The Sierra Club York River Group met at the Tabb Library in York County on February 19 for its first meeting in 2020. The main topic for the evening was an update on environmental legislation still in play at the Virginia General Assembly. Glen Besa, Sierra Club VA Chapter Political Chair, described important bills such as the Virginia Clean Economy Act (HB1526 and SB851). Now that both houses of the Virginia leglislature include more pro-environmental representatives (finally!), there is a real opportunity to make some earth-friendly progress, after more than 20 years of mostly pro-corporation, big-money support.
Glen provided a tutorial for how to look up and track bill progress online. One useful website is:
Here, you can click on "Bills & Resolutions: Status of individual bills and related information", to look up specific bills. There are many other helpful links on this website as well, including calendars and information about leglislation sponsors. Additional websites that provide valuable information include:
http://www.vcnva.org/bill-tracker
https://www.virginiamercury.com
Glen also described the process that occurs this time of year in the General Assembly. For example, because Virginia is required by law to have a balanced budget, some passed bills go unfunded. A considerable amount of back-and-forth haggling occurs toward the end of the session in order to try to fund things.
It is important for anyone in Virginia who cares about the environment to try to keep up with the goings-on in Richmond, and to communicate your support of pro-environmental leglislation to your elected representatives. Glen provided us with a lot of valuable tools for accomplishing this.
At this Sierra Club meeting, we also heard from the York River Group Environmental Justice Committee, which is promoting the Purple Air Coalition. By hosting an air quality monitor, local groups can help provide air quality data in support of cleaner air for our region. A contact is PAC[at]UUFP.org. We also heard updates on the ongoing work to save Riverview Farm Park, on the effort to save migratory birds in Hampton Roads, and on important leglislation to continue efforts to save the Chesapeake Bay. On the federal level, the President's proposed budget severely reduces funding for the EPA's Chesapeake Bay Program.
Chris Rumsey, February 20, 2020