URGENT ACTION: EV Readiness Survey and Virtual Discussion

The City of Tucson is collecting input for a proposed code amendment for new multi-family, commercial and retail buildings to be EV ready. These changes are an implementation step within the M&C approved EV Readiness Roadmap.. EV readiness is one of the many strategies the City is undertaking to address climate change. 

 

To provide you with some content, this process began last year and over 10 meetings have taken place, including two public hearings on April 19, 2022 and July 12, 2022.  

 M&C will be voting on this issue at the August 23 meeting. Please share your thoughts on EV readiness requirements by:  

1. Filling out this short survey  
   Responses will be collected until Wednesday, August 10. Comments will be reviewed by staff, shared with M&C, and presented at a virtual discussion.  
      
2. Attending the virtual discussion  
   Via Zoom  
   Friday, August 12, 2022 
   9:00am – 10:30am  
   Register in advance for this meeting  
   After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.  
      
3. Joining Call to the Audience  
   In person  
   Tuesday, August 9, 2022 (today) and Tuesday, August 23, 2022  
   Regular Agenda, 5:30pm  
   M&C Chambers  
   City Hall, 1^st Floor  
   255 W. Alameda  
   
   For background information on how the proposal has been developed, please visit the Commercial Parking Amendments project page  
   The Commercial Parking Amendments presentation from July 12 can be seen here.  
   The M&C meeting can be viewed here.  
   
   Please share this information within your networks,  

Fátima Luna   Climate and Sustainability Advisor  Office of the Mayor  |  City of Tucson  fatima.luna@tucsonaz.gov

Request to Speak follow up... Good news for EVs, bad for water...

I wanted to thank those of you who persevered and weighed in on the Request to Speak actions this week. The system was especially slow this weekend. At the Request to Speak training they said it is slow when the system is especially busy. I thought you could use some good news. This week all four of Senator Steele's electric vehicle (EV) bills passed out of the Transportation and Technology Committee. Please consider thanking the senators who helped make that happen including Senators Boyer (voted no on SB1150, but yes on the rest), Gabaldon, Otondo, Pace, Rios, Shope, and, of course, Senator Steele. Be sure to mention if you are a constituent!

Unfortunately, I have some bad news as well. HB2055 passed in committee. This week, please take a minute to call your House members and ask them to oppose HB2055 Harquahala non-expansion area; groundwater transportation (Griffin: Bowers). It allows private water companies to import water from the Harquahala Valley and into active management areas (AMAs) for development. Creating groundwater sacrifice zones and further privatizing water is a bad idea. This bill awaits floor action in the House. Be sure to tell them that you are their constituent.

 You can find your representatives' phone numbers here (https://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster/?body=H)

If you don't know what district you are in you can find out here: https://azredistricting.org/districtlocator/

MORE INFORMATION

Arizona's water system for suburban growth heads toward 'train wreck,' Babbitt says - Tucson.com, Jan 26, 2020 Updated Jan 28, 2022

Investors are buying up rural Arizona farmland to sell the water to urban homebuilders - Arizona Republic, Nov. 25, 2021

Banking on Drought: Private Companies See Profits in Southwest Water Shortages - New Times, Feb. 28, 2019

With cutbacks imminent, Arizona and other states scramble to save Colorado River water - Arizona Republic, Nov. 20, 2021

REQUEST TO SPEAK on (mostly) environmental bills at the Arizona Legislature

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There some good bills and some bad bills being heard in committees at the State Legislature starting Monday. There are some good bills in support of EVs. (Also see my previous post that includes the many bad bills that make it harder to vote.)  

Why do Request to Speak? Bills have to go through certain committees before they can be heard and voted on the floor of the House or Senate. Sometimes, just sometimes, we can stop bad bills from going to a vote on the House or Senate floor by killing them in committee. One way to do that is to weigh in on the Request to Speak system on the Arizona State Legislature website by choosing FOR or AGAINST. You need to weigh in before or while the bills are still in committee. That is why I include when the bill is being heard in a particular committee below. 

(See Request to Speak directions at the bottom of this page.) 

Coming Up at the Arizona Legislature this Week

Monday, January 24th

Senate Committee on Transportation & Technology at 2:00 PM 

SB1150 electric vehicles; pilot program; appropriation (Steele, Jermaine) establishes an electric vehicle (EV) pilot program, appropriates $500,000, requires EV ready homes. SUPPORT.
SB1151 charging station; pilot program; appropriation (Steele) appropriates $500,000 for a pilot program administered by Arizona Department of Administration. SUPPORT.
SB1152 zero emission vehicles; plans (Steele) requires state agencies to prioritize zero emissions vehicles when they purchase vehicles. SUPPORT.
SB1154 transportation electrification study committee (Steele) establishes a study committee to review laws and consider ways to promote EVs. SUPPORT.

House Committee on Military Affairs & Public Safety at 2:00 PM 

HR2004 border wall; construction materials; repurpose (Blackman, Payne) says the Arizona House of Representatives supports transferring unused federal border wall construction materials to the states to construct a border wall along the southern border. OPPOSE.

Tuesday, January 25th

House Committee on Natural Resources, Energy, & Water at 2:00 PM

HB2411 coal combustion residuals program (Griffin) authorizes the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) to seek assumption of the coal ash program from EPA. The Sierra Club opposes ADEQ getting additional programs while the agency is not implementing the ones it has and are concerned about its coziness with utilities. OPPOSE.

