Latest news with #SenateBill685
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hensley update: Major wins on wetlands, roads, and victims' rights
The 114th General Assembly has adjourned for 2025, and it was a very successful year. We have taken measures for Tennessee to be a better place to live, work and to raise a family. I will go over the laws passed this session over the next few weeks. Cut excessive environmental red tape on wetlands This week, the Senate passed Senate Bill 670 to ease burdensome regulations on Tennessee's wetlands, creating new opportunities for responsible development across the state while maintaining basic environmental safeguards. The legislation addresses isolated wetlands, which are areas no longer protected under federal law following a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year that returned regulatory authority to the states. Countless hours of work with TDEC and other stakeholders have gone into this legislation. The goal is to provide property owners with a more reasonable framework to determine how to develop and use their land. We are not eliminating regulation. We are modernizing it. The bill divides isolated wetlands into four categories, based on ecological function: artificial, low-quality, moderate-quality, and high-quality. It exempts certain isolated wetlands from mitigation and permitting requirements depending on the size and quality of the wetland. Specifically, it exempts low-quality isolated wetlands up to one acre in size, moderate-quality isolated wetlands up to one-fourth acre, and artificial isolated wetlands of any size, provided basic environmental safeguards are followed. The legislation also stipulates that: Existing stormwater measures must be considered when determining mitigation. Isolated wetlands do not factor into cumulative project impact assessments under federal Clean Water Act regulations. The state board must establish classification criteria and allow public input on wetland assessment tools Legislation to boost road funding passes Senate Legislation to increase dedicated funding for Tennessee's transportation infrastructure passed the Senate this week, marking a significant step toward addressing the state's $30 billion backlog in road and bridge projects. Senate Bill 144 redirects all sales tax revenue collected from the sale of new and used tires—an estimated $80 to $95 million annually—from the state's General Fund to the Tennessee Department of Transportation's (TDOT) Highway Fund. This sustainable source of funding will directly support critical road repairs and construction projects across the state. In addition to the recurring tire tax revenues, lawmakers also approved a historic $1 billion one-time investment in this year's budget to jumpstart urgent transportation projects statewide. This legislation brings important funding to our communities for roads to ensure our infrastructure keeps pace with our growth. It is just the start—but it's a strong start toward building safer, more reliable roads for every Tennessean. Increasing penalties for unlawful photography Senate Bill 685, significantly strengthens penalties for unlawful photography offenses, particularly when minors or individuals in vulnerable positions are involved. Under current law, it is a Class A misdemeanor to knowingly photograph an individual without consent in a manner that would be considered offensive or embarrassing, especially when done for sexual gratification. The bill upgrades this offense to a Class E felony, carrying a prison term of 1 to 6 years and a fine up to $3,000. If the unlawful photograph is shared with others or the victim is under 13, the offense is now a Class D felony, with a potential sentence of up to 12 years and a fine up to $5,000. The bill also criminalizes the use of a child under 13 to facilitate the offense. Further, the legislation reclassifies as a Class C felony—punishable by 3 to 15 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine—cases where the victim is under 13 or where the offender held a position of trust or authority over the victim and used that position to commit the offense. Victims of unlawful photography feel violated, objectified, and taken advantage of. Legislation like this will restore feelings of safety and security to victims. Children and other victims deserve to see justice served. The bill requires judges to order individuals convicted of unlawful photography to register as sexual offenders—replacing the previous discretionary standard. This legislation reflects Tennessee's firm commitment to protecting privacy, upholding consent, and ensuring justice for victims of exploitation. Senate Bill 685 has been passed by the Senate. Sen. Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald, gives a weekly update in legislation in the 114th General Assembly. This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: Hensley update: Major wins on wetlands, roads, and victims' rights
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NW Natural pushes back on bill that would require notifying customers about use of hydrogen
