Imagine Being Able to Address Climate Change and Protect Public Health, in Just 80 Days

by | Mar 15, 2022 | Legislative

Every year, in Georgia, hundreds of elected officials gather at the Georgia State Capitol to consider the most pressing challenges of our time. Their time together lasts for 40 days each year for two years and is called the “Georgia legislative session.” Elected state representatives and state senators update, change or create thousands of new laws. These new laws can promote a healthier, cleaner future for all Georgians. Some threaten public health and safety, and the environment.

The Georgia legislative session is an opportunity for your elected state representatives and state senators to show you that they are listening to your concerns about public health, clean energy, and addressing climate change which is happening right now. Your elected legislators have the chance to show that they care and that they will be a champion for the change you wish to see.

Every year, thousands of bills are introduced and debated. We know it’s hard to keep up, so we track bills on our website and work to give you a summary of the most important ones. Check out the list below to find out what bills are good and bad for people and the planet.

 

Energy Bills

 

The Good

 

The Bad

  • SB 472 by Sen. John Kennedy (R) deals with redistricting and energy. The bill redraws the boundaries of Public Service Commission districts where candidates must reside to be elected. The bill directly targeted and removed a declared candidate challenging an incumbent that has voted repeatedly to raise power bills. 
  • HB 1342 by Rep. Don Parsons (R) deals with energy and cryptocurrency. The bill attempts to attract and expand the bitcoin mining industry. Bitcoin mining requires heavy use of electric power and cooling for computers and is the first significant new use for large volumes of electric power in a long time. 
  • HB 1301 by Rep. Don Hogan (R) deals with gasoline-powered leaf blowers and attempts to stop local governments from regulating their use or banning them.

 

Environmental Justice

 

The Good

  • HB 279 by Rep. Regina Lewis Ward (D) deals with the environment and public health. The bill requires local governments to post environmental effects reports on their official websites to keep the public informed about matters that impact their health.
  • HB 1272 by Rep. Tyler Paul Smith (R) deals with landfills. It fights against locating a landfill within one mile of any pipeline.
  • HB 1338 by Rep. Tyler Paul Smith (R)  deals with landfills. The bill protects state and local historic sites from landfills and prohibits them from being too close to significant groundwater recharge areas.

 

The Bad

  • HB 1150 by Rep. Robert Dickey (R) deals with the right to protect your property from nuisances. All urban and rural farms that operate for at least one year are saved from nuisance lawsuits brought by newcomers. Existing neighbors & farmers can protect their property rights and values if a new nuisance operation moves to them. This Bad Neighbor Bill repeals and replaces protections that have been in place for 30+ years. Please contact your legislators opposing this bill today.

 

Transportation

 

The Good

  • HB 1133 by Rep. Mike Cheokas (R) deals with Electric Vehicle charging.  HB 1133 removes the fee on commercial charges that HB 776 proposes, relieves the Public Service Commission of any regulatory control over EV charging and charging locations, and allows resale of electricity by kilowatt-hour instead of the current sales by the minute.
  • HB 1322 by Rep Alan Powell (R) and SB 492 by Jeff Mullis (R) deal with Electric Vehicle charging. They require the PSC to assure that electric vehicle charging is neutral in investment and rates charged to the public. The bills are designed to ensure that the process and rates are consumer-friendly to assure rapid deployment of an electric auto fleet as soon as practicable.
  • SR 463 by Sen. Steve Gooch (R) deals with transportation electrification. It establishes a study committee to explore the topic of the growing shift to electric cars, trucks, trains, and other vehicles. 
  • SB 513 by Sen. Elena Parent (D) deals with electric vehicles. The bill removes the alternative vehicle fee of $200 per vehicle, imposed during the GDOT’s big refinancing bill of 2015, and will help expand the adoption of electric vehicles.

 

The Bad

  • HB 776 by Rep. Cheokas deals with Electric Vehicle charging. The bill relieves the Public Service Commission of any regulatory control over EV charging and charging locations, imposes a fee on EV charging, and allows resale of electricity by kilowatt-hour instead of the current sales by the minute.

 

Water

 

The Good

  • HB 1289 by Rep. Darlene Taylor (R) deals with the Okefenokee Swamp. The bill prohibits the director of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division from issuing, modifying, or renewing any permit or accepting any bond to conduct surface mining operations on the geological feature known as Trail Ridge between St. Marys and Satilla Rivers. This bill will help protect the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.
  • HB 1355 by Rep. Katie Dempsey (R) deals with childhood lead exposure. The bill revises lead exposure control and lays out key lead prevention provisions. This includes lowering allowable blood lead level limits; instituting abatement plans for educational facilities; and developing specific abatement procedures that ensure awareness of lead poisoning hazards. The bill does omit water as a source of lead contamination but is a step in the right direction.

 

The Bad

  • HB 748 by Rep. Jesse Petrea (R) deals with coastal marsh protection. The bill makes changes to the Coastal Marshlands Restoration Act of 2021 that threaten the health and well-being of the marsh by allowing the transfer of property titles to marshland for “conservation” profiteering by selling “easements” as “conservation credits.”