Natural Resources

Natural Resources and Energy Policy

LWVAL Action Priority Level I (Highest) - Monitoring and action of highest priority. Major area for resource expenditures.

Click a bill to see sponsor(s), synopsis, link to the bill, League action and justification for that action, and progress of the bill through the legislative process.

Legend:

= LWVAL's support for the legislation.

= LWVAL's opposition to the legislation.

= new bill activity; change from previous week's report such as new progress in the legislature and/or League action. Bill may be one newly added to the report. These updates are in green font.

Contact information for legislators and committees referenced in the bills below:
Representatives Standing House Committees Senators Standing Senate Committees Find my legislators

LWVAL has taken a position on these bills:

HB53/SB122 - Environment, Alabama Legacy for Environmental Research Trust, abolished, Sec. 22-30B-19 repealed

Sponsor(s):
HB53: Representative Johnson
SB122: Senator Sanford

Synopsis and Analysis: Existing law requires $500,000 to be transferred annually from fees collected for the disposal of hazardous waste into the Alabama Legacy for Environmental Research Trust, to be used by public institutions of higher learning for funding environmental research and education relating to hazardous waste production and disposal. This bill would repeal the law that establishes the Alabama Legacy for Environmental Research Trust. This bill would also provide that any existing moneys in the trust fund revert to the Department of Public Health for the operation of the Bureau of Environmental Services.

See HB53 and history with any amendments or substitutions.

See SB122 and history with any amendments or substitutions.

League Action and Justification: Oppose. LWV has no specific position on funding research and education relating to hazardous waste production and disposal. However, the LWV position on waste management states: “Promote policies to reduce the generation and promote the reuse and recycling of solid and hazardous wastes.” Higher education research and education funding would be in line with this LWV principle.

Bill Progress in Legislature:

HB53

House:

01/09/2018 - Read for the first time and referred to the House of Representatives committee on Ways and Means General Fund (W&MGF)

01/18/2018 - Read for the second time and placed on the calendar
02/06/2018 - Third Reading Passed

02/06/2018 - Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass adopted

Senate:

02/08/2018 - Read for the first time and referred to the Senate committee on Finance and Taxation General Fund (F&TG); Pending committee action in 2nd house

03/15/2018 - Read for the second time and placed on the calendar 0130

03/21/2018 - Third Reading Carried Over to Call of the Chair; Sanford motion to Carry Over to the Call of the Chair adopted Voice Vote

03/22/2018 - Third Reading Passed; Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass adopted Roll Call; Passed Second House; Enrolled; Signature Requested

House

03/22/2018 - Clerk of the House Certification; Assigned Act No. 2018-412.; Delivered to Governor at 1:06 p.m. on March 22, 2018.

SB122

Senate:

01/09/2018 - Read for the first time and referred to the Senate committee on Finance and Taxation General Fund (F&TG)
01/25/2018 - Read for the second time and placed on the calendar

02/06/2018 - Third Reading Passed; Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass adopted

House:

02/06/2018 - Read for the first time and referred to the House of Representatives committee on Ways and Means General Fund (W&MGF)

02/15/2018 - Read for the second time and placed on the calendar; Pending third reading on day 13; Favorable from W&MGF

HB78 - Constitutional Amendment - Coosa Co., Forever Wild Land, payment from Ala. Trust Fund for lost ad valorem tax revenue, constitutional amendment

Sponsor(s): Representative Ron Johnson

Synopsis and Analysis: Propose local amendment for Coosa County to additional payments from the Alabama Trust Fund to the Forever Wild Land Trust to reimburse Coosa County for lost ad valorem tax payments as a result of the acquisition of property by the Forever Wild Land Trust.

See HB78 and history with any amendments or substitutions.

League Action and Justification: Oppose. LWVAL was a supporter of Forever Wild reauthorization funding in 2011 – as is. Our Natural Resources position calls for support of protecting natural resources in the public interest, conserved and protected to assure their future availability. This proposed amendment and HB362, which would require payments from Forever Wild to replace lost ad valorem taxes for all counties which opt in, would severely undermine the ability of the Land Trust to protect and preserve Alabama Land for current and future generations.

