ATLANTA— House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) today announced the appointment of state Representative Ben Harbin (R-Evans) to the Southern Legislative Conference (SLC) Energy and Environment Committee. As the presiding officer of the Georgia House of Representatives, Speaker Ralston is charged with selecting members to represent Georgia within SLC.
“I am honored that the Speaker appointed me to represent Georgia by serving on this important committee,” said Rep. Harbin. “It is critical that we continue to enact policies that protect the natural resources in our state, and I look forward to discussions with committee members from other Southern states to learn about their various energy and environmental policies. I hope to share some of these ideas with my House colleagues on the Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications committee.”
The Energy and Environment Committee is one of the SLC’s Standing Committees. According to SLC, the Committee has studied clean water programs and water permitting; alternative energy; the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP); state compliance with federal clean air and water standards; the future for nuclear power; the role of merchant power plants; the ramifications of deregulation on Southern states; growth and sprawl; and surveyed recent legislative and state public utility activity.
Founded in 1947, the Southern Legislative Conference is the largest of four regional legislative groups operating under the Council of State Governments. The 15 SLC member states are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. The mission of The Council of State Governments’ Southern Legislative Conference is to foster and encourage intergovernmental cooperation among these 15 states.
For more information about SLC and its Energy and Environment Committee, please click here.
Representative Ben Harbin represents the citizens of District 122, which includes portions of Columbia County. He was elected into the House of Representatives in 1994, and currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Health. He also serves on the Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications, Insurance, and Ways & Means committees
###