With 2021 halfway over, all but a few states have wrapped up their annual legislative sessions. Only a handful of states, such as California and Pennsylvania, have year-round legislative sessions, while most other state legislatures only meet for a few months out of the year.
Even with short sessions, state legislatures still introduced, debated, and passed thousands of bills. While discussion around various COVID-19 bills still dominated many conversations, countless state legislatures also took the time to address long-term issues, such as broadband connectivity and the condition of their states’ decaying infrastructure. AEM worked directly with state legislators over the past few months to successfully advance the association’s policy agenda. Our priorities this year included advocating for increased state funding for infrastructure projects, expanded education programs that focus on workforce development in both secondary and post-secondary education, and improved access to broadband in rural and underserved communities.
In only a few months' time, AEM was able to advance several state infrastructure funding packages. We have been directly involved in advancing proposals in Colorado, Missouri, and Kentucky, just to name a few. In Colorado, the state legislature, working together with the Governor and business leaders, advanced a $5.3 billion bipartisan transportation funding package. Missouri passed its first gas tax hike in decades, recently signing the bill which is expected to generate more than $500 million annually for state, county, and city roads.
In addition to our work with state legislatures, the AEM Advocacy Team has continued its efforts to engage with Governors through meetings, visits, and roundtables. We kicked off the year hosting a discussion with Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, where we discussed our shared focus on increasing our investment in our country’s infrastructure. We were able to offer the Governor a sneak peek of AEM’s The Utility Expo, which will be held in Louisville in September. We have also continued our engagement with other Governors, hosting discussions with Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts and Ohio Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted. These conversations provide great opportunities for AEM member company executives to educate lawmakers about equipment manufacturing and the industry’s policy priorities.
2021 Special Sessions
The end of regular state legislative sessions does not necessarily mean state legislators’ work is done for the year. Countless states will convene throughout the late summer and fall for “special sessions” or extraordinary sessions. Unlike regular sessions, there is no specific timing for special (or extraordinary) sessions. They occur intermittently to deal with the specific issues or topics. 2021 is likely to see a larger number of state legislatures convene for special sessions. These will occur to primarily tackle issues such as redistricting (an issue many states had to delay because of census data lags), finalizing budgets, or deciding how they want to spend any federal infrastructure package funding. AEM will be on hand to work with state legislators during special sessions to continue to advance our industry’s policy priorities.
To get engaged in state advocacy or learn more contact AEM’s Stephanie See at ssee@aem.org.
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