Help NEHPBA Fight Gas Bans in New England and New York

22 September 2020

As you create your budget for 2021, the NEHPBA Board needs your support, once again, in continuing our very successful and effective campaign to fight on your behalf against gas and fossil fuels bans in the Northeast. We hope that you can once again assist in funding our regional lobbying efforts.

As you know, we have hired O’Neil & Associates, a prestigious lobbying firm with whom we have been very effective in fighting Energy Zero (Net-Zeo/Electrification/Gas Ban) Issues. This has been a valuable and worthy expense to forward our progress. We are asking all members as well as HPBA to help us fund this cause for continuing the fight into 2021. You may or may not know that several members, including dealers, manufacturers and distributors, have agreed to funding help. As you know, there is great concern with the relentless initiative to ban natural gas and fossil fuels in our region. With the help of our lobbying firm we have so far been very successful.

Here is some insight into a few of our winning campaigns:

Board of Building Regulations & Standards, MA (BBRS) - State Wide NetZero Building code – Testified at Public Hearing and submitted written comments. Got BBRS to “stay” the vote in Nov 2019, pushing it off until May 2020.
A Members-Only webinar with David Ismay, Undersecretary of Climate Initiative to Governor Baker – the highest government official we have ever had the ear of one-on-one for a conversation re the path to Net-Zero.
MA Attorney General Healy voted against the Brookline, MA city-wide gas ban – Submitted written testimony on behalf of our members and initiated a letter-writing/email campaign to the MA AG in July 2020.
MA S.2842 State-Wide Gas Ban Legislative Amendment we had overturned through a phone call/email campaign by our members.
Overturned MA amendment 61 to House Climate Bill removing language about improving greenhouse emissions through the use of biomass/wood/proper forestation – email writing campaign for members to Massachusetts House of Reps.
Board of Building Regulations s & Standards, MA (BBRS) - State Wide NetZero Building code – Again testified at Zoom Public Hearing and submitted written testimony. Convinced BBRS to vote against and overturn this building code in May 2020, removing this completely from the agenda going forward.
Presently, we are writing a comment letter on behalf of our members to be submitted to the Conference Committee regarding the Massachusetts Climate Bill.

We are also working on a "Save Our Natural Gas and Propane" campaign hopefully in combination with Propane Gas of New England (PGANE) and HPBA, we are publishing regular press releases on “energy diversity and security”, Joel Etter (NEHPBA President) and I will be participating in a podcast with O’Neil & Associates on this subject in October, and we are closely monitoring legislation in CT regarding greater accountability in the utility sector, natural gas legislation in NY, as well as licensing legislation in VT.

NEHPBA has joined the Mass Coalition for Sustainable Energy (MCSE) and The Empowerment Alliance. NEHPBA had a hand in writing and editing the MCSE letter to the conferees regarding the MA Climate Bill.

We will continue the fight for Clean and Affordable Energy. Please join us. We appreciate any donation either monthly or a one-time sponsorship. https://nehpba.org/donation#!form/Sponsorship

Thank you for your Support. Please let me know if you have any questions at all. I am available via phone and email anytime.

(978)440-0344