By TIM FAULKNER/ ecoRI.org
News staff
PROVIDENCE — Several
bills have been swept up in the pro-business “moving-the-needle” agenda pushed
by pro-business advocates.
On May 29, the House
Budget Committee passed a bill (H6063) that creates a new Executive Office
of Commerce. In its latest draft, the legislation was revised so that the state
Department of Environmental Management (DEM), Department of Administration and
Coastal Resources Management Council are free from direct oversight by the new
commerce office. The original draft was strongly opposed by environmental
groups such as the Environment Council of Rhode Island and Save The Bay, the
DEM and Gov. Lincoln Chafee.
The original draft
gave ultimate permitting authority and environmental oversight to the new
commerce director. The House is scheduled to vote on the bill June 4.
Wetlands and slopes. Efforts to oppose the so-called “slopes” and
“setback” bills largely failed. The setback bills (H5425 and S672) call for the creation of a task
force to oversee the drafting of uniform standards for building next to
wetlands, waterways and septic systems. Municipalities such as Charlestown,
which has no public septic and water systems, initially opposed the setback
bill for fear it wouldn't allow the town to regulate its environmentally
sensitive land and preserve its natural space.
The 10-member task
force, overseen by the Division of Planning, has until the end of 2014 to come
up with new statewide standards.
The House Committee on
the Environment and Natural Resources is scheduled to vote on the bill May 30.
The slopes bill (S544 and H5703) was passed by the House on May 14.
The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill May 23. The bill allows for
unbuildable sloped land to be included in the size of a buildable lot. The
slopes and setback bills were supported heavily by home builders and opposed by
environmental groups, land trusts and advocates for open space.
A House bill (H6167)
introduced Tuesday also has municipal planners concerned because it prevents
planning boards from requiring additional documents and information than those
already required by local regulations.
Two energy-related
bills and a climate-change bill were passed by the Senate on May 29:
Financing for solar. The Senate approved the PACE program, which
allows homeowners to borrow against their residence to pay for renewable-energy
and energy-efficiency upgrades. The Property Assessed
Clean Energy program allows homeowners to pay for energy
projects through their municipality as they do for property taxes or a sewer
assessment. National Grid, the state’s largest energy provider, supports the
PACE program.
The five other New
England states and 23 other states have passed PACE legislation.
The House version of
the bill (H6019) was last heard by the House Finance
Committee on May 14.
Biodiesel. The Senate passed the Biodiesel Heating Oil
Act of 2013. The bill (S816) requires all standard heating oil
sold in Rhode Island contain a minimum of bio-based products, such as cooking
oil, plants, trees, organic portions of municipal solid waste, organic portions
of construction and demolition debris, algae and/or grease trap waste. The
minimum percentage starts at 2 percent and increases to 5 percent by 2017.
The House version of
the bill (H5802) is still in committee.
Climate Commission. The Senate passed a bill (HS671) May 29 that ends the existing Rhode
Island Climate Change Commission at the end of 2013 and replaces it with a
permanent advisory commission overseen by the State Planning Council.
The new
committee would focus on adaptation strategies that will be used to update the
state guide plan. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Joshua Miller, D-Cranston.
Opponents of the bill argued that the climate commission would be more forceful
if overseen by the Coastal Resources Management Council or the state Department
of Environmental Management.