By Ginger Harris, Chapter Legislative Chair
The Sierra Club achieved some of its goals in this year's nutty MO legislative session.
We supported 5 energy bills, and got the first one passed:
- “PACE”: “Property Assessed Clean Energy” authorizes local jurisdictions to create bond commissions to provide up-front financing for energy-efficiency and renewable energy work on one's home or business. Building owners save enough in utility bills to afford to pay back the loan over time in the form of a property tax assessment. If the owner moves away, the remainder of the loan acts as a lien on the property which subsequent owners also repay over time.
- “LEED Silver”: “Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design” (a building certification system developed by the US Green Building Council) or a similar green building system would be used to measure the life-cycle savings projected for all new or extensively rehabbed buildings over 5,000 sq.ft. funded by the state government. If using “LEED Silver” or Home Builders Associations's “2 Green Globes” standards would not achieve net savings over the life of the building, the state would be allowed to use conventional design.
- Statewide Building Energy codes would establish a minimum level of energy-smart construction practices for all homes and commercial buildings in the state.
Both “PACE” and “LEED Silver” were combined into an “environmental” omnibus bill along with some other good measures, but also with “Audit Privilege.” It appeared this bill could pass through both houses until Senator Lager amended a number of unacceptable measures onto it, ultimately killing HB 1871. However, in the last week of the session, our lobbyist Kyna Iman was able to get “PACE” amended onto HB 1692, which passed on the final day of the session. “LEED Silver” did not, but since it involves state-funded buildings, it could be implemented by Governor Nixon on a voluntary basis. To become law, however, LEED Silver and other energy efficiency bills will have to wait till next year. The Sierra Club has already begun a project to educate local officials on the benefits of a statewide building energy code. Missouri is one of only 9 states without such a statewide code.
Our high-priority transportation goals were partly achieved without legislation:
- “Complete Streets” bill would require MoDOT and local highway departments to fully consider needs of pedestrians, disabled persons, bicyclists and transit users in its plans and projects.
- Transit funding: increase state subsidies for public transit agencies throughout the state, to help re-balance MoDOT's policy of investing almost exclusively in highways.
Ever since a mandate for “Complete Streets” was introduced into the legislature a few years ago, MoDOT has been able to quietly scuttle it. Last fall the Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Federation (MBPF) asked MoDOT if it planned to do the same this year, and was pleased to be offered a compromise: citizens would nominate projects throughout the state that needed to accommodate pedestrians, disabled persons, bicyclists and transit users; MoDOT & MBPF would jointly pick the 50 best proposals and implement them within 5 years, thus limiting costs to a predictable amount; bill sponsor, Rep. Sutherland, would submit a House Concurrent Resolution (HCR 67), thus a recommendation, not mandate, to MoDOT and local highway depts. HCR 67 did not pass, but the goal is already being implemented.
Due to state budget difficulties, transit funding did not look promising. Meanwhile, the jurisdiction that had experienced the deepest cuts in transit service last year (St. Louis) was able to win a tax increase at the ballot box in April to restore service. We will address this issue again next year.
Although not a priority bill, we're pleased that Rep. Holsman's “Urban and vertical farming” bill passed, since it will help the “local food” movement, i.e. nutritious food without long-distance transportation.
Our Public Lands goal was to:
- Add state park capital improvements to anticipated state bonds for education, but due to budget difficulties, the legislature did not approve any capital improvement bond issue this year. So deferred maintenance at state parks will have to wait till next year.
We and our allies won some goals to reduce Pollution:
- We were able to keep yard waste out of landfills to reduce production and escape of methane, a highly intensive greenhouse gas. Current state law forbids yard waste in landfills. Landfill operators who wanted to allow yard waste in order to generate and sell methane were unable to enact such language. They will probably try again next year, and we will continue to oppose it because methane escaping from landfills is not well controlled.
- We defeated a bill defining “Nuclear” as “renewable” under Prop C.
- We defeated subsidies and privileges for factory farms or CAFOs (Confined Animal Feeding Operations).
- We defeated “Audit Privilege” which releases companies from fines and disclosure if they secretly report pollution events to Department of Natural Resources.
- We defeated some bad billboard bills, but were unable to pass 2 good ones that would have prohibited digital, tri-vision and projection billboards, and require MoDOT to charge billboard fees to cover the cost of removal when a highway is widened.
- The legislature failed to increase permit fees charged by Department of Natural Resources to adequately monitor and regulate water quality. But opponents may have won a Pyrrhic victory, because there is now a possibility that the federal EPA will take over the regulation of water quality in Missouri.
- The legislature failed to protect night skies from unnecessary lighting, especially in sensitive areas.
Two bills we opposed did pass:
- HCR 46 to pressure the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to rescind its endangerment finding on greenhouse gases, and pressure Congress not to pass “cap and trade.”
- Part of SB 795 that adds methane from animal wastes as eligible under Prop C. This will dilute Prop C's requirement to invest in solar, wind, and other specified renewable sources.
What I've learned about legislative strategy:
- Begin talking with your legislators early on, via email, phone, and town hall meetings.
- Contact Sierra Club's Legislative Chair and join our Legislative Alert email list if you want more information about bills.
- Be clear on the concepts you support or oppose, and why.
- Talk with legislators about these concepts, rather than about bill numbers, because the concepts are often shuffled from one omnibus bill to another, and are rarely enacted as originally written or numbered.
If you'd like to receive our emailed legislative alerts, go to https://tioga.sierraclub.org/listsub/?listname=OZARK-LEGISLATIVE-ALERTS, and sign up. If you'd like to help us decide what bills to support or oppose, please email me at gingerharris@charter.net.