Contact your State Senator today, to communicate the importance of rejecting amendments that try to take out parts of the bill supporting our transition away from gas and supporting amendments that advance key priorities like transit electrification and halting expansion of large gas infrastructure! Want to do more? See this action guide for additional steps from our partners at Mass Power Forward or contact jess.nahigian@sierraclub.org to get more involved.
On Thursday June 20th, the MA Senate was expected to vote on both a plastics reduction bill (S.2830) and an energy bill (S.2829). After a bipartisan majority of the MA Senate passed the plastics bill, Republican Senator Ryan Fattman utilized a parliamentary maneuver to slow down and table debate on the energy bill. This delayed discussion to the next formal session which Senator Brownsberger announced for Friday June 21st at 1pm. This maneuver known as “laying the bill on the table” can be done 3 total times, and we expect this delay strategy to continue as Senator Fattman wants to remove key pieces of the legislation that leadership is unlikely to concede.
During the session on Friday, June 21st, the climate bill was tabled again, but Republicans and Democrats agreed that the discussion and vote would occur on Tuesday June 25th with no further motions to delay the vote.
Meanwhile, some amendments that significantly weaken the bill are gaining steam. We are most concerned about the amendments sponsored by Democrats -
Amendments 88 (O'Connor - R) and 98 (Collins - D) repeal Section 46.
Section 46 gives the DPU the power to deny gas company plans for expansion to a new territory if such proposals 1) don’t comply with state law on greenhouse gas emission reductions, 2) don’t protect ratepayers from the cost of stranded assets, and 3) if an alternative to gas service is available.
Amendments 97 (O'Connor - R) and 98 (Collins - D) repeal Section 42.
Section 74 gives the DPU the power to refuse a new customer request for gas services if there is an adequate substitute available or if such service interferes with meeting the Commonwealth's greenhouse gas emissions limits.
Amendments 122 (Feeney- D) and 102 (O'Connor -R) repeal Section 76.
Section 76 requires gas companies to plan the orderly decommissioning of the existing gas pipeline system and encourage the development of alternative, non-emitting energy, particularly networked geothermal energy. It phases out (over the next five years) the special financing arrangement for gas companies doing pipe replacement. It allows gas companies to end gas service to a customer if access to a safe, reliable, affordable alternative is available.
In the meantime, we are advocating for the following amendments to be adopted.
In Numerical order...
8 Solar Panels in Historic Districts (Cyr)
- Makes it easier to get solar panels approved in historic districts
16 Protecting the Climate and Ratepayers from Gas Expansion (Gomez)
- This amendment halts the expansion of large new gas infrastructure projects that, if undertaken, will adversely affect the climate, the State’s clean energy transition, ratepayers, and the health and safety of MA residents.
- 14 Protecting the Commonwealth from Gas Expansion (Gomez) & 15 Halting the Expansion of Large Gas Pipes (Gomez): we support these amendments which includes separate pieces of language included in 16
31 Commuter Rail Electrification (Crighton)
- Instructs the MBTA to implement electrification along all commuter rail lines by December 2035, and establish interim deadlines for each phase of electrification.
- Prioritizes electrification for rail lines that serve Environmental Justice communities, including the Fairmont Commuter Rail, the Newbury/Rockport line, and the Providence Stoughton Line.
32 School Bus and Public Fleet Electrification (Crighton)
- Establish targets that require that all publicly-owned and leased vehicle fleets become electric by 2035 by implementing a phased transition with deadlines.
- Prioritize the electrification of vehicles that serve environmental justice communities.
56 Solar Development on Built and Disturbed Land (Mark)
- Creates the needed incentives via market drivers to build solar panels on buildings and disturbed sites such as parking lot canopies, brownfields and roadway cuts and removes existing caps and limits so that such projects continue to be built year after year.
67 Modernizing the Container Deposit Law (Creem)
- Updates the bottle bill!
100 Improving Air Quality (Jehlen)
- Expands outdoor air monitoring for black carbon, ultrafine particulate matter, and criteria pollutants in pollution hotspots
116 Accurately Assessing Community Impacts (DiDomenico)
- Removes language that limits the accurate assessment of community impacts; this is important to environmental justice advocates in the state.
For a full list of amendments for S.2829 that the MA Chapter supports or opposes, please see this past blog post.