CTLCV Cheers Major Victories for Environmental Protection, Clean Water, and Climate Action

​Hartford, Conn. (June 6, 2019) – With the regular legislative session now over, the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters (CTLCV) applauds the passage of major environmental bills that will help our state reduce pollution, protect our natural resources, and fight climate change.

“Having a pro-environmental majority in the General Assembly has made all the difference when it comes to passing strong policies and fighting dangerous rollbacks,” said Lori Brown, Executive Director of CTLCV. “This year, our champions from previous sessions were joined by new freshmen who are passionate about protecting the air we breathe, water we drink, and future we believe in. Though many new lawmakers faced a packed agenda and a steep learning curve, they rose to the occasion to score real victories for our environment.”

Major environmental wins include:

• Offshore Wind (HB 7156): Connecticut will now procure up to 2,000 MW in energy from an offshore wind installation that will deliver new jobs, fewer carbon emissions, and clean energy to our state.
• Plastic Bag Ban (HB 7424, Sec. 355): For the next two years, a 10-cent fee will be placed on single-use plastic bags. Beginning July 1, 2021, these known pollutants will be banned from grocers and similar retailers.
• State Water Plan (HJR 171): After years of work and an investment of more than $1 million, Connecticut will finally have a real framework for balancing the uses of our most precious natural resource. Water is also preserved as a public trust resource.
• Fracking Waste Ban (SB 753): The General Assembly passed a permanent ban on fracking waste disposal in Connecticut, protecting the public from the dangerous toxins, carcinogens, and radioactive material it contains.
• Solar Net-Metering (HB 5002): After last year’s SB 9 contained a devastating attack on residential solar, the General Assembly passed a temporary fix. Now it falls to the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) to determine how solar net-metering will be calculated moving forward.
• Electric Vehicles (HB 7424, Sec. 93, 94): Connecticut will now transition a portion of its state fleet, including public buses, to zero-emission vehicles. The General Assembly also implemented a sustainable source of funding for electric vehicle infrastructure.
• Invasive Species (HB 6637): The General Assembly imposed a new $5 fee on boat registrations to be used for combating invasive species in Connecticut lakes, rivers, and other waters.

In addition to these wins, Connecticut also preserved funding for the Community Investment Account, dramatically reduced planned cuts to Passport to Parks, and did not implement further diversions to the Energy Efficiency Fund. However, the pending $54 million diversion from the Energy Efficiency Fund was not repealed despite repeated public outcry and the efforts of numerous lawmakers.

“Lawmakers began this session with an ambitious and diverse agenda,” said Amanda Schoen, Deputy Director of CTLCV. “With other hot-button issues on the table, it seemed at times like the environment was an afterthought. But our members stayed vocal and our champions in the legislature didn’t back down, and even with ten minutes to go until the end of session, they delivered huge wins for clean water, clean energy, and climate action.”

In addition to the many wins for the environment, CTLCV also helped stop proposed rollbacks or weakening of environmental protection laws.

“Last session, we had to fight tooth and nail to stop bad bills all session long,” said Brown. “This year, though we saw attempts to undermine the bedrock of our environmental laws—the Connecticut Environmental Protection Act—and the return of old threats like Consent Orders and 90-day automatic permitting, our champions swatted down those attacks early, and those bad bills never resurfaced.”

Though the 2019 legislative session delivered decisive wins for the environment, it was not without a few defeats as well. In addition to the pending diversion of Energy Efficiency funds, this session brought other losses:

• Bottle Bill (HB 7294): Despite strong support from lawmakers, redemption centers, and municipalities facing high recycling costs, opposition from the distributors and wholesalers derailed an attempt to raise the deposit fee and expand the types of containers eligible for redemption. What started as a comprehensive update to this landmark recycling program became a study that would have killed bottle redemption as we know. The bill passed the House but was not called in the Senate.
• Environmental Justice (HB 5395): This important update to our state’s environmental justice law would have empowered underrepresented communities to have a stronger say made in the citing and environmental policies that affect them. It would have applied a stronger equity lens to our state’s environmental work, and work on this front must continue. It passed the House, but was not called in the Senate
• Toxic Chemicals (HB 5910, HB 7346, HB 5999): Despite support from firefighters, farmers, industry, and environmentalists, bills to ban various harmful chemicals and pesticides passed with strong support out of committees, but were not called in the House and Senate.

“Overall, lawmakers delivered real wins for the environment, and even our losses helped us advance major issues and give us goals to work towards next session,” said Schoen. “Our freshmen champions are eager to protect our environment for the next generation. They saw the outpouring of support from members of CTLCV and our partner organizations, and how deeply these issues affect us all. We look forward to building on these victories as we go forward.”

A full accounting of environmental legislation and lawmakers’ votes will be released in CTLCV’s Environmental Scorecard later this summer.

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