Update:
As of 5/8/14 SB 310 has just passed the senate 21-11. The bill was debated until 1:00am last night and is quickly moving to the House. Act quickly to express your opinion!
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| Representative Tracy Maxwell Heard District 26 |
Yesterday I walked in the shoes of a grassroots lobbyist. I never imagined myself at the Ohio Statehouse meeting my representatives and senators, but I found myself doing just that.
All over the country, members of Moms Clean Air Force gathered at their respective state capitals and showed support for important environmental issues. In Ohio, the issue at hand is Senate Bill 310.
Currently Ohio has a renewable energy portfolio that was established in 2008 (SB 221) which allows Ohio to generate 25 percent of our electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar in the next 25 years. That same law aims to reduce Ohio’s energy consumption by 22 percent within that same time frame. SB 310 introduced by Senator Troy Balderson (R-Zansville) would prohibit these standards from remaining in effect while a committee reviews them. SB 310 would put a freeze on the progress the state of Ohio is making toward becoming a renewable energy state. The current standards from SB 221 have already reduced 9,000 tons of nitrogen oxides, 40,000 tons of sulfur dioxide, and 1,000 pounds of mercury annually that would have been introduced into our environment by dirty energy sources.
Ohioans have saved money and have gained jobs through the 2008 SB 221, and we cannot risk losing the progress we’ve made. Ohio’s clean energy laws have helped to employ over 25,000 Ohioans and have led to 1,000 renewable energy projects across our state. In fact, every dollar invested in energy efficiency saves Ohioans three dollars on our electric bills. Reasonably priced clean energy is the future. We have to convince our legislature that bowing to the will of the big energy lobby is not worth the damage to the health, safety, and finances of Ohioans.
Yesterday, I had the honor of hearing Representative Tracy Heard (D district 26) speak at the Mama Summit. She talked about how things get done in government. She reminded us that each person no matter how rich or how poor gets a vote and that each vote counts. She said the most important thing we can do is to “let our voice be heard.” It’s easy to forget in this age of money equals speech, deep pockets, and House of Cards style lobbying that every person, no what station in life they come from, matters. You can have all the money in the world, but your vote counts the same as the person who has nothing. 
Getting to spend my day at the Statehouse conversing with my elected officials and their staff was a eye opening experience on how out of touch the world of government seems from my everyday life. It’s easy to forget that we all have the right to meet with the people representing us on all levels of government. It’s so simple to be swept into the day to day and forget that if the people running our state and country don’t hear from us they will most likely vote on whatever will get them reelected, even if that’s not in our best interest. This is a vital lesson to remember especially a few days after an election. 
It’s so uncomplicated to sit back and let people make a career out of influencing our elected officials. They can just remove the choice from our lives and run the government without our input. I was reminded today that allowing them to do that is a dangerous course of non-action. When we sit back and let the high powered lobbyists drive the bus we’ll wake up in country and state we don’t recognize with our rights stripped, our earth polluted, and our nation sold to the highest bidder. We all have a voice, and we all must use it to protect ourselves against dangerous and damaging bills like senate bill 310. I suggest you contact your Ohio legislature as soon as you can to encourage them to vote no on SB 310.
Please see the link below to find out who your state legislator is and how to contact them.
Also included are the links to the Mama Summit’s partners for this event for further exploration.
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