ATLANTA – State Representative Lynn Smith (R-Newnan), chair of the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee, recently attended the Southern States Energy Board’s (SSEB) 62nd Annual Meeting in Charleston, South Carolina, where she presided over the board’s annual business session. Rep. Smith serves as vice chair of the SSEB’s Executive Board.
“It was an honor to participate in the SSEB’s annual meeting this year,” said Rep. Smith. “In 2022, SSEB’s member states passed more than 500 bills related to energy and environmental measures, and this meeting provided the opportunity for me to engage with colleagues from across the South to discuss these important and emerging issues that impact our region. Energy and environmental policies are now at the forefront of many legislative discussions across the South and the nation as a whole. I am grateful for the work that the SSEB does to provide a forum for us to come together to learn and discuss best practices.”
At the SSEB’s business session, Rep. Smith introduced the Energy & Environment Legislative Digest, which is a compilation of energy and environmental legislation enacted by the board’s 18 member states and territories during their 2022 legislative sessions. In the publication, she discussed emerging energy/environment legislative trends, such as hydrogen, nuclear and renewable power measures, flood mitigation, environmental remediation and emergency planning/response, electric vehicle infrastructure deployment and taxation, regulation of solid waste and deadly pollutants and solar and wind energy development. Rep. Smith also unveiled SSEB’s new online tool, which includes an index of passed legislation, an interactive map and categorized bill summaries from member states.
During the three-day event, Rep. Smith served as a panelist for the plenary session on Legislating Energy and Environmental Policy in the States, as well as introduced keynote speakers Hayes Framme, Head of New Markets & Supply Chain, Ørsted, and Walter Kaufmann, CEO, P3 USA, Inc. Additionally, she provided opening remarks for the Southeast Energy Exchange Market session and introduced speaker Noel Black, Vice President, Federal Regulatory Affairs, Southern Company.
The theme of the SSEB’s 62nd Annual Meeting was Clean Energy: Fueling Growth & Prosperity in the South. Discussions were centered on clean energy transition, electric mobility and innovation, nuclear energy trends, hydrogen market development, decarbonization efforts in the region, workforce readiness and training for the energy industry, infrastructure resiliency and cybersecurity.
The Southern States Energy Board is a nonprofit interstate compact organization created in 1960 and is composed of governors and state legislators from sixteen southern states, two territories and a presidential appointee. The Board’s mission is to enhance economic development and the quality of life in the South through innovations in energy and environmental policies, programs and technologies.
For more information on the SSEB, please click here.
*Editor’s note: photos of Rep. Smith presiding over the SSEB annual business session and participating in a panel discussion are attached.
Representative Lynn Smith represents the citizens of District 70, which includes portions of Carroll and Coweta counties. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 1996 and currently serves as Chairman of the Natural Resources & Environment Committee. She also serves on the Special Committee on Election Integrity, Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government, Legislative & Congressional Reapportionment, Creative Arts & Entertainment and Rules committees.
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