CNOW for Nov. 20, 2023

Today's conservation notices:

• Support AB 655: Supporting Grazing on Perennial Grasslands
• Support LRB 0119: Incorporating Climate Science Into Academic Standards
• Support LRB 0122: Creating More Green Jobs
• Support LRB 0125: Long Term Transportation Planning
• Support LRB 0126: Funding Research on Agriculture and Climate Change
• Support LRB 0130: Allowing Communities to Enact Additional Energy Standards
• Support LRB 0133: Expanding the Focus on Energy Program
• Support LRB 0134: Mitigating Energy Burdens on Low-Income Households
• Support LRB 0135: Bolstering the Energy Innovation Grants Program
• Support LRB 0136: Developing New Facilities with Transparency and Accountability
• Support LRB 0149: Creating the Wisconsin Climate Corps
• Support LRB 0152: Creating a Public School Weatherization Program
• Support LRB 0162: Supporting Farmers Who Help Tackle Climate Change
• Support LRB 0167: Providing New Tools to County Conservationists
• Support LRB 0170: Creating Green Space in Urban Areas
• Support LRB 4193: Building the Next Generation of Climate Leaders
• Support LRB 4526: Expanding Access to Energy Efficiency Improvements
• Support LRB 5093: Improving Bike and Pedestrian Infrastructure
• Support LRB 5163: Creating Local Plans That Factor in Climate Change
• Support LRB 5171: Evaluating the Social Cost of Carbon Emissions in Wisconsin

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support AB 655, which is before the Assembly Committee on Agriculture on Tuesday.

Managed grazing protects our water and builds healthy soil. Wisconsin should assist farmers in transitioning to managed grazing systems on perennial grasslands. AB 655 would create a new program for providing grants to farmers in making the transition to managed grazing.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support LRB 0119, which is circulating for cosponsorship.

Climate change is impacting our natural world and affecting humanity across the globe. LRB 0119 would permit the state superintendent of public instruction to adopt model academic standards related to climate change. These standards would need to incorporate an understanding of climate, the potential impacts of climate change, and the actions we can take to mitigate the impact of climate change.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support LRB 0122, which is circulating for cosponsorship.

To quickly transition to clean energy, we need to offer more job training programs for jobs that expand Wisconsin’s use of clean energy and conserve our natural resources. To accomplish this goal, LRB 0122 would allow the Department of Workforce Development to offer grants to public and private organizations to create and/or scale up their green jobs training programs.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support LRB 0125, which is circulating for cosponsorship.

To effectively manage the potential consequences of climate change, our long-term planning needs to consider ways to reduce carbon emissions, transition to clean energy, and center historically marginalized communities. LRB 0125 is an important layer of this need, as it would require these considerations in any long-term planning developed by the Department of Transportation.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support LRB 0126, which is circulating for cosponsorship.

Across Wisconsin, climate change is fueling uncertainty around agricultural practices and food security. LRB 0126 requires the Board of Regents of the UW System to fund two agriculture and climate change research positions assigned to the Division of Extension at UW-Madison. These research positions are critical to better understanding climate change’s potential impact on Wisconsin agriculture.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support LRB 0130, which is circulating for cosponsorship.

Under Wisconsin law, the Department of Safety and Professional Services’ (DSPS’) energy conservation code sets certain design requirements for energy conservation in public buildings and places of employment. To promote energy efficiency, limit pollution, and reduce energy costs, local communities should have the ability to enact additional standards that go beyond this code. LRB 0130 would allow local communities to enact additional standards through a “stretch energy code”. This code would be built by a DSPS working group created under the bill.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support LRB 0133, which is circulating for cosponsorship.

Under Wisconsin law, investor-owned electric and natural gas utilities are required to help fund Focus on Energy, a popular program that helps Wisconsinites improve energy efficiency in their homes and businesses, and access renewable energy. LRB 0133 directs the Public Service Commission to require participating investor-owned electric and natural gas utilities to increase their annual contribution to the Focus on Energy program. This will ensure that we can expand the Focus on Energy program, and deliver energy efficiency and renewable resource tools to more households across Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support LRB 0134, which is circulating for cosponsorship.

We know that low-income households are disproportionately susceptible to increased energy costs associated with climate change-induced extreme weather events. Under Wisconsin law, investor-owned electric and natural gas utilities are required to fund statewide energy efficiency and renewable resource programs, known as Focus on Energy. LRB 0134 requires Focus on Energy to prioritize programs specifically targeted toward the needs of low-income households.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support LRB 0135, which is circulating for cosponsorship.

The Public Service Commission’s Energy Innovation Grant Program provides important support for a range of energy-related projects that reduce energy consumption, support renewables, and increase energy efficiency. LRB 0135 provides more support to this program by increasing the number of grants awarded. This is critical to ensuring that Wisconsin can more quickly transition to clean, renewable energy.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support LRB 0136, which is circulating for cosponsorship.