A bill in the Oregon Legislature would require gas utility notification when hydrogen is blended with natural gas for residential customers. (Photo by) Last summer, a Democratic state senator heard from hundreds of constituents in southeast Portland who were concerned about NW Natural secretly supplying residents with natural gas blended with small amounts of hydrogen. Sen. Khanh Pham of Portland told the Senate Committee on Energy and Environment at a hearing Monday that they weren't just concerned that NW Natural didn't notify them, but that it wasn't required to inform the state's Public Utility Commission either. In response, Pham is now sponsoring Senate Bill 685 to require utilities to notify customers and the commission that it's going to supply residences with hydrogen-blended natural gas. 'Every gas pipeline has risks. The goal is that when hydrogen gas is introduced into Oregonians' homes, there should be a minimum public notice,' Pham, a member of the committee, told the senators. The bill, based on regulations in Washington state, would also require utilities to notify the commission of blend ratios and potential safety and health risks, and inform local fire and health departments about their plans. Two years ago, NW Natural scrapped hydrogen blending plans in Eugene due to public outcry over lack of transparency. A growing body of research shows that burning natural gas in homes is unhealthy, and although there is less research on the risks of burning hydrogen-blended natural gas in homes, studies show that burning these blends releases nitrogen oxides, which can cause respiratory illnesses. Natural gas also brings environmental concerns. It is almost entirely methane, a potent greenhouse gas. When burned, it releases carbon dioxide, another greenhouse gas warming the planet. Hydrogen does not emit greenhouse gases, but the hydrogen NW Natural is making to blend into its natural gas is created through a controversial and energy-intensive process that requires heating methane to capture the hydrogen molecules in it. NW Natural, which opposes Senate Bill 685, maintains that blending hydrogen with natural gas will help lower harmful emissions from burning natural gas alone. During the hearing, company representatives said hydrogen is safe to burn in homes and that giving customers and the commission advance notification would be onerous, expensive and impede the company's climate goals. 'Policies that add unnecessary expense and complication to reducing emissions and developing clean energy resources do not serve Oregonians,' Mary Moerlins, NW Natural's environmental policy director. 'Instead, they cost our customers additional time and money. Oregon should not add additional requirements that don't improve safety at a time of extreme pressure on utility rates.' Environmentalists argue that hydrogen — which can be energy intensive to make and only clean if it's derived from water and the energy used to make it is sourced from renewables — should be used to power big ships, trains and manufacturing facilities, not homes. Studies from the International Renewable Energy Agency have found that replacing 20% of natural gas with hydrogen only reduces emissions from natural gas by up to 7%. And each ton of emissions cut from blending hydrogen with natural gas costs three times as much as the next most expensive method of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which is to draw carbon from the atmosphere using large machines, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency. The better solution, many environmentalists say, is to hasten a transition to electric heating and cooking infrastructure in homes and away from burning fossil fuels like natural gas. But a 7% reduction is meaningful to the company's efforts to meet state decarbonization targets, according to Chris Kroeker, decarbonization director at NW Natural. He told the committee it would equate to a reduction of 400,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, equivalent to taking 85,000 gas-powered cars off the road every year. Kroeker said the company does not typically alert customers about gas blending because 'there's no significant impact on downstream equipment, it increases costs for customers to do so, and it could also cause messaging fatigue.' Pham and other supporters of the bill question that reasoning. Carra Sahler, director of the Green Energy Institute at Lewis & Clark Law School, said customers deserve to know what they are paying for. 'The monopoly utility is now using ratepayer dollars for this project, but does not need to alert anyone if it increases the amount of hydrogen it blends,' she said. Pham told the committee that before introducing the legislation she toured the NW natural facility where the hydrogen blending is taking place, and met with the Portland-based Renewable Hydrogen Alliance and carpenter, electrician and ironworker unions to understand their concerns. 'As a NW Natural customer, I know that you send notices in the mail, and I imagine that you could probably include a notice in the mail,' Pham said. Methane gas extracted from the earth is made of carbon and hydrogen molecules. The hydrogen NW Natural is making – 'turquoise hydrogen' – is created when that methane is heated to temperatures so high that the carbon and hydrogen molecules split from one another. This process is called 'methane pyrolysis.' NW Natural is heating methane, capturing the hydrogen and blending it into natural gas. They're also using some of the hydrogen as energy to heat more methane to create more hydrogen. And they are capturing the carbon and using it to make products like asphalt. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
