March 7, 2023
Statehouse Happenings This Week:
Whew, what a great week! We celebrated our first WEALTH event this Wednesday with the House Energy and Utilities Chair, Representative Leo Delperdang, in conversation with our Clean Energy Business Council’s Jessica Lucas. On Thursday we then traveled to Topeka for a day at the Capitol.
(Reminder: there are three more opportunities to come to Topeka with WEALTH!)
We were hard at work this week to defeat an anti-renewable budget provision that would have placed a moratorium on wind and solar projects while also requiring a broad study of some forms of energy. The language was unclear, overreaching, and brought through a budget amendment, not the committee process. The good part was that it allowed us to engage with Appropriations members about the renewable economy and reinforce the value renewables bring to the Kansas economy. We appreciate the recognition by many of this value and were pleased to see the Appropriations committee act swiftly to reject the moratorium and study language.
Looking ahead, both the House and Senate will hear Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Investing bills this week. If you’re unfamiliar, ESG refers to a set of standards that socially conscious investors use to screen investments.
Some legislators believe this practice should be prohibited. The Senate has a broad ESG bill that will have a series of hearings next week (SB 224) and the house has a much narrower version that will be heard on Wednesday. (HB 2436). The Senate bill is unlikely to advance as it has many opponents. The House bill is deemed most likely to move through the process.
The bill to ban the ban of plastic bags is back this time without the broader language of the original version in SB 47 (now dead). HB 2446 was introduced in an exempt House committee and is expected to receive a hearing soon.
Also, HB 2225 which the KCC brought forth to address Transmission Delivery Charges remains below the line. Negotiations are ongoing on this bill in the hopes of changes that could provide some relief to ratepayers in the Evergy market. In April, Evergy is expected to file a new rate case and all accounts suggest this rate case will include increases for all ratepayers.
Bills We’re Watching
(Click to view a spreadsheet of the bills we’re tracking during this Legislative Session)
View the committee hearings and recordings on the Statehouse Live & Archive page.
Registration is open for WEALTH 2023 a series of informational events and advocacy opportunities supporting our state’s Water, Energy, Air, Land, Transport, and Health – WEALTH. Check out the timeline below, and register today!
| Kansas Rural Center Policy Watch |
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CEP is a 2023 co-sponsor of the Kansas Rural Center’s Policy Watch weekly e-updates. KRC monitors the state legislature for decisions affecting a diversified agriculture, the environment, our natural resource base, rural communities, and our local and regional food systems. The weekly e-updates also provide information about upcoming hearings, so constituents can contact legislators or attend. Read and subscribe to their latest policy watch issues on their website.