Low-income households, and particularly low-income households of color, are disproportionately more likely to live in spaces where they are drinking poisoned water, breathing toxic air, and more immediately exposed to the potential impacts of climate change. LRB 0136 is an important step toward ensuring that Wisconsin doesn’t develop new facilities that makes this problem even worse by prohibiting the Department of Natural Resources from issuing certain permits for the operation of a facility that is located in a vulnerable community, unless the permit applicant complies with certain reporting requirements. This will help expose potential environmental injustices, and ensure impacted communities have an opportunity to have a say in the process.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support LRB 0149, which is circulating for cosponsorship.

To effectively mitigate the impacts of climate change, we need more Wisconsinites engaged in work related to climate resiliency, land restoration, and the transition to clean energy. LRB 0149 would establish the Wisconsin Climate Corps, which would also provide job training and professional development opportunities to young Wisconsinites. These opportunities would offer a living wage, and be targeted toward projects in underserved communities.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support LRB 0152, which is circulating for cosponsorship.

Facing extreme weather events associated with climate change, weatherizing our public schools is critical to ensuring that we can save taxpayer money on energy bills, reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, and create comfortable conditions in which Wisconsin teachers can teach, and children can learn. To help do this, LRB 0152 would create an annual weatherization grant program administered through the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. This program would support weatherization and energy efficiency updates across the state.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support LRB 0162, which is circulating for cosponsorship.

Wisconsin agricultural practices are central to our ability to limit carbon emissions and mitigate the impacts of climate change. LRB 0162 creates a sustainable agriculture grant program that would be administered under the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection. Under this program, the Department would award grants to certain farmers to implement on-site fossil fuel input efficiency measures, plant vegetation that helps sequester carbon, and develop a conservation management plan.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support LRB 0167, which is circulating for cosponsorship.

Our counties are on the front lines of tackling climate change. They need the resources to be able to prepare for and address climate change-related challenges. LRB 0167 would help with this by expanding the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection’s widely popular funding for county conservation staff, to include opportunities for funding county conservation staff focused on climate change and climate change resiliency.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support LRB 0170, which is circulating for cosponsorship.

People living in urban heat islands would benefit from increased tree plantings and the creation of more green spaces within our cities. Trees provide important cooling effects that benefit public health and help reduce energy costs. At the moment, tree coverage tends to be particularly limited in predominantly Black and Latino Wisconsin communities. LRB 0170 helps address this inequity by increasing funding for the Department of Natural Resource’s urban forestry program.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support LRB 4193, which is circulating for cosponsorship.

To protect our state from the detrimental effects of climate change, we need to deliver sufficient tools to the next generation of leaders hoping to tackle the crisis. LRB 4193 would create a climate change scholarship program for students enrolled in an institution of higher education, who are engaged in studies related to addressing climate change. This would ensure that higher education is attainable for the next generation of climate scientists and environmental justice advocates.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support LRB 4526, which is circulating for cosponsorship.

For Wisconsinites hoping to install solar panels, upgrade their HVAC, or weatherize their home, the upfront costs are often prohibitive. LRB 4526 would help expand access to these types of energy efficiency upgrades by permitting on-bill financing. On-bill financing would allow a public utility to cover the upfront cost of a homeowner’s energy improvement, and then periodically add a surcharge to the customer’s utility bill. This would be an important step toward expanding access to energy efficiency improvements.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support LRB 5093, which is circulating for cosponsorship.

To reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, we need to build communities with more bikeways and pedestrian paths. LRB 5093 requires that bikeways and pedestrian paths be constructed in new highway construction and reconstruction projects that are funded with state or federal dollars. This will help ensure that our communities are sustainably connected.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support LRB 5163, which is circulating for cosponsorship.

Wisconsin communities need to prepare for the growing unpredictability of climate change-related extreme weather events. Wisconsin law already requires or permits counties and municipalities to prepare a variety of plants that guide responses to future events. These include plans for physical development, community health challenges, and hazard mitigation. Under LRB 5163, if a local governmental unit prepares a new plan, it must also factor in considerations related to the impact of climate change. This will ensure that communities aren’t blindsided by the growing unpredictability of climate change-related events.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support LRB 5171, which is circulating for cosponsorship.

Climate change is having an impact on all areas of our economy, our health, and the landscape of our communities. Currently, Wisconsinites are left to deal with these negative impacts on their own. LRB 5171 would require the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) to consider the social cost of carbon in its analysis as it decides whether to approve the construction of new utility-scale energy generation facilities, high voltage transmission lines, and certain other public utility projects.

Conservation Notices of the Week (CNOW) announces the pro-conservation positions on issues before the senate, assembly and/or governor in the week ahead to state legislators. Others wishing to follow activities in the state legislature also receive CNOW, including legislative staff, conservation voters, and media. All of these issues are tracked on the Vote Tracker. Issues in the CNOW may appear in the Conservation Scorecard.