Lobbying Report from Frankfort

KFTC members from Louisville delivering hard copied emails addressed to Speaker Richards

As of around 1pm today we've had approximately 50 people come out to Frankfort to lobby against new subsidies for coal companies and to sit in on the Appropriations and Revenue committee hearing on the issue.  Prior to the committee meeting, a group of members from Louisville hand-delivered hard copies of nearly 500 emails addressed to Speaker Richards to one of his aides.

During the first couple hours of the hearing the committee heard from a geologist from UK, Tom Fitzgerald from the Kentucky Resources Council, and a representative from U of L who spoke about renewable energy technologies.  The focus of most of the discussion and questioning in the morning was on economic and technological feasibility of carbon sequestration.  The bill's language apparently requires coal-conversion plants to be "carbon capture ready," but from what we can discern this doesn't really mean anything.  There are no specific requirements to make a plant "carbon capture ready," which would make this language effectively meaningless.

Now, after lunch, the committee has begun to hear testimony from private citizens.  KFTC members Carl Shoupe and Truman Hurt just wrapped up their discussion coal field life and their views of the coal economy as lifetime residents of Eastern KY, and now our new Canary Fellow Teri Blanton is up before the committee giving some pretty fierce testimony.

You ought to be able to watch some of this testimony live on KET's website, here.  Later, when video of the hearing has been archived we will post a link to that as well.  Keep checking back for updates.

Truman Hurt and Carl Shoupe speaking before the committee		Members sitting in on the A&R meeting