KFTC has teamed up with several dozen ally groups and businesses to launch the Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance (KySEA) and promote clean energy solutions for Kentucky.

KySEA's website features an informative new blog found at www.kysea.org/blog. The site has timely stories about proposed energy policies and their impact on Kentucky, examples of clean energy solutions that are already working in our state, and opportunities to take action. Recent stories include:

* Messaging that works for climate and energy issues

* Kentucky Power proposes to raise rates by 35%

* Council appointed to develop a climate action plan for Kentucky

* Indiana legislator introduces a "feed-in tariff" bill to ramp up renewable energy production statewide

Take a moment to bookmark the KySEA site. And please let us know if you have an important story or idea we should be covering. We'll cross-post many important stories here on the KFTC blog as well.

Also, be on the lookout for an upcoming announcement about energy legislation that is expected to be introduced soon in the Kentucky General Assembly.

By Roy Silver, Harlan County chapter member

"The biggest thing is our water resource.  Our water is really good now. What’s more important the water or the coal?  This is the best place in the world to live. You're not just taking out the coal, you're destroying generations of people who could live here and raise their families here.”  Bennie Massey, Lynch City Council

Harlan Development/A & G wants to strip mine Black Mountain above Lynch.  It would drain into Looney Creek, which feeds the Lynch Reservoir.

The discharge is a violation of the Kentucky Five-Mile Policy.  It “prohibits discharges into a stream within five miles upstream from any public water supply intake. Looney Creek feeds the head waters of the Cumberland River.  The strip mine could also impact downstream communities. 

This strip mine would place 18 new sediment ponds above the community, set off blasts near homes and historic buildings.

It will encroach on the upper elevations of Black Mountain.  Harlan Counties. The Kentucky Resources Council, KFTC and many others protected in 1999.

  To strip mine this area, the company must get a permit from the US Army Corps of Engineers US EPA.  It will mine through and create a sediment pond at the headwaters of Long Rock Branch, (Magazine Hollow).  This feeds the Lynch Reservoir.  This strip mine could damage four other headwater streams.  

A&G’s Ison Rock Ridge strip mine in Wise County, Va. has been suspended.   It had history of federal violations.  Owners of Harlan Development Corporation owed over $1.5 million in mine safety violations.  Lynch residents are asking that this permit be denied.  They are also asking for a public hearing from the US Army Corps of Engineers. 

Send an email to the US Army Corps of Engineers and EPA asking officials to respect the concerns of Lynch residents, protect their water and community resources.

Submit comments by 4pm on Monday, February 1st.
Click here to go to the KFTC Action Page to send your letter.

Comments will be accepted after the deadline. For more information, contact colleen@kftc.org.

You can also send a letter by fax to:
Nashville District Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch
(Attention: Marty Tyree)
3701 Bell Road, Nashville, TN 37214
Fax 615-369-7501

KFTC members lobbying in the halls of the Capitol Annex for voting rights

HB 70, our bill to restore voting rights to former felons who have served their debt to society, will be heard in the House Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee one week from today (Tuesday, February 2nd).  This is the first step in the process to amend our constitution, and it is important that we start the process off right. Please take three minutes to call the legislative message hotline this week to ask committee members to support the bill and join us in Frankfort for the hearing next week if you can.

Action #1

Call you legislators and leave a message

Call the Legislative Message Line, 1-800-372-7181 (7am-11pm M-F of this week) and ask to leave a message for legislators. The operator will then record your name and address. Specify that you want to leave the message for "Members of House Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee," plus your own Senator and Representative (if you don't know their names, the operator can look it up for you). Leave a simple message like "Please vote Yes on HB 70 to restore voting rights.”

Action #2

Join us in Frankfort next Tuesday

Please join us at the House Elections and Constitutional Amendments committee meeting in which our voting rights bill will be heard. It's Tuesday, February 2nd at 8am in Capitol Annex room 171. Afterward, we'll break into teams to talk to legislators in anticipation of HB 70 reaching the House Floor. Contact Our voter empowerment organizer, Dave, or your local organizer if you wish to attend.

Save the date!

KFTC and allies will be holding our annual Voting Rights Rally and Lobby Day at the State Capitol on March 4th.  Join with hundreds of others as we gather to fight for our democracy.  Lobbying begins at 8 a.m. and the rally begins at 1 p.m.  Look for future emails for more details on the day.

