Committee Hearing on HB1580
Canceled this Thursday – 12/8/2011
Due to a death in Rep. Godshall’s family, he cancelled the hearing. New date has yet to be determined.
Ron Celentano
PASEIA President
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Update from Harrisburg
New date set for House bill #1580 hearing
As most of you know, the House Consumer Affairs committee meeting has been rescheduled until Thursday, December 8th from 10-12 in room G-50 in the capitol building. It is a non-session day which means there is a better chance more committee members will be available to attend. Some of you may be interested in attending the hearing and supporting the solar industry speakers including “our own” Andrew Kleeman. If you come, you may want to wear your company logo or shirt so that you are easily identified as a concerned solar business. We will not have an accompanying lobby day since most of the legislators; accept the “all important” Consumer Affairs committee members may not be in town that day.
Since PASEIA is severely resource constrained, we have enlisted Mike Healy from National SEIA to assist us with some campaign activities. In advance of the hearing, Mike arranged 15 meetings with the House Consumer Affairs committee members for the three days before the hearing. (12/5-6-7) If anyone is interested in accompanying Mike, please email him directly at MHealy@seia.org
We don’t know at this point whether we have enough votes in the committee to call for a vote, but next week will be very telling. We are running up against the legislative clock and would like to get the bill out of committee by Dec. 20th before they recess for a month. Until the hearing takes place and we get the feedback from our committee visits next week, I don’t have a prediction, but time is running out in 2011. The good news is this is not the end of the legislative session so the bill will NOT have to be reintroduced in mid-January when they return to Harrisburg. If you’re not coming to Harrisburg at this time, spend a few minutes and call the House members on the committee. The list was posted on November 1st . Ask for their support. We DO have 111 co-sponsors but we still have to get it through this committee first and don’t have many co-sponsors on the committee.
Maureen Mulligan
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Below is the list of the Rs not signed onto the Ross bill that are on the Consumer Affairs Committee. Please call them and urge them to be a co-sponsor of the bill and also to press Rep. Godshall to set a date for voting on HB1580:
Robert W. Godshall
Hatfield
(215) 368-3500
Harrisburg
(717) 783-6428
Warren Kampf
Paoli
(610) 251-2876
Audubon,
(610) 631-2865
Harrisburg
(717) 260-6166
Brian L. Ellis
Lyndora,
(724) 283-5852
Harrisburg
(717) 787-7686
Rob W. Kauffman
Chambersburg
(717) 264-3943
Shippensburg
(717) 532-1707
Harrisburg,
(717) 705-2004
Sheryl M. Delozier
Camp Hill
(717) 761-4665
Harrisburg,
(717) 783-5282
Julie Harhart
Northampton,
(610) 502-2701
Slatington
(610) 760-9805
Harrisburg,
(717) 772-5398
Hon. John D. Payne
Hershey
(717) 534-1323
Harrisburg,
(717) 787-2684
Scott Perry
Dillsburg,
(717) 432-0792
Harrisburg
(717) 783-8783
Tina Pickett
Towanda,
(570) 265-3124
Harrisburg
(717) 783-8238
Todd Stehens
North Wales
(215) 368-5165
Todd Stephens
Harrisburg
(717) 260-6163
Marcy Toepel
A Great Solar Lobby Day in Harrisburg
Many members of PASEIA, along with Solar Alliance, Vote Solar and SUNWPA all helped and participated with PennFuture on a lobby day in Harrisburg this past Monday, 10/24. The event was a huge success, bringing over 90 individuals representing solar businesses, as well as solar consumers, to the Capitol. Meeting with more than 40 key legislators, we urged House members to pass Representative Ross’ Solar Jobs Bill (HB 1580), and Senators to co-sponsor a companion bill, to be introduced by Senators Argall, Erickson and Blake
The lobby day was an important step toward heightening legislative awareness of this bill, but we can’t rest now. Presently, Representative Bob Godshall, Chairman of the House Consumer Affairs Committee, is the key to moving the bill forward. He has scheduled a legislative hearing on the bill for Thursday, November 17 at 9:00 a.m. A hearing is good, but it’s not good enough. Rep. Godshall needs to schedule a vote on the bill to pass it out of committee and, if he is do this, he must hear from you.
Please reach out to Rep. Godshall and encourage your employees and customers to do the same. Here is what you should say:
Remember, when reaching out to Rep. Godshall, a phone call is good, a written letter is better and an in-person meeting is best. Please note, you will need to call his office to schedule a meeting in advance.
Honorable Robert W. Godshall
1702 Cowpath Road
Hatfield, PA 19440
(215) 368-3500
Fax: (215) 361-4220
Thanks,
Ron Celentano, PASEIA President
==========================================================
Pledge Your Support For Saving Solar in PA! (download form)
Or
Go to www.mseia.net to donate online to PA Campaign: Saving Solar in PA
