July 2009 Legislative Update Governor Nixon has signed into law several bills which MVC worked to help pass during the 2009 legislative session. The bills include:
HB 661 is the scrap tire fee extension and created the Energy Futures Fund. It also authorized DNR to distribute economic stimulus funds and enter into cooperative agreements with other political subdivisions or private entities and educational institutions to seek and obtain federal grants. It also extends DNR’s authority to charge fees for construction permits and operating permits related to water pollution control.
SB 376 is the energy efficiency measure that allows utilities to recover the cost of energy-savings programs, thereby making energy efficiency as financially attractive as buidling new power plants.
HB 734 is the energy efficiency requirement for state appliances and it establishes the Joint Committee on Missouri’s Energy Future. The committee is to prepare a report and submit the report to the General Assembly by December 31, 2009 on Missouri’s energy needs and methods to reduce energy costs over the next 25 years.
End of Session Report 
May 21, 2009
The 2009 legislative session was a mixed bag - we scored a number of victories for Missouri's environment and suffered a few defeats. The most notable victories were the defeat of the CWIP bill, blocking audit privilege (aka. the "Dirty Secrets Bill"), and passage of energy efficiency legislation.
Use the links below to jump to a specific bill:
SuccessesConstruction Work in Progress (CWIP) -- bill failed
Senate Bill 228 started out on a fast track; however, it was derailed by numerous opponents. In addition to the active NOCWIP groups active lobbying against the bill, groups such as AARP, and the large industrial users (Monsanto, Noranda) put a stop to the legislation. The issue is dead for now it may reappear next session.
Department of Natural Resources Legislation -- bill passed
House Bill 661 ended up as the carrier for a majority of legislation that the Department of Natural Resources was trying to pass this session. Originally, issues in HB661 were in
Senate Bill 539, however, that also had bad legislation attached, therefore, it was not brought up for final passage. The good issues that passed in HB661 that MVC's lobbying coalition was advocating on behalf of were:
- Extends the expiration date from January 1, 2010, to January 1, 2015, for the fee for tire disposal collected under Section 260.273, RSMo
- Allows the state to distribute economic stimulus funds provided under the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to local governments, public water or sewer districts, and other eligible entities to assist in the construction of public drinking water and water pollution control projects as approved by the Safe Drinking Water Commission or the Clean Water Commission;
- Allows the department to analyze the potential for increased utilization of landfill gas as an alternative energy source;
- Authorizes the department to enter into cooperative agreements with other states, political subdivisions, private entities, and educational institutions in order to seek and obtain federal grants;
- Allows funds appropriated to the department for energy-related activities to be used to carry out agreements, contracts, sub-grants, or cooperative arrangements with other governmental and non-profit organizations;
- Creates the Energy Futures Fund to be used for energy-related activities including energy efficiency programs, energy studies, energy resource analyses, energy projects, and related departmental administration costs;
- Extends from August 28, 2009, to August 28, 2010, the requirement that the department notify the United States Environmental Protection Agency for its approval of any list of any waters of the state being classified as impaired as adopted by the Clean Water Commission; and
- Extends from December 31, 2009, to December 31, 2010, the authority of the commission to charge fees for construction permits, operating permits, and operator certifications related to water pollution control.
The bad issue on
HB661 and also on
SB242 was a provision that prohibits the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District from assessing a district property owner any fee, charge, or tax for storm water management services if the district does not directly provide sanitary sewer services to the property and the storm water runoff from the property does not flow or is not otherwise conveyed to a sewer maintained by the district
House Bill 734 also contains the extension of the Clean Water pollution permit fees and language to create the Energy Futures Fund.
It also fixes the language that was passed last year relating to the energy efficiency appliance issue. HB734 requires any appliance purchased with state funds to have earned the Energy Star rating under the federally sponsored Energy Star Program. The department must prepare and publish on its web site a report and recommendations concerning the energy efficiency of consumer electronics.
Senator Joan Bray was successful in amending language onto HB734 that would have required new or substantial renovations of state buildings to be built to LEED Silver Certification. Unfortunately, the Conference Committee stripped the language from the bill before final passage.
Energy Efficiency -- bill passed
Senate Bill 376 allows utilities to recoup the costs of energy-saving programs that they offer consumers, thereby making energy efficiency as profitable as building new power plants. Senator Brad Lager and Representative Will Kraus introduced the language in the Senate and House, respectively. Representative Walt Bivins handled the Senate version in the House upon final passage.
Prior to Senate Bill 376, the costs associated with building new plants could be recovered, while costs related to efficiency could not – making increases in efficiency a difficult business option. But under this measure, utilities can recoup their costs for energy efficiency programs, listing them as separate line-items on electric bills. This essentially treats energy efficiency as a generation source. Because the cost to implement energy efficiency programs is much less expensive than the capital costs related to building new plants, utility customers stand to save money.
We worked to pass SB376, after supporting changes to the measure during session. During the last several weeks, the House Committee added four amendments to the bill – two we liked, two we disliked. Because there was so little time left when the bill came up on the House floor for final passage, all the amendments were stripped off the bill. This confused some of our supporters who liked the two good amendments. We had to give in on those because we did not have time to send the bill to conference to strip the bad amendments from the bill.