For more information on our work on restoration of voting rights, and for other actions you can take, please visit our House Bill 70 page.

The following is a press release sent to us by an anonymous group of students on UK's campus

LEXINGTON, Ky: Tuesday, an anonymous group of students from the University of Kentucky hung a banner from a parking structure near Rose Street to protest the university’s use of coal power on campus. The banner, reading “COAL: A Tradition of Oppression. STUDENTS: Let’s Change Our Legacy”, included a reproduction of the familiar UK symbol, with a burning smokestack between the letters instead of the usual Memorial Hall steeple.

Deemed the “midnight strike force” by local news sources, the students are fueling a campaign to move the university beyond the “outdated” technology of coal power and in the direction of cleaner energies. One of the students, an economics and environmental studies senior, said, “You can’t argue facts. Coal is a finite resource and the shift to alternative energies has to begin immediately. Kentucky must realize its potential to be progressive and enterprising in the country’s transition toward environmental awareness.”

The students’ use of the word “oppression” alludes to the detrimental effects of coal not only on the environment, but on the miners and communities in coal-mining regions of the state.  An estimated 12,000 coal miners have died from black lung in the past decade, and their families are equally affected.  The real tragedy, though, lies in mountaintop removal (MTR) coal mining, a practice that more and more coal companies have used to extract coal at a lower cost.  MTR employs explosives to decapitate mountains, and the leftover waste is deposited in surrounding valleys.  The chemicals and residue bury and contaminate freshwater streams, thus poisoning the water supply for surrounding communities and devastating local ecosystems.

While the university, directly, does not deal in MTR coal, Kentucky Utilities provides a significant portion of the campus’s power, and is a known distributor of energy derived from the controversial method.

“The University of Kentucky is the flagship university of the state, and as such, sets the example for the rest of Kentucky. Any change we can make toward cleaner energy and the diversification of jobs and economies will affect the entire Appalachian region drastically, and for the better. This change is one that can’t wait,” said an Appalachian Studies junior.

It seems momentum has not died from the announcement last semester that the new Wildcat Coal Lodge would be endorsed by the coal industry.  Tuesday’s banner was one of a series that has hung on campus since October, indicating that the students have not forgotten President Todd’s decision, and that they still worry for the future of their school’s energy and integrity.

You are invited and encouraged to attend the public hearing for the draft air pollution permit for the proposed coal-burning Smith plant on February 4 at 6:30 in Winchester. Stand with Clark County residents and folks all over the state to demand a clean energy solution. 

Click here to let KFTC know you plan to attend the hearing.

Background

This hearing is our time to make a public demonstration of our opposition to an unhealthy and risky coal-burning power plant, and to stand up in support of the clean and less-costly alternative of energy efficiency, weatherization and renewable energy.

All Kentuckians, whether you receive your power from EKPC or not, are stakeholders in this process as the plant would contaminate the air we all breathe. Already, hundreds of Kentuckians die prematurely each year from the illnesses caused by the soot, smog, mercury and other pollution spewed out by coal-burning power plants.

Now is the time to say, “Enough is enough!” The solution is simple and clear. Energy saving and renewable energy programs won’t need a permit because they won’t pollute our air. We must use this opportunity to speak out, letting the Kentucky Division for Air Quality and EKPC know that this clean energy solution is the just and healthy choice, not only for EKPC ratepayers, but for all Kentuckians.

_______________________________

And don’t forget: If you haven’t submitted a written comment yet, you have until February 12 to tell the DAQ that you oppose the draft air permit. Visit kftc.org/airpermit to submit a written comment to the Division for Air Quality, raising your voice in favor of a just energy future and public health.

On January 21^st the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 to lift a decades-old ban on political spending by corporations.  This decision, Citizens United vs. the Federal Election Commission, will radically alter campaign spending as we know it.

Previously, corporations and labor unions were banned from spending money out of their general treasury 30 days before a primary and 60 days before a general election.   They are still prohibited from giving directly to candidates running for office – and must continue to donate directly through their Political Action Commission (PAC).

But with this ruling, corporations can now spend an unlimited amount of money on their own independent expenditures for or against candidates running for office – right up through election day.  And since Kentucky is one of 24 states that have specific laws barring corporations from spending money on electioneering, this ruling will make our own state laws virtually null and void.

