWS Accountability Act on the May city ballot. Bill Bunch of Save Our Springs and James Murphy of San Antonio are providing pro-bono assistance to some of San Antonio’s finest local civic activists. It’s all hot of the press right here in this Media Advisory . Watch the hearing — this Tuesday, January 19th, at 10 am — right here on the Court’s YouTube Channel . You folks who live east of Austin, don’t miss the Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District meeting on Wednesday — more below — as the water war also needs to be put on hold! Thank you all! We’ll meet soon — we promise! LIV NEWS!  COVID VACCINES: Visit this site to see how and where you can get a COVID Vaccine. Note there are phone numbers there you can share with your pals without internet: https://www.dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus/immunize/vaccine-hubs.aspx The 87th Texas Legislative Session began last Tuesday but is not in session currently until January 26th. LIV’s legislative agenda continues — fair ballot access for independents and additional parties and protection of the right to petition in Texas, and groundwater and eminent domain reforms. If you have policy chops in any of these arenas, let us know. We can use your help! Roger Baker, Austin’s “Road Scholar”, thinks the plan to widen IH-35 is the biggest boondoggle around. But, never to be deterred from massively expensive bad planning, TxDOT has built the easy parts of IH-35 widening and left undone the hard ones smack dab in the middle of Austin. But, guess what? The money ain’t there to pay for it! Way to go TxDOT, NOT. We highly recommend you read this Baker article published in the Rag Blog: “ Is widening Austin’s IH-35 Austin’s biggest boondoggle of all ?”  We wish to thank Houston independent Bill King, a respected writer and policy wonk, for posting these very important pieces: Texas Population Growth Far Outstrips Other States King Articles on COVID, most recently that Texas is shorted vaccines East of Austin Counties: Important Phone Meeting of Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District: On Wednesday night, January 20th, at 7 pm . Get on this call, y’all. Within a short few months of full bore pumping by Vista Ridge (“The Hose”), landowner wells are going dry in Burleson and Lee counties. Meanwhile, privateering water marketers and the Lower Colorado River Authority – a governmental entity, mind you – are continuing their quest for MORE permits on the same aquifers. The Legislature needs to step up for sure, but our local groundwater districts need to hear from those they serve, not to be served up. We support a hold on additional permits (call it a moratorium, if you like) until Lost Pines does due diligence on what exactly is happening to local wells AND the aquifer itself. Call LIV if you need any help getting to this meeting – via phone or computer. Thanks to those you became dues-paying members of LIV! Keep it going, y’all . We appreciate all you new people who took our “ Independent Survey ” on our home page. Keep it up by sharing! #BillKing #BillBunch #COVIDVaccine #DoomLoop #TxDOT

Here we were on January 6th, minding our own business just trying to get out this email alert and then this colossally stupid riot slaps us and the rest of the nation in the face. This incident revealed that we are pathetically vulnerable. We have multiple crises in the country that so need our attention. The war between the two parties is a big distraction and needs to desescalate now! We urge calm consideration provided by two respected independent voices — Glenn Greenwald and Texas political analyst Harvey Kronberg of the Quorum Report: Glenn Greenwald on “ Violence in the Capitol, Dangers in the Aftermath ”. Harvey Kronberg, with the permission to reprint by Quorum Report, “ The Big Skim ” LIV NEWS!  The citizen’s coalition petitioning in San Antonio for the SAWS Accountability Act (due date, January 21st) faced a surprise holiday legal action that hauled them into court on Monday. Pro-bono attorneys, especially Save Our Springs’ Bill Bunch of Austin and James Murphy from San Antonio, done Petitioners proud!  Read “ SAWS’ Tantrum in Court Cost Ratepayers & Who Approved it ” fro m SAWS Act PAC. Breaking News Today, Friday, January 8: Ace reporter for the independent San Antonio Report, Brendan Gibbons reported, “ CPS Energy used same legal tactic as SAWS to stymie reform petition ”. For the citizens who live in the source communities for Vista Ridge (and 3 other mega-permits!), know that LCRA is pushing for a final hearing on a contested case. Read this release hot off the press from Simsboro Aquifer Water Defense Fund and talk to your neighbors and officials . What can you do? Drop your belief in the Big Scam – that the two-party system — and take our LIV survey . Get involved actively with LIV this year. Reply to this message or call us. It’s January, so please join or re-up your dues to LIV. Not a joiner? Donate here Digging our way out of this mess is going to take some time, cool heads and some thoughtful organizing by people despite our differences. That’s what we here at LIV call democracy. It takes practice and patience! #BigSkim #VistaRige