Rep. Suzanne HARVEY Proud to serve Nashua's Ward 2

Members of the 2008 Biodiesel Commission (click on photo to enlarge).The purpose of the commission was to assess the benefits of and barriers to a ready supply of biodiesel fuel in NH. Biodiesel is produced by a reaction between vegetable oil or animal fat and an alcohol (eg, methanol or ethanol). It is most often blended with petroleum diesel and used in diesel vehicles and to heat residences and businesses. Use of this renewable fuel helps to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and emissions from greenhouse gas.

The commission found that, despite demand, NH lacks a distribution infrastructure for the product. There are new biodiesel producers in NH, but challenges include farmers' commitments to growing the appropriate crops and making the fuel accessible around the state for both home heating and transportation fuel.

Suzanne speaking at the signing of the Renewable Energy Act as Gov. Lynch, Sen. Fuller Clark and DES Comissioner Burak look on (click on photo to enlarge). "...I truly believe this is one of the most significant pieces of legislation to emerge from the State House this past year."
(Gov. Lynch in speech to the Business Industry Association's Energy Conference, November 2007)

Back in 2006 when Suzanne filed a bill for the 2007 session to create a "renewable portfolio standard" for New Hamphsire, only a few legislators with a particular interest in the environment knew what an "RPS" was. Over 20 states had already adopted an RPS, inlcuding most of New England, but NH was lagging.

Suzanne, the bill's prime sponsor, along with Sen. Martha Fuller Clark, the bill's main co-sponsor from the Senate, and members from the Department of Environmental Services (DES) held stakeholder meetings over an 18-month period to forge a consensus for the final text. The bill passed overwhelmingly in the House and passed with the support of all 24 members in the Senate.
The main features of an RPS are:

*A mandate that electric utilities have a certain percent of the energy they sell come from renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, or biomass. Each state customizes its definition of renewables, so that a state in the southwest, for example, might have only solar energy as eligible, whereas in NH, we included a diverse list of eligible sources.
(Read the text of the bill.)

Following a moratorium on the incineration of the wood component of construction & demolition debris (C&D, or what is left in a heap after a building is constructed, demolished or renovated), the legislature passed a total ban on this in New Hampshire.

Suzanne was a co-sponsor of this bill, the intent of which was to further protect the air quality in our state. Burning these products releases their toxins, including the lead in paint, into our air. The wood component ban is law; the incineration ban of other C&D material, such as bricks, plaster, concrete, and more, takes effect January 1, 2011.

As co-sponsor of a 2007 bill to create a study commission on human labor and sex traffic, Suzanne was appointed to the commission and became chair. The impetus for the study was an incident in the state concerning a young woman who had been held in captivity for sex and managed to escape and call for help. Unfortunately, once she was in a "safe house" she panicked and disappeared before authorities could identify her captors.

Bill signing: Suzanne with other RGGI sponsors and supporters witness Gov. Lynch signing the bill into law (click on photo to enlarge).New Hampshire was the last of 10 states to approve the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a major program to reduce greenhouse gas in the northeast. Governor Lynch had initially signed the agreement but the legislature in our state needs to approve a governor's signing of any agreement with other states. Suzanne was a co-sponsor of this bill that successfully went through the House and Senate and was signed by the Governor in 2008. In addition to NH, the RGGI participants include NY, CT, DE, ME, NJ, VT, MD, MA and RI.

RGGI is a technically complicated "cap and trade" program to decrease carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by placing a cap on how much CO2 power plants can emit "while maintaining energy affordability and reliability." RGGI will be a strong companion to NH's 2007 main environmental initiative, the Renewable Energy Act, to make NH a cleaner place to live and work.

RGGI allots each of the participating states a certain amount of allowable annual emissions, ie, tons of CO2, and in turn, the power plants that burn fossil fuel have a cap. Emitting less than the cap annually means the utility has extra "allowances" and can trade them in an auction. Using more than the power plant is allotted will necessitate purchasing allowances.

Click here for a full explanation at the official RGGI website.

Be a responsible recycler--these products do not belong in our waste stream (click photo to enlarge).In our haste to obtain the latest and greatest new gadgets in this throw-away society, we toss our used products in the garbage, filling our waste streams with items that are not biodegradable and often are composed of toxic materials. The problem of electronic waste (e-waste)--for example, TVs, cell phones, computers, printers--is not insignificant.

Suzanne's bill created this commission, the purpose of which is to assess what municipalities are already doing around the state regarding the disposal of e-waste, what other states are doing, and what else can we do here to responsibly dispose of these products.

One big issue is the potential glut of old televisions in February 2009 when all stations will be broadcasting using digital technology. For more information on what you can do to keep using your older TV, type http:www.dtv.gov/ in your browser's address box.

The commission's report is due in December 2008.

Our state has ongoing problems concerning substance abuse: In addition to the pervasive problem of addiction, there are not enough treatment beds for people seeking help for their addiction to alcohol or drugs and we lack a dependable community of licensed alcohol and drug counselors, or LADCs (pronounced lay'dacs) who choose to remain employed in treatment centers. Financial compensation is typically inadequate for these counselors and many of them decide to practice independently.

As a member of the Legislative Caucus for Young Children, which advocates each legislative session for or against bills involving children, Suzanne was asked by a representative of the Division for Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) to file a bill bringing New Hampshire laws into conformance with the federal Adam Walsh Act.