Action Item: Call the House and Senate!
/RED ALERT: There are bills coming up today (6/13) and tomorrow (6/14) in the House and Senate. Can you make a call or send an email? The information is as follows:
Clean energy and environmental justice are on the move! Please email and call the legislature now and during the week of June 11.
The HOUSE is poised to take up the environmental bond bill, which currently contains important environmental justice reforms. Please contact the MA House as soon as possible to support environmental justice in the bond bill (H4558).
The SENATE is poised to take up major clean energy legislation. Please contact the MA Senate as soon as possible to support a strong clean energy bill (S2545) and urge support for amendments to promote equity.
SENATE ACTION ALERT
The Senate is moving to take up S.2545, An Act to Promote a Clean Energy Future. This is a bold clean energy bill with strong provisions for the Renewable Portfolio Standard and offshore wind. However, it is missing several critical priorities: solar access for all, reforms to push back against pipeline expansion, community empowerment, and a comprehensive plan to combat climate change.
Please call your Senator (Sen. Patrick O'Connor at 617-722-1646, Sen. John Keenan at 617-722-1494, Sen. Walter Timilty at 617-733-1643) and Chairwoman Karen Spilka, Karen.Spilka@masenate.gov, 617-722-1640. Urge them to support the bill with amendments to (1) promote solar access, (2) push back on pipeline expansion, (3) empower communities and (4) combat climate change. If you do not know who your state senator is, you can find them herehttps://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator .
SAMPLE SCRIPT/MESSAGE:
Thank you for your dedication to clean energy and our environment. I support S.2545, An Act to Promote a Clean Energy Future which is strong on the environment and climate. I am contacting you today to urge you to fight for equity and justice in our environmental policies.
Our Commonwealth needs comprehensive energy reforms. I support An Act to Promote a Clean Energy Future, S2545, but the bill needs to be amended to ensure fair access to solar, promote community empowerment and to reform the Department of Public Utilities and push back on pipeline expansion. We must ensure all communities benefit from clean energy. We must give all communities tools to advance our clean energy future. We must ensure Massachusetts does not burden ratepayers or our environment with costly investments in polluting gas pipelines.
Amendment 43 would ensure all communities can access solar energy.
Amendment 22 would empower communities and give new tools to promote renewable energy.
Amendment 44 will set binding climate targets for 2030 and 2040.
Amendments 6 and 60 will push back on pipeline expansion.
Amendment 27 will put environmental justice legislation back in the bill.
Amendment 17 an 35 will help stop the compressor station.
Thank you for your support of our environment. Please support these amendments.
HOUSE ACTION ALERT
The House of Representatives has indicated it will soon take up the environmental bond bill (H4558) and has removed environmental justice components. Please ask them to support amendments to reintroduce the environmental justice component (H2913).
Please write and call
Chairman Jeffrey Sánchez, Jeffrey.sanchez@mahouse.gov, 617-722-2990
Speaker Robert Deleo, Robert.DeLeo@mahouse.gov, 617-722-2500
(and consider copying your state rep, who you can find here https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator)
Let them know you support environmental justice.
SAMPLE MESSAGE:
Thank you for your support of equity and our environment. I support H2913, the Environmental Justice Act, that has been removed from H4558. I urge you to support amendments that reintroduce the environmental justice components.
It is critical we address environmental justice this session. Please advance environmental justice policies within the bond bill.
And finally, Sen. O'Connor's bill to ban compressor stations in residential areas is still alive! Please push the House Ways and Means Committee to release the bill to a full vote. This bill is S469 and can be seen here: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/190/S469
A list of that committee can be found here:https://malegislature.gov/Committees/Detail/S30/190