NE2: The Clean Government Act of 2012

[IDS Legislator Alfred F. Jones]

The Clean Government Act of 2012

1. Beginning July 1, 2013, all publications and official documents published by the Northeast government shall be done so on at least 80% recycled paper.
2. Beginning January 1, 2014, all buildings and vehicles operated by the Northeast government shall be fully powered by clean and renewable "green" energy sources.
3. The Governor shall assemble a task-force to determine the exact form of alternative energy to be used in specific locations around the region to ensure that the .  The task-form shall be required to find the cheapest, most environmentally friendly, and largest job-producing energy option.
4. The task-force shall be composed of no more than twenty-five independent members who shall represent environmental groups, representatives of the executive departments, local business groups, and local citizens.
5. Begging January 1, 2013, all government buildings shall be required to provide recycling reciprocals in convenient locations for both visitors and workers.
6. The Northeast government shall request an independent agency to conduct an annual review on all government buildings to determine their carbon footprint and environmental impact.   

Sponsor: Barnes

Barnes, you have 24 hours blah blah blah. Debate time will last 72 hours total.

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[Senator Barnes]

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have been made aware that the most recent regional budget appropriated $50 billion toward green energy - and where better a place to be green than our own government?

The task-force might sound like a beaurocrat's dream, but it isn't that in the slightest. Its role is to make certain each green installation is cost effective, truly renewable, beneficial locally, and popular with the workers it would affect. I much prefer this route than letting us abritrarily assign the forms of renewable energy to be used.

Also, I've included a long period between the (hopeful) passage of this bill and its start date, thus giving the region and communities time to prepare for it.

I welcome any questions.

[Northeast Representative Goldwater]

Could you give us an estimate of the costs behind this bill?

[Senator Barnes]

Could you give us an estimate of the costs behind this bill?

I apologize for not being able to answer your question earlier. I don't have concrete numbers in front of me at the moment, but I will be requesting a fiscal review by a few different individuals (the GAB, etc.).

I will say however, that the task-force charged with upgrading these buildings is charged with making the process as cost-effective as possible and to only use regional products and labor.

[Ѕenator Αverroës]

I fully support the first and fifth sections of this bill (the typographical error in the latter excepted).

I am less certain of whether I favor its other provisions. The timetable outlined in section two seems particularly unrealistic to me, although I will defer to the GM's judgement on that. In general, I would prefer to see a greater focus on reducing energy consumption, and I may offer suggestions to that effect at a later time. That said, I am willing to sign this bill if the estimated costs are not excessive.

[Senator Barnes]

I fully support the first and fifth sections of this bill (the typographical error in the latter excepted).

I am less certain of whether I favor its other provisions. The timetable outlined in section two seems particularly unrealistic to me, although I will defer to the GM's judgement on that. In general, I would prefer to see a greater focus on reducing energy consumption, and I may offer suggestions to that effect at a later time. That said, I am willing to sign this bill if the estimated costs are not excessive.

I thank you for your support, Governor. I intend to frame the legislation I introduce in such a way that at least parts of it may pass through the assembly if others seem unable to.

I completely agree that we must strive to reduce energy consumption - but the crux of the problem is the type of energy we need to conserve.  We must act to reduce our region's carbon footprint and we must do it in an effective and encompassing manner. 

I am willing to compromise where we may to pass this bill, but I must implore the assembly to head my concerns: we must act now in this issue or we will be left in the wind.

[IDS Legislator Alfred F. Jones]

Retroactively extending debate time by 24 hours.

Extending debate time by 24 hours.

We'll have to vote on this tomorrow.

[bore]

The Clean Government Act of 2012

1. Beginning July 1, 2013, all publications and official documents published by the Northeast government shall be done so on at least 80% either recycled or sustainably sourced paper.
2. Beginning January 1, 2014, all buildings and vehicles operated by the Northeast government shall be fully powered by clean and renewable "green" energy sources.
3. The Governor shall assemble a task-force to determine the exact form of alternative energy to be used in specific locations around the region to ensure that the .  The task-form shall be required to find the cheapest, most environmentally friendly, and largest job-producing energy option.
4. The task-force shall be composed of no more than twenty-five independent members who shall represent environmental groups, representatives of the executive departments, local business groups, and local citizens.
5. Begging January 1, 2013, all government buildings shall be required to provide recycling reciprocals in convenient locations for both visitors and workers.
6. The Northeast government shall request an independent agency to conduct a review, once every five years, on all government buildings to determine their carbon footprint and environmental impact.   
7. If a building fails to pass the review the building shall be placed on probation with a follow up review after a year.

