By Cassie Gavin
Senior Director of Government Relations
The big news from the N.C. General Assembly this week was that the House pushed through an omnibus energy bill (H 951 “Modernize Energy Generation”) on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning in a midnight session. The Sierra Club opposes the measure and will continue to do so on the Senate side. The bill passed with a close 57-49 vote. Please thank the representatives who voted "no."
H 951 was drafted in closed meetings between lawmakers and a small group of stakeholders - most notably Duke Energy. It was revised in committee, but retains many problematic provisions. The measure would lock North Carolina into continued reliance on burning fracked gas instead of transitioning to clean energy. In addition, H 951 would be a step backwards in the way the N.C. Utilities Commission reviews energy plans by Duke Energy and other utilities. The bill would hamstring regulators and reduce oversight and transparency. Normally, the utilities submit plans, including what kind of generation they plan to use, to the Utilities Commission for approval. But this bill would preempt that process for some retiring coal plants and would require a switch to gas.
Further, communities now experiencing pollution from coal plants would continue to be burdened by living next to fracked gas plants and would be allowed less opportunity for input. And, with a new amendment added on Wednesday by Rep. Arp (R - Union), the bill would ban the state from joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a step just begun by the Environmental Management Commission on Tuesday.
Please thank Representatives Harrison (D - Guilford), Carney (D - Mecklenburg), and Brown (D - Mecklenburg,) who spoke against the bill in the House debate. Rep. Harrison noted, among many points, that the stakeholder process leading up to the bill left out low-income ratepayers and that it doesn’t make sense to replace coal with gas given the reality of a fossil fuel-free future. Rep. Carney highlighted that the bill would take away discretion of the utilities commission in at least thirteen sections of the proposal. And Rep. Brown complained that many businesses are looking to locate in clean-energy friendly states, so this is a step in the wrong direction if we are looking to attract those companies to North Carolina.
Governor Cooper has indicated that he doesn’t support the House version of the bill, so the measure may be headed for a veto unless significant revisions are made.
Opportunity for Action
Please reach out to your senator and ask them to oppose H 951.
Farm Act signed into law
The legislature passed the Farm Act (S 605) on June 29 and Governor Cooper signed the bill into law on July 2 despite a veto request from N.C. Sierra Club and many environmental and community groups. The Farm Act requires DEQ to issue general permits for biogas systems at factory hog operations. Going forward, the N.C. Sierra Club will advocate for public involvement opportunities and a strong general permit for biogas operations since DEQ is now required to create one.
Criminal Justice Reform bill revised in committee
Senate Bill 300, “Criminal Justice Reform,” passed the Senate unanimously in May. This week a House committee made changes to the bill, including removal of a provision regarding the release of body camera footage. The revised bill will next be considered by the House Rules Committee. Read more about S 300 here.
Looking ahead
Many of the bills we’ve previously reported on that made crossover have been sitting in committees and have not yet been debated. But now that the Senate has completed its proposed budget and sent it to the House, we may see some of these bills begin to move in the Senate. Be on the lookout for action alerts from us!