Sierra Club 2010 Legislative Update #3
This week the Chapter Executive Committee met and set legislative priorities. Four bills were given top priority status for support and I will describe them briefly here.
LB 1048 was introduced by the Natural Resources Committee for the purpose of encouraging expansion of wind development in Nebraska. Senator Chris Langemeier, the chairman of the committee, has demonstrated leadership by bringing together a wide range of interested parties to work on developing a consensus on this issue. I have been part of the group working on details of this legislation. My primary goal has been establishing criteria for the purpose of protecting birds, animals and habitat in the process of siting wind generation facilities and transmission lines. I believe that we are making some progress in this area, although there is substantial pushback from utility representatives and some developer representatives on this issue.
LB 1096, introduced by Senator Ken Haar, would establish the High Performance Schools Initiative. This bill expands public schools’ ability to use energy service contracts to include improving air quality, increasing use of natural light and qualification for LEED certification as well as becoming more energy efficient. Energy service contracts allow private companies to conduct audits of buildings and enter into contracts in which the company provides the financing for the project, does the work and is paid over a period of the time through savings on utility costs. The benefit for public agencies is that it does not require an upfront expenditure of tax dollars to do the improvement and it saves both money and energy in the long run. In addition, several studies have shown that students perform better and are healthier in schools that are more comfortable, have better ventilation and more natural lighting.
LB 1098, introduced by Senator Heath Mello, would authorize the establishment of PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) programs by municipalities in the state of Nebraska. The PACE program allows municipalities to create a financing mechanism, usually by issuing bonds that homeowners and businesses can use to pay for energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy systems. One of the biggest problems with getting people to make their homes and businesses more energy efficient is the upfront cost of these improvements. This voluntary program would provide the financing and would be paid off through an assessment for a period of years on the property on which the improvement occurred. The assessment would stay with the property so that if it was sold, the new owner would continue to make the payments. Programs of this type have been successfully set up in several other states.
LB 1025, introduced by Senator Bill Avery, would authorize instream flow rights and other non-consumptive uses for fully or overappropriated streams. This bill specifically responds to issues related to the Niobrara River and attempts by the Game and Parks Commission to establish an instream flow right on the Niobrara. The Niobrara is a national treasure and the Sierra Club has been one of the leaders in supporting its protection.
There are several other issues that I am working on. I am working with Senator Dave Pankonin on LB 1010, his bill to establish a process for NRDs to obtain land for trails purposes. At this point I am working on language to facilitate trail development which recognizes the legitimate interests of landowners in the area. I am hopeful we can get something worked out related to these issues.
Legislative committees will be holding hearings on these and all the other bills introduced in the Legislature in the next few weeks. If you have questions or want to get involved send me an email at kwinston@inebraska.com.
–Ken Winston, Lobbyist