Weblog

I had a pleasant surprise this morning at my office as Lauren Siegel from Nevada EcoNet and two of their staffers showed up to give me an invitation to their annual Pinecone Ball- an event celebrating leadership in environmental issues.
The catch? I’m to receive one of the awards! I’m still pretty stunned by the news. […]

With plenty of wrap up articles available online, here’s a brief overview of how my legislative agenda fared over the course of the legislative session…

In the final days of the Legislature, Governor Jim Gibbons has signed into law AB 217. Representatives from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, the Nevada Conservation League and the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, all supporters of the legislation, were on hand for a signing ceremony yesterday morning in the Governor’s office.

For those of you who have been following its progress, yesterday the Senate passed AB 217, which will revise the composition of the State Environmental Commission.
The State Environmental Commission consists of eleven members and is responsible for regulations related to the environment. The commission includes seats for representatives of state agencies and areas of industry […]

The following is a press release regarding two energy bills being heard in Senate Commerce tomorrow.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 7, 2007
Energy Bills to be Heard in Senate Commerce Committee May 8
Buckley and Bobzien say legislation will protect consumers, encourage renewable energy use
CARSON CITY—Legislation to protect Nevada consumers from unjustified utility rate increases and to encourage greater […]

The big news from Carson City in recent days is the Legislature’s bi-partisan move to suspend the popular green building incentive program. Enacted as AB 3 in the 2005 special session, the program offers property tax abatements and sales tax breaks for buildings constructed to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards.
If […]

AB 178, making it possible for larger renewable energy projects to contribute power to the grid, and creating incentives for wind power, passed out of the Assembly yesterday, 42 to 0.
After long negotiations, this legislation has pushed the envelope for other net metering bills this session in Carson City. Under the bill’s raises to […]

AB 259 has generated emails and letters like no other so far this session. The bill’s preamble has understandably caused concern:
AN ACT relating to wildlife; classifying a wild mountain lion as an unprotected mammal; designating the Department of Wildlife as the Department of Fish and Game; placing the Department under the control of the Board […]

After long negotiations with Sierra Pacific Resources, an amended version of my bill to expand the practice of net metering and create a wind power demonstration program was passed by the Assembly Commerce and Labor committee this afternoon. For more on AB 178, please check out my previous post on how it will expand renewable […]

Yesterday AB 217 passed the Assembly with 41 yeas, 0 nays, 1 excused. Click through to the full post for more and a photo of the vote record.