So, what does this mean for elections?  There is already a lot of money sloshing around in politics even before this ruling, you might say? 

Well, let’s play this out with an example. 

Consider Exxon-Mobil. In 2008, its PAC raised about $1 million from its employees and offices. Its profits that year – which it was legally barred from pouring into politics – were $45 billion. It was illegal for Exxon to spend that money on elections. Now with this decision, it will be legal.

The Citizens United ruling rolls back more than a 100 years of campaign finance law.  The ban on direct corporate spending in elections goes back to the 1907 Tillman Act, which prohibited corporate contributions in federal campaigns (it was assumed to cover independent expenditures, too). In 1947, the Taft-Hartley law made explicit that corporations and unions could not directly spend their treasury funds on electioneering. Congress, every time it has passed a law to deal with this, only has strengthened this prohibition.

Corporations will still have to disclose any money they spend on ads they run directly.  However, disclosure laws might not be triggered if they funnel their contributions through a third-party group – which could add a huge cloud of secrecy because the public may never be able to find out who and how much is being spent by some of these corporations.

However, there is a silver lining in all this.  With this huge rollback of crucial limits on corporations undue influence on elections this may just be the push that many lawmakers and the public need to enact real campaign finance reform. 

KFTC has long supported campaign spending limits and public financing of elections to reduce the amount spent on elections and the power of big money contributors.

What do you think about the Citizens United ruling?  About letting corporations have as much “political speech” as they can afford to spend? 

To learn more: 

• Move To Amend,
  
• Public Campaign
• Common Cause
  

2010 is an exciting election year with lots of seats up for a vote.  There is a lot to talk about in terms of KFTC's exciting program of work in which we'll be registering, educating, and mobilizing tens of thousands of Kentuckians to have an impact.  For now, though, take a look at this basic background information - what's up for election and what the basic calendar is.  Note especially that the Candidate Filing Deadline is Tomorrow and you can take a look to see who's already filed for seats in your area.

2010 Elections

- The U.S. Senate seat currently filled by Jim Bunning

- All 6 U.S. House seats from Kentucky

- Half (even district numbers) of the 38 Kentucky Senate seats

- All 100 of the Kentucky House of Representatives seats

- Local school boards (half of the members)

- 3rd District KY Supreme Court

- District Judges

- Officers for all 120 county governments (Judge/Executives, Magistrates, Commissioners, County Clerks, County Attorneys, Jailers, Coroners, Surveyors, PVAs, Constables, and Sheriffs

- All City Council Members (or commissioners)  (only odd-numbered districts in Louisville, though).

- Most Mayors (including big elections in Lexington and Louisville)

Simple 2010 Election Calendar

January 26 (tomorrow) - Candidate Filing Deadline.  This is the deadline by which all candidates have to file with the Secretary of States's Office.  To learn what candidates have filed for offices in your area, visit the Secretary of State's web site.

February 2 – Special Election for the 24th District House (in Casey, Marion, and Pulaski counties).  Candidates are Terry Mills (D) vs Leo Johnson (R).  Polls open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

April 19 – Primary Voter Registration Deadline.

May 18 – Primary Election.  Polls open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

August 10 - Candidate filing deadline to register as an independent (in some races).

October 4 – Voter Registration Deadline for the General Election.

November 2 – General Election.  Polls open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Stay tuned for more information about KFTC's Voter Empowerment plans this year to have a big impact on these critical elections. 

To correspond with KFTC’s statewide “Bake Sale for the budget” in Frankfort, the Madison County Chapter of KFTC held a “Berea Bake Sale for the Budget” last Wednesday. The event was held on Berea College’s campus.

In just two hours of selling baked goods, almost twenty dollars was raised, and over 55 action cards were signed and ready to be sent to the Governor’s office. One might think that twenty dollars does not a good bake sale make, but the awareness that KFTC generated around tax reform was worth more than any pennies to go into the states depleting coffer.

By definition Berea College students come from families who live at the end of the regressive tax system, they make less money and pay a high percentage of that money back into their taxes. An average Berea student makes $200 a month- so to collect nearly twenty dollars from those at the end of the state’s food chain was heartwarming. The students were given recipe cards that described House Bill 13, and some were shocked to find that the state was 1,500,000,000.00 dollars in debt.