Two amendments I've made here, I suggest we have a longer wait as most buildings will not need to be regularly checked, so by having less reviews we should save money, while keeping the same coverage. Also the paper one should be self explanatory, as this gives our agencies more flexibility, while still ensuring it is sustainable.

Sponsor: Barnes

Barnes, you have 24 hours blah blah blah. Debate time will last 72 hours total.

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[Senator Barnes]

I motion for an extension of the debate time.

Amendments to section 1 and 6 accepted as friendly; I'm not sure about section 7.  Bore, can you expand upon this idea?

[IDS Legislator Alfred F. Jones]

I motion for an extension of the debate time.

Uh...

We can't. The Assembly is not allowed to debate a bill for more than 120 hours, or five days. This is the fifth day.

[Senator Barnes]

I motion for an extension of the debate time.

Uh...

We can't. The Assembly is not allowed to debate a bill for more than 120 hours, or five days. This is the fifth day.

I must have been a day off when I counted earlier! I promise I know the rules!

In that case, I accept bore's section 7 amendment as friendly, and further amend it as follows:
7. If a building fails to pass the review, the building shall be placed on probation a review list with a follow up review after a year.

When we get to the vote on passage, I strongly urge my fellow representatives to consider the challenges we are faced with by this new, 21st century energy crisis, and see that this bill is a step along the way to a cleaner and greener future.

[IDS Legislator Alfred F. Jones]

Debate time has expired. Voting will last 24 hours or until all Representatives have voted.

The Clean Government Act of 2012

1. Beginning July 1, 2013, all publications and official documents published by the Northeast government shall be done so on either recycled or sustainably sourced paper.
2. Beginning January 1, 2014, all buildings and vehicles operated by the Northeast government shall be fully powered by clean and renewable "green" energy sources.
3. The Governor shall assemble a task-force to determine the exact form of alternative energy to be used in specific locations around the region to ensure that the .  The task-form shall be required to find the cheapest, most environmentally friendly, and largest job-producing energy option.
4. The task-force shall be composed of no more than twenty-five independent members who shall represent environmental groups, representatives of the executive departments, local business groups, and local citizens.
5. Begging January 1, 2013, all government buildings shall be required to provide recycling reciprocals in convenient locations for both visitors and workers.
6. The Northeast government shall request an independent agency to conduct a review, once every five years, on all government buildings to determine their carbon footprint and environmental impact.   
7. If a building fails to pass the review the building shall be placed on a review list with a follow up review after a year.

Aye.

[Ѕenator Αverroës]

This will sit on my desk until I have a cost estimate from someone.

[Senator Barnes]

Aye.

[bore]

Aye

[Northeast Representative Goldwater]

AYE

[Simfan34]

Aye

[Senator Barnes]

I'd like to thank the assembly for the great step we've taken today!  The unanimity of this vote shows how united we all really are behind this issue and how far we can go working together!

[shua]

Has this been tried in any cities? There have been a lot of programs to reduce the use of non-renewable energy, but I don't know of any that get rid of them completely, so any number I give without that would be a wild guess.  I'm guessing though with all the retrofitting and infrastructure this would require it would take a lot longer than a year to complete - but going way behind schedule isn't unusual for these projects.

[IDS Legislator Alfred F. Jones]

The bill passes unanimously, but I'm keeping it open for further discussion.

I don't know if any cities are doing this, or what they are. Nix?

[Ѕenator Αverroës]

Austin, TX transitioned to 100% renewable energy for municipal buildings last year as part of a climate action plan the city adopted in 2007. The move will cost the city $6.9 million annually.

As I indicated in an earlier comment in this thread, I don't think that it's possible to do this within a single year.

[IDS Legislator Alfred F. Jones]

I'm locking this for now, but I'll reopen it if y'all want in the future.