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Concept
Public Citizen Texas
Summary
Public Citizen Texas is the Texas branch of Public Citizen, a nonpartisan, ideologically progressive, nonprofit, public interest advocacy organization. Public Citizen Texas is based in Austin, Texas. Since its founding in 1984, it has concerned itself with ideologically progressive issues such as: environmental enforcement policies, global warming, promoting renewable/clean energy, product safety, nuclear safety, medical safety, auto safety/quality, pesticide safety, insurance reforms, campaign finance/ethics issues, improving state government agency operations and fair trade policies. In recent years the organization has been primarily concerned with global warming and energy policy in Texas. Public Citizen Texas opposes expanding coal burning and nuclear power plants in Texas1.
Public Citizen Texas was founded in on August 21, 1984, by Ralph Nader and Craig McDonald, Public Citizen's national field organizer, with the purpose of fighting Southwestern Bell’s rate hikes, which occurred after the deregulation of phone Rates. After Southwestern Bell withdrew the increase, the group decided to remain in Texas and pursue issues including consumer safety, government ethics and pollution.2
In 1985, Public Citizen Texas recruited Tom “Smitty” Smith, director of the Houston Food Bank and former legislative aid to be the organization's director, a position he has held until he retired in 2017. He has also serves on the boards of Clean Water Action, the Texas Wind Power Coalition, Texans for Public Justice, and Campaigns for People, who have awarded him with their Thomas Paine Award. Smitty has also received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Excellence Award. Smitty has served on four commissions that looked at the future of the utility industry in Texas and has testified on more than 100 occasions on environmental and energy policy. He has also been received the Austin Chronicle's critics' choice award for "Best People's Lobbyist".2 In 2018, Smitty became the executive director of TxETRA, a non-profit dedicated to advancing electric vehicle use in Texas.
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