Maren Hudson, a senior at Berea College stated, “How can a state be $1.5 billion dollars in debt when I am feeling the pinch of student loans breathing down my neck in a few months. Soon I am going to be graduating and going off into the “real world” so I guess I should start paying attention because maybe Kentucky really is not the place I want to settle my family.”

Mrs. Hudson is originally from Tennessee and lives off campus with her husband, a Kentucky native and fellow Berean. By signing individual cards that acted as a personal letter to the governor, Berea students were able to get their voices heard while they got their stomachs filled. The money, as well as the action cards will be personally delivered to the Governor’s office while KFTC continues its lobbying efforts in Frankfort.

Remember I Love Mountains Day is Feb 11th

Third Annual I Love Mountains Old Time Music Showcase!!!!

February 6, 2010, All Ages
$10 (sliding scale, no one will be turned away) to benefit the work of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth

Al's Bar, Sixth Street and North Limestone in Lexington

Music Starts at 9 p.m.
Clack Mountain String Band
Red State Ramblers
Rich and the Po Folks
The Wild Boogers

Special Guests, Kentucky Authors Erik Reece and Eric Sutherland

*** The beautiful poster designed and printed by Cricket Press will be available at the show for sale***

On Thursday, the Central Kentucky chapter spent its meeting reviewing legislation that KFTC endorses, and also learned from our allies at Lexington Fairness which bills they're lobbying for during the 2010 General Assembly.

Central Kentucky members Katie Meyer, Martin Mudd, Jenn Myatt, and Susan Williams each led a breakout session on one of KFTC's legislative priorities. Members then broke down into small groups and spent ten minutes at each "station."

In Katie's group members celebrated our work on Wednesday during the "Bake Sale for the Budget" big lobby day. They also learned about the progressive tax reform legislation proposed in House Bill 13.

Susan Williams led a group on sustainable energy policies. She shared information about the Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance (KySEA), and how the policies proposed by the alliance will

benefit all  Kentuckians by saving ratepayers money in the short and long-term, creating local jobs and businesses, improving our health and environment through cleaner electricity sources and by helping families struggling with rising energy bills.

In the voting rights break-out members had a chance to learn about where we are with the restoration of voting rights legislation (HB 70) and to prepare for our big voting rights lobby day on March 4.

The fourth break-out group, led by Marty Mudd, focused on the history of the Stream Saver Bill. There were several first-timers at the meeting who kept Marty on his toes by asking important questions like, "How do you make an issue like protecting streams in Appalachia important to someone who lives in Lexington or Louisville?"

KFTC also has a history of supporting ally organizations' work in Frankfort as well. The chapter invited Joey Rose from Lexington Fairness to share with them which bills they are working on right now. Lexington Fairness is a local LGBTIQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer) organization. There are four bills that they are lobbying for during this session;

1. Statewide Fairness Bill (House: HB 117): This bill would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity throughout Kentucky in employment, housing, public accommodations, insurance coverage, and credit. The House bill also includes sexual orientation and gender identity provisions in the powers of state and local human rights commissions. Right now only residents of Metro Louisville, Lexington/Fayette County, and Covington are protected by city ordinance against discrimination.

2. Hospital Visitation Bill (House: HB 118): This initiative would allow any adult hospital patient to designate another individual to be treated as a member of the patient's family with regard to visitation.

3. Fair Marriage Bill (House: HB 17): This bill would repeal the 2004 anti-marriage amendment by returning the issue to Kentucky voters.

4. Dual Parent Adoption Bill (House: HB 95): Allows non-married couples to adopt.

There will be a fairness lobby day on Wednesday, February 24. Starting at 9 a.m folks can gather in room 131 of the capitol annex for training.

To learn more about these bills and how they're coming along, visit the Kentucky Fairness Alliance's Legislative Action Center at http://kentuckyfairness.org/getinformed/legislation.htm

The Central Kentucky KFTC Chapter meets the third Thursday of every month from 7-9 p.m. at the Episcopal Diocesan Mission House at the corner of 4th Street and Martin Luther King. If you're interested in helping to plan our chapter meetings, please contact the CKY Organizer Ondine Quinn at ondine@kftc.org