Wednesday, January 26th

Senate Committee on Commerce at 2:00 PM 

SB1275 fireworks; use; overnight hours; prohibition (Mesnard, Shah) prohibits fireworks from 11:00 PM to 8:00 AM except on New Year's and July 4th. The Sierra Club thinks they should be prohibited altogether, but this is an improvement. SUPPORT

Thursday, January 27th

Senate Committee on Judiciary at 9:00 AM 

SB1215 missing and murdered indigenous peoples (Steele, Dalessandro, M. Hernandez, et al.) establishes a study committee and directs them to look at ways to reduce and end violence against Indigenous people. SUPPORT.

DIRECTIONS FOR REQUEST TO SPEAK ACTIONS

Sign On to your Request to Speak account, click the blue Request to Speak button, click on New Request in the nav bar (left column), then simply cut and paste the bill number into Search Phrase (for example:SB1150). Push blue Add Request button, weigh in FOR or AGAINST, click No on Do you wish to speak? (in person), leave a short Comment, and click on SUBMIT. For another submission, click on the New Request link in the nav bar on the left and follow the directions above. 

If you had an account with RTS previously, it is still active. If you do not have an account, go ahead and set one up, but someone will have to help you activate it as it requires going to the Capitol. Reach out to Civic Engagement Beyond Voting.

Tell Rep. Kirkpatrick: We need climate action now! Extend tax credits needed to expand our clean energy technology revolution

There's one big way Congress can help speed up action on clean energy and climate change:

Tax credits!

By extending or modifying critical tax credits for clean energy and energy efficiency investments, the federal government can provide billions of dollars in tax incentives that will help solve the climate crisis.

Here's the problem: Many of these tax credits are outdated, expired, or set to expire soon, including in four key green technology areas needed to meet our climate goals — electric vehicles, offshore wind, electric grid scale storage, and building efficiency.

Without extensions and modifications to tax credits in these areas, clean energy innovation could stall and our planet will be driven even closer to the brink of climate catastrophe.

Tell Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick: We need climate action now! Extend smart and vital tax credits needed to expand our clean energy technology revolution.

Clean energy solutions are good for our environment and our economy, creating jobs and reducing energy costs for consumers.

Moreover, we know these credits work. Wind and solar already have received tax incentives that have proved incredibly successful at increasing the amount of renewable energy on the grid.

The House of Representatives tax committee just passed legislation to extend a host of other tax credits, but that bill did not update or extend the important credits we need for electric vehicles, offshore wind, and energy storage. It also included outdated energy efficiency tax credits for commercial buildings and new homes that must be modified to be effective.

In order to succeed in including these credits, we need as many people as possible to urge their representatives to do their part to fund them. Can you help?

Tell your representative that clean energy innovation is needed now — and that you're counting on her to do her part to make sure these crucial climate goals are met.

Earlier this year, the House passed the "Climate Action Now Act," showing that addressing climate change is at the top of their priority list. And extending these critical tax credits is another way the House can demonstrate its commitment to action on climate change.

Given the urgency and scale of transformation needed to address climate change and rapidly decarbonize our economy, one of Congress's top priorities must be to provide tax credits that make the greatest impact toward meeting our nation's climate change goals and commitments. Please make your voice heard at your representative's office now.

- Kevin S. Curtis, NRDC Action Fund

The House Tax Bill: An All-Out Attack on Clean Energy

Congress is threatening the progress we’ve made on electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy. The House tax reform bill is a dangerous blow to growing industries that reduce global warming emissions, clean our air, create jobs, and save consumers money.

In addition to cutting taxes for the wealthy at the expense of middle class and low-income families, the bill includes energy provisions that are nothing but a blatant handout to the fossil fuel industry. The bill eliminates the EV tax credit that makes these clean vehicles more affordable to consumers, just when the industry is beginning to reach a scale to compete with gasoline-powered vehicles. It will also limit the ability of clean energy developers to use solar and wind tax credits.

We can't let Congress stall the progress we’ve made in building a domestic clean energy and transportation economy.

Learn more about the importance of EV incentives and the recent growth of U.S. solar and wind.

Call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121. An operator will connect you directly with the congressional representative you request.

TALKING POINTS TO GUIDE YOUR CALL

• Hi, my name is [YOUR FULL NAME] and I'm a constituent from [YOUR TOWN/CITY].
• I am calling about the shortsighted House tax reform bill and its focus on creating tax breaks for the wealthy while undermining things that benefit everybody, such as clean energy.
• I strongly oppose eliminating the federal electric vehicle tax credit as part of this bill.
• I want to continue to have access to the $7,500 tax credit for new electric vehicle car buyers, so that EVs become more affordable and automakers continue to drive innovation.
• Although I don't think the electric vehicle tax credit will be necessary forever, we do need it now to continue to make the technology more cost competitive with conventional vehicles.
• I also would like to express my strong opposition to limiting eligibility for two critical renewable energy credits for wind and solar energy production, the PTC and ITC.
• These two tax credits are critical to growing our clean energy economy, which has led to new jobs, reliable access to affordable energy sources, new income for rural communities, and has greatly benefited our health and environment. 
• It is hypocritical to claim we need to lose these tax credits—which offer clean air, new jobs, and benefits to rural economies— when you aren’t cutting things like fossil fuels subsidies and are using the money for a tax cut for the most wealthy.
• I ask [REPRESENTATIVE] to oppose any cuts to Electric Vehicles Tax Credit, in Section 30 D of the tax code, as well as any changes to the wind and solar production tax credits.
• Thank you for your time.

If you reach voicemail, feel free to leave a message. Please leave your full street address and zip code to ensure your call is tallied.

- Union of Concerned Scientists