Audit Privilege -- bill failed
House Bill 647, was back again, and again we were able to defeat this language. Rep. Martin Rucker offered an amendment on the House floor to remove audit privilege language from HB978, so we have a record of that vote for our members.
Economic Development/Tax Credit Legislation -- bill passed
The economic development bill
HB 191 was passed on the last day of session 153-2 and 28-8. The passage of the bill was contingent on an agreement for a compromise regarding the historic tax credits. The agreement was reached at 2:30am Friday morning just before the Senate adjourned.
The bill caps the credit at $140 million with small projects under $1.1 million ($275k in tax credits) not counted against the cap. Last year the small projects totaled over $20 million. There was also a cap placed on owner occupied single family residential credits at $250,000 which was increased from the $25,000 proposed. In addition, the operational procedures on how to implement the program at the Department of Economic Development were included in the bill.
The Historic Preservation and Economic Development Coalition viewed the bill as a victory in that the fiscal hawks were attempting to impose a total cap between 50-100 million without any exemption for small projects. Senator Jeff Smith was the warrior battling on behalf of the coalition and did an outstanding job.
Horseback Trails -- bill passed
House Bill 250 was a bill introduced in the House that we fought against for State Parks. Language was finally amended in the Senate that all parties agreed upon. HB250 specifies that access to public land owned, managed, or funded by the state of Missouri for horse and mule use will not be denied on trails and roads currently having this designation by the state, except when conditions are not suitable due to public safety concerns, necessary maintenance, or for reasons related to the mission of the agency that owns or manages the land. A written statement must be posted at the trailhead stating the cause and estimated duration of the closure.
House Bill 250 also contains language that revises the definition and purpose of the “Soil and Water Conservation Cost-Share Program to include the protection of water resources of the state to preserve the productive power of Missouri agricultural land. This new definition will allow these funds to be used for more programs than just soil conservation.
Sand and Gravel -- bill passed
House Bill 246 was introduced by RepresentativeTom Loehner, pertaining to the removal of sand and gravel on streams. This practice can seriously damage the water quality and habitat of Missouri’s waterways. After five years of work on sand and gravel legislation, we made some headway this year. Still, we’ll have to work to expand the scope of the law next year.
Under HB246, property owners are limited to removing up to 2,000 tons of gravel annually on their streams, with a limit of 1,000 tons at any one site. (We were successful in lowering the tonnage from 5,000.) Owners are also required to notify DNR before any person or operator removes gravel for commercial purposes. And any operator who removes more than 2,000 tons within a calendar year at the request of the property owner must have a watershed management practice plan approved by the commission. Rep. Loehner worked with us early in session. Senator Joan Bray was instrumental in making improvements in the Senate.
In next year’s session, we’ll work to add a provision requiring Missouri counties to notify DNR before they excavate sand and gravel from streams.
dISApPOINTMENTSGreen Building Issues -- bill failed
Senate Bill 430 sponsored by Senator Smith was the omnibus “green energy” legislation, which unfortunately did not pass. The following is a list of issues introduced either at our request or from the previous session:
- Tax deduction for hybrid vehicles
- Tax deduction for alternative energy
- Renewable Energy Research grants
- Global Warming Solutions Act
- Energy Efficiency ratings of newly constructed residential homes
- Establishment of the Missouri Alternative Energy Loan Authority (Rep. Ruzicka and Rep. Beth Low amended onto HB978 and SB539 – did not make final passage)
- Requirement for state agencies to engage in energy conservation – IECC
- Establishment of the Renewable Energy Information and Reporting Act
- Establishment of the Solar and Wind Incentive Program (Rep. Holsman amended on to HB978 and amendment was offered on SB539 on House floor, but defeated by voice vote)
- Alternative energy tax deduction for homes with geothermal heat pumps
- Green Energy Schools grants and school audits
- Energy Efficiency Appliances – made final passage in HB734
- Energy Futures Fund – made final passage in HB734
House Bill 978 carried many of these provisions out of the House, however, was never brought up for a hearing in the Senate. The underlying bill was Rep. Pratt’s that created an income tax credit for homes built using green building standards.
Recycled Televisions -- bill failed
Senate Bill 364, sponsored by Senator Clemens, would have provided labeling and recycling requirements for television manufacturers. It made it through Senate Committee, but was filibustered on the Senate floor by Sen. Jason Crowell.
Bonding for State Parks -- bill failed
HJR32, sponsored by Rep. Chris Kelly and Sen. Kurt Schaefer, was amended in the Senate Committee to include $250 million for projects that could include a list of parks. Unfortunately, several members of the Senate – Sen. Purgason and Sen. Bartle filibustered the bill on the last week of session, keeping it from final passage.
Complete Streets & Transportation -- bill failed
The Complete Streets legislation
HB 642 was introduced by Representative Sutherland and referred to the House Transportation Committee. The bill received a hearing and the Missouri Bicycle Federation organized more than a dozen organizations to testify in favor of the bill. The Missouri Department of Transportation was the only one to testify in opposition to the bill. The bill was voted out of committee unanimously.
The House Transportation Committee put together a transportation omnibus bill
SB 58 and Rep Bryan Yates from Lee’s Summit added an amendment to include the complete streets language in the bill. The bill was passed out of committee but not taken to the House floor. The Senate transformed another bill
HB 683 into the Transportation omnibus bill and Senator Stouffer would not allow for complete streets to be part of the bill.