Bill Progress in Legislature:

House:

01/09/2018 - Read for the first time and referred to the House of Representatives committee on Local Legislation (LL)
01/11/2018 - Read for the second time and placed on the calendar
01/16/2018 - Third Reading Passed; Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass adopted; Johnson (Ron) Local Application adopted

Senate:

01/16/2018 - Read for the first time and referred to the Senate committee on Local Legislation (LL1)
01/23/2018 - Read for the second time and placed on the calendar
01/25/2018 - Third Reading Carried Over to Call of the Chair; Marsh motion to Carry Over to the Call of the Chair adopted
01/30/2018 - Chambliss first Substitute Offered (190625-1); Chambliss motion to Adopt adopted; Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass lost; Lost in second house

HB362 - Constitutional Amendment - Forever Wild Land Trust, ad valorem tax revenue lost on property acquired, reimbursement payments from trust to all entities previously receiving tax revenue, constitutional amendment

Sponsor: Representative Tuggle

Synopsis and Analysis: This bill proposes a constitutional amendment that would require the Forever Wild Land Trust to annually reimburse the amount of ad valorem tax revenue lost as a result of property previously subject to ad valorem tax being acquired by the Forever Wild Land Trust, paid to the county tax official in each county where the property has been acquired and distributed as other ad valorem tax proceeds unless the county opts out. The amount of reimbursement would be the amount as if the property was taxed at current use value of the property as forest property with good productivity. The bill would also provide that if funding for the Forever Wild Land Trust is not continued after September 30, 2032, the Forever Wild Land Stewardship Account would receive up to $1,000,000 from the Alabama Trust Fund annually.

See HB362 and history with any amendments or substitutions.

League Action and Justification: Oppose. LWVAL was a supporter of Forever Wild reauthorization funding in 2011 – as is. Our Natural Resources position calls for support of protecting natural resources in the public interest, conserved and protected to assure their future availability. This proposed amendment and HB78, which would require payments from Forever Wild to replace lost ad valorem taxes specifically for Coosa County, would severely undermine the ability of the Land Trust to protect and preserve Alabama Land for current and future generations.

Bill Progress in Legislature:

02/01/2018 - Read for the first time and referred to the House of Representatives committee on State Government (SG)
02/08/2018 - Read for the second time and placed on the calendar with 1 substitute; Pending third reading on day 11; Favorable from State Government with 1 substitute; State Government first Substitute Offered (191241-2)

02/27/2018 - Third Reading Passed; 191241-2 State Government first Substitute Offered;Motion to Adopt adopted; Tuggle Amendment #1 Offered; Motion to Adopt adopted; Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass lost

03/01/2018 - Rogers motion to Suspend Rules adopted; Rogers motion to reconsider adopted; 192524-1 Tuggle Amendment #2 Offered; Motion to Adopt adopted; Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass lost; Lost in house of origin; NOTICE IN WRITING FILED by Rogers

HB370 - Coastal areas, shoreline restoration, living shoreline techniques, use of sand and sediment by riparian property owners without fee or charge by Conservation and Natural Resources Dept. and Environmental Management Dept.

Sponsor: Representative Davos

Synopsis and Analysis: This bill would further provide for permits for shoreline restoration, including the use of living shoreline techniques, by riparian property owners in coastal areas. The bill would authorize riparian property owners to sever and use materials in their riparian rights use area and for the purposes of shoreline restoration without a permit fee or charge by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources or the Department of Environmental Management when the source sediment is used for the construction of living shorelines in front of a property owner's riparian property.

See HB370 and history with any amendments or substitutions.

League Action and Justification: Support. LWV does not explicitly have a position on living shorelines; however, consensus among the natural resource community and current research is that natural shorelines are preferred to hardened structures. Throughout federal and state agencies there has been a push to move away from "gray" or hardened structures to natural or living shorelines as these natural approaches have many benefits over hardened structures. Recently experts identified a need to streamline and improve the permitting process of living shorelines to reduce barriers to implementation, and this works towards that goal. Existing LWV policies that do encourage support of this bill are "Promote an environment beneficial to life through the protection and wise management of natural resources in the public interest.", "Promote resource conservation, stewardship and long-range planning, with the responsibility for managing natural resources shared by all levels of government.", and "Promote policies that manage land as a finite resource and that incorporate principles of stewardship."

Bill Progress in Legislature:

02/01/2018 - 2018-02-01 Introduced and read for the first time and referred to the House of Representatives committee on Agriculture and Forestry

NOTE: Hearing: Feb 21 @ 3:00 pm

03/08/2018 - Read for the second time and placed on the calendar with 1 substitute; Pending third reading on day 19; Favorable from Agriculture and Forestry with 1 substitute; 192189-3Agriculture and Forestry first Substitute Offered

HB416 - Water Resources Act, coordination of plans relating to water allocation required, restrictions of use under certain conditions, award of conservation credits to certain consumers, Alabama Water Security and Conservation Act, Secs. 9-10B-31, 9-10B-32 added; Secs. 9-10B-2, 9-10B-3, 9-10B-20, 9-10B-22, 9-10B-23, 9-10B-24 am'd.

Sponsor: Representative Todd

Synopsis and Analysis: Creates the Alabama Water Conservation and Security Act. Currently the Water Resources Act designates the Office of Water Resources as the state agency responsible for coordinating the water resources of the state.

This bill would coordinate water allocation with water quality and preserve water flows.

