The Joint Committee on Telecommunications Utilities and Energy (TUE) reported an energy bond bill, H.4744, An Act relative to energy affordability, clean power, and economic competitiveness, to the House Committee on Ways and Means. H.4744 is the House version of the energy bond bill filed by Governor Healey. Read more about the 98 page bill HERE and a summary HERE.

The League of Women Voters of Massachusetts (LWVMA) opposes two key tenets of the House bill: 

1. It rolls back all of our hard-won victories to achieve Net Zero 2030/2050 emissions goals.
2. It includes Section 80, a repeal of the 1982 law, the Nuclear Power and Waste Disposal Voter Approval and Legislative Certification Act, which requires a statewide vote on any nuclear power plant construction, without public hearing or notice. Read our letter to the committee in opposition to this repeal HERE.

Massachusetts is a leader on climate action through its enactment of major, transformative legislation since 2008. LWVMA has long advocated for an accelerated approach across all sectors, squarely focused on the cause of this crisis: the pollution generated by emissions of greenhouse gas emissions. An Act Creating A Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy was enacted in March 2021, requiring the 2030 emissions limit at 50% below the 1990 baseline and achieving Net Zero by 2050. 

We won’t go back. 

The increasing ferocity of climate change impacts we’re witnessing in floods, droughts, massive storm systems, and biodiversity losses are clear and present signals that there is no time left to address this threat. 

Please call or email your Representative TODAY and ask them to urge House Ways and Means to:

 

1. Restore Net Zero climate protections as legally binding
2. Exclude Section 80

Find your Representative’s contact information HERE.

Here’s a template for your phone call or email:

Dear Representative ________:

Please urge House Ways and Means and leadership to restore Net Zero climate emissions standards required by current law before they report H.4744, An Act relative to energy affordability, clean power, and economic competitiveness. As a member of the League of Women Voters of ___________, I oppose all efforts to rollback the Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2050.

I also ask you to urge leadership to remove Section 80, a repeal of the 1982 Nuclear Power and Waste Disposal Voter Approval and Legislative Certification Act. Voters have a right to express their opinion on the repeal of this law through public hearings and notice. 

[Feel free to personalize this email to say why maintaining net zero climate goals is important to you.]

Thank you.

Your Name

Your full street address