Advocacy
The 2011 Virginia General Assembly Session has been one of accomplishment and historic firsts; however, our desired result to create the Commonwealth’s first Green Public Buildings Act remains unfulfilled. The considerable progress made this year has created a clear and realistic opportunity for us to obtain victory during in the 2012 Virginia General Assembly Session. Below is an overview of this Sessions activities:
Green Building Legislation:
On behalf of JRGBC Senator Chap Petersen and Delegate Harvey Morgan submitted identical Bills to create the Green Public Buildings Act. I cannot stress enough that both legislators worked incredibly hard and spent a tremendous amount of time and political capitol in support of our Bills.
Bios for Senator Petersen and Delegate Morgan:
Senator Chap Petersen bio:
Delegate Harvey Morgan bio
History of each Bill:
Note that the Senate Bill passed the Senate but was never heard in the House. The House Bill was heard in the House but did not receive a motion to move forward.
Senator Chap Petersen, Senate Bill 832: http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?111+sum+SB832
Delegate Harvey Morgan, House Bill 2262: http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?111+sum+HB2262
Green Building Session Activity:
We spent a considerable amount of time on the Bills before and during Session which proved to give us big results and major new firsts.
1. No opposition to the Bill existed from any other outside entity to include any environmental group. In fact we received support at the podium from the Virginia Forestry Assoc.
2. The Bill now has a zero fiscal impact to the Commonwealth. This is a huge development which had been a critical impairment in the past.
3. Perhaps the biggest development, the Governor was supportive of our Bill. Less than 6% of all Bills are directly supported by the Governor. The Secretary of Administration spoke on behalf of our Bill.
4. We had the support of Department of General Services Director Rich Sliwoski, he spent a good deal of time helping us lobby for and spoke on behalf of our Bill.
5. We had the support of many members of the Republic House of Delegates and many members of the caucus leadership.
6. We had the full support of the Virginia Association of Counties: http://www.vaco.org/ , they also spoke on behalf of the Bill.
Opposition:
The JRGBC faced a tremendous challenge from less than a handful of legislators. The opposition related to their philosophical views towards “green” issues. Unfortunately, these members included a key committee chairman, subcommittee chairman and at least one subcommittee member. Also included was a powerful budget negotiator and most importantly one of the leading personalities in drafting and approving the House of Delegates redistricting plan. I cannot stress enough that a considerable amount of time was spent to convince these members using several different avenues, but ultimately it was unsuccessful.
Leading up to next Session:
1. The Speaker has agreed to meet with us soon after Session to give us advice and hopefully recommend a course of action for next year.
2. A key and highly visible member of the most conservative element of the House of Delegates has agreed to consider sponsoring the Bill in the House next year.
3. Key Republican members of the committee have agreed to help us on this issue in the off year.
4. We will meet with all the members of the Committee in the off season and their constituent JRGBC members and ask them to sign onto the Bill.
5. We will keep very close to the Governor and ask next year he make our Bill an official part of his legislative package – with this designation comes tremendous support and represents less than 1% of all Bills.
Although we were not successful we have accomplished many significant tasks which will put us in a prime position for success next year and continued to build relationships which will ensure long term support for future JRGBC activities. Thank you to all the volunteers who contributed to these efforts.
2010 Advocacy
The 2010 JRGBC Advocacy Position Paper was created by the JRGBC in coordination with the other Chapters in Virginia: National Capital Region, The Hampton Roads Green Building Council and the USGBC-Southwest Virginia Chapter. Together, these Chapters form the Virginia Chapters of the USGBC Legislative Coalition.
These statements will be used in our efforts with the General Assembly in the 2010 Session.
View the 2010 VCLC Legislative Paper here.
JRGBC 2010 General Assembly Session Results
While our committees work hard to make the JRGBC voice heard, we would also urge you to call your legislator directly or stop by to visit them regarding particular issues and bills related to green building. If you don’t know who your Delegate or Senator is, you can find it by clicking HERE and then clicking on the link “Who’s My Legislator?”
Please get involved and let your legislators know you care about high performance buildings! Please contact the JRGBC if you have any questions: legislation@jrgbc.org.
