Denied without Question: GA Week 8
KCC List of House Bills we are watching as of 2/28
KCC List of Senate Bills we are watching as of 2/28
We have now concluded 36 days of the 60-day legislative session. This past week included the last day for bill requests. The week ahead will mark the last week that bills can be filed (March 1 for the House and March 3 for the Senate). See full legislative calendar here.
And to act on bills: you may call the Legislative Message Line at 1-800-372-7181 From 7AM-9PM M-TH and from 7AM-4:30 PM on Fridays. Or you can email lawmakers using this link.
Appointments Denied without Question
In an unusual exchange this past week, the Senate considered three Standing Resolutions filed to confirm the appointments of two members of the Public Service Commission (Marianne Butler and Amy Cubbage, SR134 and SR135 respectively), and one appointment to the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Resources Commission (Brian Erick Mackey, SR138). Before we had the opportunity to finish confirming KCC’s positions on these appointees, two (Butler and Mackey) were shot down by Senate President Stivers. The remaining resolution on Marianne Butler was passed over and retained in the Orders of the Day. It was a highly unusual exchange for Senator Stivers to ask his chamber to vote against these two resolutions. We at KCC chose to support the two PSC candidates and monitor the candidate from Fish & Wildlife Resources.
We encourage you to watch these excerpts from the exchange (above). In the statement on SR135 (Butler appointment to the Public Service Commission) Senator Stivers stated “I have been contacted by numerous people about the functions of the PSC and how they have operated since this nomination has been put before them and one other. Dysfunctional, responding, plans about how to level the costs of skyrocketing electric bills…these are the things we get input on. Will I tell you who those individuals are? No I will not…”
Senator McGarvey then attempted to ask a question on the action and was denied. See video excerpts from the contentious exchange here.
New Bill Highlights This Week
One of the more disturbing new bills we want to highlight this week is SB205 (KCC Strong Oppose) filed by Senator Robby Mills, which already has three additional co-sponsors. This is an anti-divestment from fossil fuels bill. The bill language claims that investment firms and corporations are colluding to force fossil fuel companies to transition to clean energy and are boycotting fossil fuel companies—so now the state must not do business with the firms and companies that are boycotting fossil fuel companies.
The bill then requires the Treasurer to prepare a "list" of companies that have engaged in energy company boycotts. If the company does not stop its "energy boycotting" after receiving notice of its name on the list, then a state entity must divest from that company. Also, does not allow a governmental entity to enter into a contract for goods and services with a company unless that company, by contract, ensures that it does not and will not engage in energy company boycotts. Allows the attorney general or the treasurer to enforce. We understand that this legislation was based on an American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) model and has been proposed in several other states to date. For a more detailed summary on this bill, see link.
IMMEDIATE ACTION: Contact the Senate Standing Committee on Natural Resources & Energy to oppose this bill. You may email members of the committee or call the Legislative Message Line, 1-800-372-7181, from 7AM-9PM Monday-Thurs. or from 7AM-4:30 on Fridays.
Electric and Hybrid Cars Legislation: We also saw a new filing of a bill to address electric car fees and electric car charging Infrastructure, HB568 by Rep. Jim DuPlessis. (KCC Monitor). This year’s attempt contains a proposal for electric and hybrid car fees, as well as an excise tax of initial base rate of $0.03 per kilowatt hour on electric vehicle power distributed in this state by an electric vehicle power dealer for charging EVs. We at KCC have said for several years now that we believe all users of the roads should pay their fair share. However the previous EV proposals, we feel, have not been equitable to internal combustion engine cars. While this year’s bill has reduced the “usage” fees from previous attempts, we still have many concerns about this latest proposal.
For example, year’s bill defines "Electric vehicles" as any vehicle that has plug-in charging capability, regardless of whether the vehicle is powered: (a) By an electric motor only; or (b) By a combination of an internal combustion engine and electric power; and "Hybrid vehicle" as any vehicle that does not have plug-in charging capability and is powered by a combination of an internal combustion engine and an electric motor.
However the bill then proceeds to propose “electric vehicle road usage fees” for both electric AND hybrids ($140 for EVs and $70 for hybrid vehicles). Since hybrid cars do pay gasoline tax already, we believe this creates an oddity between Hybrid cars and an efficient non-hybrid internal combustion engine car. We realize there are many other complex issues to consider, so for now we are monitoring the bill and collecting feedback, as well as working with EV advocacy groups on this bill.
A coalition group called the Kentucky Infrastructure Coalition is one of the groups pushing for raising Kentucky’s gas tax and adding road usage fees with some slick online calculators to lobby for more funding to “modernize” Kentucky’s transportation system. Stand by for updates on this bill.
ACT: This bill has not yet been assigned to committee, so watch KCC’s “Alerts” page for updates on this bill.
On the Move
House Bill 45, the “An Act Relating to Resource Recovery” also known as the Chemical Recycling bill by Rep. Bowling (KCC Oppose) passed the House 84-13 and now also has been reported favorably as a consent bill in the Senate. While amendments have certainly made this bill better, KCC continues to oppose based on the current conversation happening at the federal level on these facilities. The EPA is currently considering regulations on this process, and the proposed "Break Free From Plastics Act of 2021 (S. 984, 117th Congress) would suspend permitting of these facilities for three years to study the environmental impacts on air, water and local communities. It is anticipated that Kentucky may attract as many as eight of these facilities.
Senate Bill 138 AN ACT relating to student instruction by Senator Max Wise (KCC Strong Oppose). While the bill was improved with Senate Committee Substitute 1, and the bill passed the Senate 28-8 after spending a significant amount of time discussing this bill on the Senate floor this week. Our concern with this kind of legislation was the precedent it would set on the factual teaching of other controversial or science-based topics, such as climate change. The bill is now on its way to the House.
ACT: We ask that you contact House Leadership and oppose this bill.
House Bill 195 A bill relating to pipeline location notification (pipeline safety) by Rep. D.J. Johnson (KCC Support). This bill passed the House 85-1, moved quickly to the Senate Natural Resources & Energy committee and has had its second reading. The bill is now in the Rules committee.
ACT: Contact Senate Ledership and your Senator to support.
Updates on Solar: Senator Hornback's Senate Bill 69, "An Act relating to merchant electric generating facilities" that would include large-scale solar facilities. This bill has had its second reading in Senate Natural Resources & Energy and is now in the Senate Rules committee. The bill now has several floor amendments which we oppose (SFA1, SFA2, SFA3, SFA4 all from Senator West). ACT: Please contact your Senator and Senate Leadership and let them know you support the sensible regulations in Senator Hornback's bill without Senator West's floor amendments.
Continue to Ask Lawmakers to Co-Sponsor
The more co-sponsors a bill has, the more it demonstrates momentum. Please ask your lawmakers to co-sponsor these bills:
HB338 PFAS Legislation (KCC Strong Support)
HB342 Fair and Just Utility Rates (KCC Strong Support)
HB485 Vegetation Management (also known as the Tree Bill- KCC Strong Support)
HJR41 Joint Resolution on tax assessments for private forests (KCC Strong Support)
Other Actions YOU Can Take:
The Public Service Commission is currently reviewing Louisville Gas & Electric and Kentucky Utility’s planning for the next 15 years and they need to hear from the public. We can help ensure that the Public Service Commission considers equity, resiliency, and the climate in this process. Please take a few minutes to share your vision using this link (sample talking points included, but please avoid copying and pasting to have the biggest impact). And stay tuned for a second call for comments around the content of the plan.
