CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – On Saturday, December 3, the 2022 General Assembly Preview was held and hosted a panel between decision makers on environmental legislative action.
“What this panel highlighted in every single topic that we discussed is that often it’s state regulations that are standing in the way of our energetic community for doing the kind of environmental investments that we want,” Delegate Sally Hudson said.
Hudson says that the cleanest energy is often never used, and that Virginia needs to invest in more energy efficiency programs.
“The utilities micromanage that process. They’re in charge of handing out allocations for energy efficiency projects like getting better windows or appliances in your home,” Hudson said. “It would be much better if we cut that red tape and unleashed the opportunity to qualify for those state and senators to represent companies all over the Commonwealth.”
Jim Andrews with the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors discussed the importance of regional transit partnerships.
“In order to especially reduce environmental footprint to make life better. We got to look at transportation issues on a broad scale,” Andrews said. “We now have a micro transit program that allows us to reach into areas that aren’t necessarily accessible. We can get that last mile so that people can then access public transportation.”
Sena Magill with the Charlottesville City Council says that her goal on the panel was to focus on education and communication.
“Our state has this huge surplus, and our kids are going to school with broken windows,” Magill said. “We are actually still lucky compared to so many other municipalities who do not have the financial resources we do and that’s not fair and the state needs to start addressing that.”
The panel agreed that it is important to be able to encourage involvement in the legislative process in order to understand different proposals and their budget impacts.
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Janice is a full-time mom who likes to write on a range of topics in her spare time. She specializes in the Home, Garden, and Recycling topics. Janice is our Lifestyle and positive vibe expert. She keeps the office running.
