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| It will be very cold out there today, folks, so be sure to bundle up. Take inspiration from this frosty file photo, courtesy of @yatsko. Send us your gems, use #PAGems on Instagram, or tag us @spotlightpennsylvania. |
Yeah, baby. It’s cold outside. Harrisburg huddling. Read More »
| #BILLYPENNGRAM OF THE DAY Vanishing point at 30th Street Station (Photo by @5john3) |
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By Kim Bellware Washington Post
When Iowa’s 2022 legislative session commences Monday, there will be a notable absence on the floor of the state senate: reporters.
Republican leaders in the state Senate told journalists last week they will no longer be allowed to work on the chamber floor, a change that breaks with a more than a 140-year tradition in the Iowa Capitol. The move raised concerns among the free press and freedom of information advocates who said it is a blow to transparency and open government that makes it harder for the public to understand, let alone scrutinize, elected officials.
Don’t miss important news like this Click for updates
The new rule denies reporters access to the press benches near senators’ desks, a proximity current and former statehouse reporters told The Washington Post is crucial for the most accurate and nuanced coverage. The position allows reporters to see and hear everything clearly on the Senate floor and to get real-time answers and clarifications during debates.
Beginning this session, reporters will be seated in a public upper-level gallery.
“When you take journalists and restrict their access and then you couple that with changes that have occurred in the past couple of years with procedures in Iowa, it makes it that much harder for the public to know what’s going on,” said Randy Evans, executive director of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council, a government transparency watchdog.
Republicans moving to muzzle journalists in Iowa Senate? Read More »
**UPDATE:** S2515/A4676 has been added to the voting agenda in the Assembly for Monday, Jan 10, 2022
TOM JOHNSON, ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT WRITER NJ Spotlight
Bill seeks to reduce plastics pollution by forcing manufacturers to use more recycled material in products
A two-year fight to reduce plastic pollution in New Jersey inched forward when legislators approved a bill Thursday to mandate increased use of recycled plastics in manufacturers’ products.
The legislation (S2515/A4676) would require manufacturers to use more post-consumer recycled content in a variety of packaging products including plastic containers, plastic bags and plastic trash bags, as well as glass containers and paper bags.
If enacted, the law will go a long way to boost the market for recyclables, which has collapsed in recent years, and to reduce demand for new petroleum-derived plastics, according to many of the state’s most prominent environmental organizations.
The bill, kicked around by lawmakers since the beginning of the legislative term two years ago, could win final approval if both the Assembly and the Senate pass the measure in Monday’s final voting session of the term. Neither house has posted the bill on its agenda yet.
In releasing the bill by a 7-4 vote Thursday, the Assembly Appropriations Committee amended the bill to reduce the amount of post-consumer recycled content in rigid plastic containers, but increase the amount from 5% to 10% five years after the bill’s implementation.
If you liked this post you’ll love our daily newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.
**UPDATE:** Recycled-content bill is revised, then okayed by NJ Assembly panel Read More »
Legislation Passes Committee 7-4; Bill Will Make NJ the East Coast Leader & Reduce Virgin Plastic Use
By Eric Benson, Clean Water Action
Today, the New Jersey Assembly Appropriation Committee voted to approve the Recycled Content bill (S2515/A4676) by a 7-4 vote. The legislation would require increasing post-consumer recycled content in a variety of packaging products including plastic containers, plastic beverage containers, plastic bags, plastic trash bags, glass containers, and paper bags. Environmental advocates say the bill will go a long way in strengthening the market for recyclables and reducing reliance on new fossil-fuel-derived plastics.
Today’s committee vote comes after extensive hearings and many hours of testimony in both the Senate, where the bill has already passed, and the Assembly, making today’s hearing the seventh hearing for the legislation.
Bill advocates across the state applaud the committee’s vote to advance A4676 and continue to urge Assembly Speaker Coughlin to post the bill on the agenda for an Assembly floor vote this coming Monday, January 10 – the last day of the legislative session – and thank the leadership of the Senate prime sponsor, Senate Environment Chair Bob Smith (D-17).
Environmental organizations supporting the bill include Clean Water Action, Clean Ocean Action, Environment New Jersey, NJ Sierra Club, Surfrider Foundation, Save Barnegat Bay, and Beyond Plastics.
If you liked this post you’ll love our daily newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.
By Frank Brill, EnviroPolitics Editor
On December 13, Assemblyman Chairman John Burzichelli gaveled to a close the last scheduled meeting of his Appropriations Committee for the current legislative session which ends next week.
No one in attendance expected to see him again in that role, since the session was about to expire and Burzichelli and district mate Senate President Steve Sweeney will not be returning to Trenton in 2022 after suffering stunning defeats in the November elections.
The state legislature, however, can be an unpredictable place, especially during lame-duck sessions. And this one underscores that point.
On Thursday (12/6), Burzichelli will rap his gavel one more time. Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin has ordered the panel to meet again to take up bills that had not reached the committee in time for its last meeting or had been released but are being returned for additional changes.
Several environmental bills (below) are on the long list before the committee,
If the bills, as expected, are released, they likely will be posted for votes during the Assembly’s final session on Monday, January 10, and, following floor approval, will be forwarded to the governor for his consideration.
Among the absolute, last-gasp bills are:
S991 – Requires owner or operator of certain trains to have discharge response, cleanup, and contingency plans to transport certain hazardous materials by rail; requires DEP to request bridge inspection reports from US DOT.
S2515/A4676 – Establishes post-consumer recycled content requirements for rigid plastic containers, glass containers, paper and plastic carryout bags, and plastic trash bags; prohibits the sale of polystyrene loose fill packaging.
S3465/A4336 – Directs Department of Agriculture to pay annual premiums to enrolled dairy farmers for certain coverage under the federal Dairy Margin Coverage Program; appropriates $125, 000.
S3732/A5223 – Establishes State purchasing preference for low embodied carbon concrete, provides CBT tax credit for costs of conducting environmental product declaration analysis.
NOTICE: The public may not attend the Committee meeting in person but may view and participate in the meeting via the New Jersey Legislature home page at https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/. The Committee will take oral testimony on bills, by telephone and video, limited to three minutes. If you are interested in registering your position with the Committee, please fill out the Registration Form. For those individuals who wish to testify, please check the box “Do you wish to testify?” on the Registration Form. Instructions for testifying before the Committee will be forwarded to you after you submit your Registration Form. The form must be submitted by 5:00 PM on Wednesday, January 5, 2022.
If you liked this post you’ll love our daily newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.
Added NJ committee meeting offers late chance for environment bills Read More »
