march 21, 2023
Statehouse Happenings This Week:
The legislature has one more week of committee hearings and there’s a few things we’re closely monitoring this final week of committees!
SB 49 is the wind lighting mitigation bill and it will be worked in the House Utilities committee on Tuesday morning.
- Please urge House Utilities members to pass the bill out with no additional amendments.
In the Senate, the Utilities committee will hear SB 278, a bill championed by our partners at the Sierra Club that would require public utilities to report information regarding customer assistance programs, account delinquencies and disconnections. We support this bill because accessing this data makes it easier to better target energy efficiency programs and other cost-saving opportunities to the communities in greatest need.
- Please email Chairman Rob Olson and ask him to work SB 278 this week.
On the House floor, we’re worried about HB 2447, a broad preemption bill that passed out of committee last week following a late introduction in the session. This bill seeks to prohibit local governments from prohibiting the sale of any product or service that state law allows, including plastic bags, exotic animals, adult businesses, you name it.
There is talk of amending the bill on the floor to address the overly broad nature.
We are strongly OPPOSED to the bill in its current form. Local communities should be able to address local issues, including solutions for energy efficiency and climate resiliency.
- Please contact your House member and ask them to vote NO on HB 2447.
A plastics only ban is also in House Fed and State – HB 2446.
Join us at the capital on April 4 for WEALTH Day 2023!
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.
WEALTH DAY
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
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.
