The Net #9
Kansas Legislative Network News
March 14, 2009
Tom Thompson
Legislative Coordinator
Sierra Club Kansas Chapter
5001 Rock Creek Lane, Mission, KS 66205
Phone: 913-236-9161; cell: 913-687-2405;
email: tomnthompson@sbcglobal.net

Clean Energy Day Thursday March 19
Be There. Be GREEN.
Stand with hundreds of fellow Kansans to ask for a clean vote on clean energy.

Prior to Noon
Arrive at Topeka Ice Parking Lot.  It is located immediately south of the Santa Fe Apartment Building on 7th St. & Madison St. *It will be marked as ‘Permit Parking Only,’ but we have approval to use the parking lot.

Noon
Rally with others on the Southwest corner of the Capitol at 10th St. & Harrison St.  *There will be buses available to shuttle participants to the rally site from the parking lot.

1 pm
Meeting with your legislator.  *Please come with information on who your state representative is.  To locate this information, visit this website: http://www.ipsr.ku.edu/ksdata/vote/

2 pm – 2:30 pm
Bus back to parking lot

For More Information
http://www.kansascleanenergy.com/


The primary focus of Sierra Club lobbying this year has been trying to decrease the emission of greenhouse gasses to fight global warming. The message in testimony has been that global warming is real and it is time to do something about it.

No matter how many bills Sierra Club has given testimony, the real energy in this state comes from you, the citizens and voters of Kansas. Without your participation, all the lobbying in the world means little.

Clean Energy Day is one opportunity to express a clear voice that now is the time for Kansas to develop clean energy and not build a new coal fired power plant in Holcomb Kansas. I hope to see you then, you are needed.

Where is 2014?

Senate Substitute for Substitute for HB 2014 is now the primary bill in the legislature affecting the environment. There are few other bills because most have been diluted through amendment into 2014 or rejected by one of the committees dealing with energy.

No matter what is in the bill or that it is being referred to as a comprehensive energy plan, 2014’s primary purpose is to build a coal fired power plant in Holcomb, Kansas. This especially became apparent during debate on 2014 on the floor of the Senate last week. Holcomb will spew 11 million tons of carbon dioxide a year for the life of the plant.

2014 is now in conference committee. Bills go to conference committees when they have passed both the House and Senate but have differences. These committees have 3 members from the House and 3 from the Senate. The task of the committee is to negotiate the differences to the point the bill will pass both chambers. This is a vote to concur or non-concur on a committee report that is presented to each chamber. This is a Final Action vote. The next step, if passed, is the Governor’s desk.

At this time the primary concern of the conference committee appears to be a provision amended into 2014 in the Senate to require 5% of the coal used in new plants to come from Kansas. This means SE Kansas. The votes of certain SE Kansas legislators seem to be targeted by this amendment.

When a conference committee report is passed in both chambers, 2014 will be given to the Governor to sign, veto or allow becoming law without a signature. The Governor has stated that 2014 is dead on arrival.

The House and Senate are expected to attempt an override of the veto, which requires a two-thirds majority. Though a House vote is expected to be close it is not expected to meet the required 84 votes out of 125 criteria to override. Last year a veto override vote on the Holcomb bill came within one vote.  That is why your participation in Clean Energy Day is important.

SB 284:
Third Party Entity and Fund for Energy Efficiency and Conservation Programs in Kansas

On Wednesday March 11, the Senate Utilities Committee held hearings on SB 284. Hearings are to continue next week though all testimony appears to have been completed. The Sierra Club testified in favor of this bill.

This legislation would create an entity focused on helping people decrease energy usage. The Sierra Club believes such a program would get the biggest decrease in energy use for the money spent when compared to allowing utilities to administer such a program or doing nothing.

It is hoped that this bill will move forward. Unfortunately, Westar and KCPL opposed it. The Sierra Club, Citizens Utility Ratepayer Board and AARP supported it. There are only three weeks left in the session for this to go through the Senate and be passed by the House. March 20 is scheduled to be the last day for non-exempt committees to consider bills.

If there is a final note for this week it is to attend CLEAN ENERGY DAY. If you can’t, make sure you write your legislator and thank them for their no votes on 2014 (votes listed in KLN#8 last week) or ask them to reconsider their yes votes. We also need them to vote to sustain a probable veto. This battle could go all the way to the veto session at the end of April.

Thanks for your Energy.

Tom

Tom Thompson
Legislative Chair
Sierra Club Kansas Chapter