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‘Dirty dozen’ bills harmful, environmental group says
CONCORD — Bracing for another contentious legislative session, a state environmental group has issued a “dirty dozen” list of bills it says are hostile to its cause.
The bills listed by Conservation New Hampshire include a renewed effort to repeal the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, and measures that would weaken local conservation commissions and place greater oversight on the Department of Environmental Services.
This is the first time Conservation NH has issued such a list, and board member Rick Russman, a former Republican state senator, said it reflects the current ideological climate in Concord.
“I think we pride ourselves on the quality of our environment in New Hampshire,” Russman said. “That’s the part that really puzzles me. I think the current leadership party in the House have an anti-environmental attitude.”
High on the “dirty dozen” list is HB 1512, which would abolish all municipally supported land conservation commissions in New Hampshire, and a related bill, HB 1515, which would take away their main funding source, the land use change tax.
As Conservation NH puts it, the bill is “another example of an over-reaching nanny state usurping local control.”
HB 1515 sponsor Rep. Peter Hansen, R-Amherst, wasn’t happy that his bill was on the environmental group’s hit lit, but, he said, “I’m also not upset.”
“This is essentially allowing the taxpayer to say how tax money is going to be spent, rather than the limited number of people on a conservation commission,” Hansen said.
The bill would mandate that land use change taxes go to a town’s general fund not, as is now the case, to local commissions.
Also on Conservation NH’s “dirty” list is a bill that would end the state’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI.
Last session, the effort to pull out of the program, which levies charges on utilities for exceeding emission caps, failed in the Senate because there weren’t enough votes for a veto override.
Rather than outright repeal, the new bill, HB 1490, will have a 2015 sunset clause for RGGI. Its main focus, insisted Rep. James Garrity, R-Atkinson, chair of the Science, Technology and Energy Committee, is making sure the costs of the program aren’t borne by ratepayers, particularly those served by PSNH. “We want to use this session to bring relief to ratepayers,” he said.
Conservation NH calls the bill a retread of the failed repeal effort last session. “If NH gets out of the program, the state still has to pay for the program without receiving any of the benefits,” it notes in its report.
Another concern on the “dirty” list are several bills that would establish legislative oversight for the Department of Environmental Services, which oversees the state’s environmental regulations. The group calls the bills, HB 1234, 1435 and 1436, “legislative micromanaging,” noting “why do we hire commissioners and their agency staffs in the first place?”
Bill sponsor Rep. J. Brandon Giuda, R-Chichester, insists a legislative committee will improve the agency.
“There are many parts of DES that do great work,” he said. “But there have also been significant complaints.”
In the area of wetlands protection, for example, “there’s a lot we could do to streamline and create efficiencies so more land can be preserved,” he said.
Giuda added that he took umbrage at his bill being included on the “dirty dozen” list.
“It’s funny, I consider myself an environmentalist,” he said. “I fish, I own 240 acres that I love, that I farm. I think they’re taking this out of context.”
To see the full “dirty dozen” list, go to conservationnh.org.
Conservation NH is urging its supporters to contact lawmakers to speak out against the bills.
How far the measures go depends on how much support they get from legislative leaders.
“We may not support them all,” House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt said. “But we will support the best ideas that appropriately and reasonably balance the need for progress and protecting our vital natural resources.”
The bills listed by Conservation New Hampshire include a renewed effort to repeal the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, and measures that would weaken local conservation commissions and place greater oversight on the Department of Environmental Services.
This is the first time Conservation NH has issued such a list, and board member Rick Russman, a former Republican state senator, said it reflects the current ideological climate in Concord.
“I think we pride ourselves on the quality of our environment in New Hampshire,” Russman said. “That’s the part that really puzzles me. I think the current leadership party in the House have an anti-environmental attitude.”
High on the “dirty dozen” list is HB 1512, which would abolish all municipally supported land conservation commissions in New Hampshire, and a related bill, HB 1515, which would take away their main funding source, the land use change tax.
As Conservation NH puts it, the bill is “another example of an over-reaching nanny state usurping local control.”
HB 1515 sponsor Rep. Peter Hansen, R-Amherst, wasn’t happy that his bill was on the environmental group’s hit lit, but, he said, “I’m also not upset.”
“This is essentially allowing the taxpayer to say how tax money is going to be spent, rather than the limited number of people on a conservation commission,” Hansen said.
The bill would mandate that land use change taxes go to a town’s general fund not, as is now the case, to local commissions.
Also on Conservation NH’s “dirty” list is a bill that would end the state’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI.
Last session, the effort to pull out of the program, which levies charges on utilities for exceeding emission caps, failed in the Senate because there weren’t enough votes for a veto override.
Rather than outright repeal, the new bill, HB 1490, will have a 2015 sunset clause for RGGI. Its main focus, insisted Rep. James Garrity, R-Atkinson, chair of the Science, Technology and Energy Committee, is making sure the costs of the program aren’t borne by ratepayers, particularly those served by PSNH. “We want to use this session to bring relief to ratepayers,” he said.
Conservation NH calls the bill a retread of the failed repeal effort last session. “If NH gets out of the program, the state still has to pay for the program without receiving any of the benefits,” it notes in its report.
Another concern on the “dirty” list are several bills that would establish legislative oversight for the Department of Environmental Services, which oversees the state’s environmental regulations. The group calls the bills, HB 1234, 1435 and 1436, “legislative micromanaging,” noting “why do we hire commissioners and their agency staffs in the first place?”
Bill sponsor Rep. J. Brandon Giuda, R-Chichester, insists a legislative committee will improve the agency.
“There are many parts of DES that do great work,” he said. “But there have also been significant complaints.”
In the area of wetlands protection, for example, “there’s a lot we could do to streamline and create efficiencies so more land can be preserved,” he said.
Giuda added that he took umbrage at his bill being included on the “dirty dozen” list.
“It’s funny, I consider myself an environmentalist,” he said. “I fish, I own 240 acres that I love, that I farm. I think they’re taking this out of context.”
To see the full “dirty dozen” list, go to conservationnh.org.
Conservation NH is urging its supporters to contact lawmakers to speak out against the bills.
How far the measures go depends on how much support they get from legislative leaders.
“We may not support them all,” House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt said. “But we will support the best ideas that appropriately and reasonably balance the need for progress and protecting our vital natural resources.”