Enviro Bills Released from Assembly Committee Today

The Assembly Appropriations Committee released the following environmental bills today, January 9, 2020.

A5663 (McKeon): Expands definition of “qualified offshore wind project” to include “open access offshore wind transmission facility.”

“This bill will help us figure out the most cost-effective and environmentally beneficial ways to bring offshore wind power onto land. This is an issue that we need to take a careful look at as we are moving forward with these different offshore wind projects. Offshore wind can be the engine that drives our state to reach Governor Murphy’s 100% clean energy goals. Climate change impacts are happening now, and it is critical for New Jersey to transition to renewable energy sources to reduce those impacts. Offshore wind could feasibly power 1.2 million homes with clean energy. As we continue to rebuild our coast in the wake of multiple storm events, we need to invest in clean, renewable energy sources that do not contribute to climate change,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

A4535 (Zwicker): Establishes the “Energy Infrastructure Public – Private Partnership Act.”

“We have concerns with this bill because it provides privatization over direct government spending. It means more privatization of our grid and electrical system that takes away from government entities having control. The bill could be used to foster more fossil fuel versus energy efficiency and renewables. If we stop raiding the Clean Energy Fund and other environmental funds, that becomes an excuse to have to have these privatization programs go forward. Since the legislation would be done through the EDA  and its chair is the head of Natural Gas, we are concerned that New Jersey would promote more natural gas and fossil fuels versus renewable energy and efficiency,” said Tittel.

A1751 (Quijano): Authorizes use of electric school buses.

“We need the legislature to do more than just expand the width of school buses. They need to come up with a real program to get electric school buses on the road,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.