This bill would amend the Alabama Water Resources Act, which designates the Office of Water Resources as the state agency responsible for coordinating the water resources of this state. It would facilitate the coordination of the plans, laws, regulations, and decisions pertaining to water allocation in the state with those pertaining to water quality and implement measures to preserve the flows and levels in all water sources as necessary to protect the appropriate biological, chemical, and physical integrity of water sources.

This bill would:

authorize the Office of Water Resources to restrict any term or condition in a certificate of use for the duration of a water shortage or water emergency declared by the Water Resources Commission;
require the Water Resources Commission to declare a water shortage under certain conditions;
authorize the Office of Water Resources to provide conservation credits to water users who take certain conservation measures during periods of water shortages or emergencies; and
(4) would authorize the commission to terminate a declaration of a water shortage or emergency upon certain findings. This bill would also require the state to preserve environmental flows and levels in all 16 water sources, would allow the Office of Water Resources, after consultation with the Alabama Water Resources Council, to establish by rule environmental flow or level in any water source, and would establish a burden of proof for withdrawals of surface or underground water.

See HB416 and history with any amendments or substitutions.

League Action and Justification: Support. Alabama still does not have a water management plan and this bill moves the state toward that goal. Governor Bentley instituted a water management planning process which has worked over the past two years and made certain recommendations. Gov. Ivy has not moved that process forward. This bill includes safeguards which several of the working groups considered very important. It places restrictions on water consumption in periods of drought and requires rules to protect withdrawals of water. Our Natural Resources position (LWV of Alabama supports measures to promote an environment beneficial to life through the protection of natural resources in the public interest) and our Coastal Zone Management position (LWVAL supports increased attention to identifying adverse impacts on the coast by the ecosystems of the entire state and establishment of regulations and enforcement mechanisms to prevent or to mitigate those impacts) both support this bill. Those who advocate for water protection are strongly behind it.

Bill Progress in Legislature:

02/15/2018 - Read for the first time and referred to the House of Representatives committee on Agriculture and Forestry (A&F)

LWVAL is monitoring this bill:

SB33 - Permanent Joint Legislative Committee on Energy Policy, membership and duties revised, fund created for deposit of funds, creation of office deleted, Secs. 29-2-270 to 29-2-275, inclusive, am'd.

Sponsor: Senator Ward

Synopsis and Analysis: Reintroduction of bill from 2017. Under existing law, the Permanent Joint Legislative Committee on Energy Policy was created to develop the Alabama Energy Plan and to make recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature to address the state's long-term and short-term energy challenges. Senate Bill 33 as passed the Senate removes the requirement that the Alabama Joint Legislative Committee on Energy Policy develop the Alabama Energy Plan; but would now require that the committee recommend courses of action to the Governor and Legislature to address Alabama’s energy challenges. The bill authorizes the committee to only receive federal grants and other funds related to energy initiatives with no funds from the state; reduces the number of committee members from 17 to 13; provides that the committee shall meet at least once every six months; and allows the committee to meet by means of telephone conference, video conference, or similar communications provided that a majority of a quorum is physically present at the meeting location presented in the notice. This bill would delete authorization for the committee to create and staff a Legislative Energy Policy Office, and would authorize the committee to form advisory subcommittees as needed, removing requirement for including members of the public.

See SB33 and history with any amendments or substitutions.

League Action and Justification: Monitor. This bill has already passed the Senate and is very likely to pass the House. It recognizes the political realities that there will not be a staff or funding for this committee. However, it drops the requirement to create a state energy plan and involve members of the public in that process and on any committees. LWVAL supported the development of a state energy plan under this law in 2012 with a letter to the committee. A public process was started in January, 2013, but cancelled before any of the three scheduled public planning meetings could occur, and no efforts to create a state energy plan have occurred since. The LWV natural resources position states “support environmentally sound policies that reduce energy growth rates, emphasize energy conservation and encourage the use of renewable resources.” This committee will still recommend courses of action to address Alabama’s energy challenges, though there may be less opportunity for public input to that process.

Bill Progress in Legislature:

01/09/2018 - Read for the first time and referred to the Senate committee on Transportation and Energy (T&E)
01/18/2018 - Read for the second time and placed on the calendar 1 amendment
01/23/2018 - Third Reading Passed; 190146-1 Transportation and Energy Amendment Offered; Ward motion to Adopt adopted; 190335-1 Ward Amendment Offered ; Ward motion to Adopt adopted; Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass adopted; Engrossed

House:

01/25/2018 - Read for the first time and referred to the House of Representatives committee on Transportation, Utilities and Infrastructure (TU&I)

02/01/2018 - Read for the second time and placed on the calendar; Pending third reading on day 9; Favorable from TU&I

03/21/2018 - Third Reading Passed; Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass adopted Roll Call ; Passed Second House; Signature Requested; Enrolled

Senate

03/21/2018 - Forwarded to Governor on March 21, 2018 at 4:34 p.m. on March 21, 2018; Assigned Act No. 2018-419.

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