GA 2024 Week 5 Recap
We are now on day 23 of the 60 day legislative session. The last day to file new bills in the House will be on February 26th. The last day to file new bills in the Senate will be February 28th.
Bill to Limit Fossil Fuel Plant Retirements Filed this Week
This Thursday (2/1/24), Representative Tom Smith (R) from Corbin introduced House Bill 445 (KCC Strong Oppose) which would prohibit the Public Service Commission from approving the retirement of fossil fuel-fired electric generating units unless the commission finds that the utility has “no undepreciated investment in the unit and that the costs to operate the unit are greater than the revenue that it generates.”
This new legislation builds upon last year’s Senate Bill 4, which also set several conditions for whether or not the Public Service Commission could retire a gas or coal-fired power plant. The bill also required utilities to demonstrate that any proposed coal plant closures weren't the result of federal incentives such as the Inflation Reduction Act. Despite pushback from the utilities, public health advocates, and industry associations such as the Kentucky Association of Manufacturers, the Legislature passed the bill, becoming law without the Governor’s signature.
Despite the passage of the previous SB4, the Public Service Commission was still able to order the retirement of two coal generating units and three older gas units belonging to LG&E/KU this past November. But we now need YOU to contact your lawmakers to oppose this latest legislation. Call the legislative message line at 1-800-372-7181 to tell your Representative and House Leadership to “oppose” House Bill 445 .
House Passes Spending Plan, Now on to the Senate
House Bill 6 passed 77-19 after House Democrats tried unsuccessfully to add several amendments. The bill includes some much needed provisions for water and wastewater infrastructure which we have been advocating for some time now. We will continue to monitor the budget as it develops in the Senate.
Other Bills on the Move (Highlights): Thanks to your calls and emails, House Bill 180 (KCC Strong Support) is building momentum with a dozen sponsors to date. We hope you are able to join us and other organizations who are part of the Kentuckians for Energy Democracy Coalition for upcoming call in days and lobby day. More info on upcoming events and resources.
Electric Vehicle Charger Bill Needs Your Support!
We have been working hard with our allies in the Evolve Electric Vehicle Group to finally fix a problem that came with the passage of new electric vehicle fees two sessions ago. We were excited to see that Representative Huff (R) has filed House Bill 398 (KCC Strong Support) this week, that will finally exempt low-wattage “Level 2” public EV chargers from the 3-cent per kWh tax on electricity used for these chargers. These simple chargers have been adopted by small businesses, churches and schools in order to provide a public benefit for their participants and provide equitable charging access for renters. KCC has been lobbying lawmakers to help them understand that the additional fee creates a huge reporting burden for businesses and requires them to install additional (and much more expensive) equipment for something that they are providing as a public benefit. ACT: We need as many of you as possible to help us gather more House cosponsors for this bill. Please contact your Representative and ask them to “support” this common-sense bill by emailing or calling the legislative message line at 1-800-372-7181. And please thank current sponsors Huff, Smith and Palumbo for supporting this bill. Reps. Donan and Timoney have also agreed to cosponsor and we anticipate them being listed shortly.
For next week’s blog, we will have the final session on Transportation and Electric Vehicles that was pre-empted from KCC’s Legislative Summit to share with you!
“Restore the Sweeps” Campaign for Land Conservation
In one of our conservation sessions (recorded below), we highlighted the history of monies being “swept” from the Heritage Land Conservation Fund— The state’s only fund for land conservation. We are now asking for our members to watch the presentation by Zeb Weese (video below), and then contact your Senator and members of the Senate Appropriations & Revenue Committee and ask them to use one-time budget monies to restore funds that have been “swept” from the Heritage Land Conservation Fund over the past decade. And then go to KCC’s Facebook Page and “share” our post on this issue.
Videos for Advocacy on Land Conservation, Trail Town Legislation (SB35) and Utility Disconnections (HB180)
We were able to ask some of our guests from our KCC Legislative Summit to record their sessions on Zoom since we had to shut down the conference early due to weather-related disruptions. In the video below, we hosted Senator Matthew Deneen (R) and Kentucky Land Trust Coalition Director Zeb Weese to speak to Lane and Randy about Senator Deneen’s Trail Town legislation (SB35) and also efforts to restore funding to the Heritage Land Conservation Fund.
“Stop the Shutoffs” Call-in Day Feb. 6, Lobby Day Feb. 15
Join us to lobby for House Bill 180 (KCC Support). You may also find KCC’s handout on this bill here, plus a video by KCC board member Rachel Norton on this issue above and here. Kentucky Conservation Committee is a partner of the "Kentuckians for Energy Democracy" Coalition (K4ED) where we are collectively fighting to address utility shutoffs. Come join us all on Feb. 15th for a lobby day at the Capitol. Mark your calendars! But there is also no need to wait- you can ACT and contact your Representative to ask them to co-sponsor this bill!