Rep. Carney Scores High Marks on CTLCV 2023 Environmental Scorecard

State Rep. Devin Carney (R-23) (Lyme, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, Westbrook) was among those legislators earning top scores on the 2023 Environmental Scorecard published annually by the CT League of Conservation Voters.

The Environmental Scorecard is intended to hold lawmakers accountable for their votes on environmental policy. The final score for each legislator represents an average of their votes on specific bills. This year’s Scorecard covers 31 bills affecting the environment. 

Carney’s score of 95% earned high praise from CTLCV Executive Director Lori Brown.

“We applaud Rep. Carney’s commitment to a cleaner environment through strong policies that will benefit future generations,” Brown said. “Rep. Carney’s knowledge and experience in clean energy and environmental issues are an asset to the legislature, and we look forward to his bipartisan leadership in advancing pro-environment policies in the 2024 session and beyond.”

Carney is a former co-chair of the bipartisan Clean Energy Caucus, and at the start of the 2023 legislative session was named Policy co-chair of the House Republican caucus by House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora. In addition to his work as a state lawmaker, Carney serves as Treasurer of the Board of the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators.  

Among key votes in support of the environment, Rep. Carney voted to establish a state decarbonization plan to guide state agencies toward goals prescribed by the Global Warming Solutions Act. The plan would provide a broad set of policies intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across multiple agencies. This economy-wide approach would include long and short-term goals and benchmarks.   

Rep. Carney also voted to provide grants to towns for PFAS testing and remediation to help improve drinking water quality. He also voted in favor of a statewide Carbon Budget calling for the state Department of Transportation and Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to jointly establish a maximum level of greenhouse gases emitted by the transportation sector.

In an effort to provide cleaner, healthier schools for our children and teachers, Rep. Carney voted in favor of the Carbon-Free Schools bill as a member of the House Finance Committee. This bill would have leveraged state and federal funding to carry out cost-saving energy projects, fund solar and other energy efficiency studies, and provide technical assistance to evaluate and implement these projects. The legislation passed in the Senate with unanimous consent, but never made it to a House vote.  

These and other important initiatives were deliberated and voted on at the CT General Assembly this year.  For the full array of environmental bills that CTLCV tracked and included in the Scorecard, visit CTLCV.org

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