ATLANTA – State Representative Lynn Smith (R-Newnan) was recently elected to serve as the Vice Chairman of the Energy and Environment Committee at the 69th Annual Meeting of the Southern Legislative Conference held last week in Savannah.
“The annual meeting of the SLC is the largest gathering of state legislators, legislative staff, policy experts, and governmental officials in the South,” said Rep. Smith. “Being a member, and now serving as Vice Chairman of the Energy and Environment Committee, gives me the opportunity to exchange ideas with other southern legislators on the best ways to deal with the important energy and environmental issues facing our states.”
The SLC brought together nearly 1,500 delegates, legislative staff, and guests from across the South for its annual meeting in Savannah. At this year’s meeting, members of the Energy and Environment Committee met for various program sessions and examined issues related to solar panels and other small-scale renewable energy technologies; the role nuclear generation plays in the South’s energy portfolio; and standards, best practices and measures to increase preparedness to protect vital resources. The Committee also reviewed the Southern States Energy Board’s 2015 Legislative Digest, along with the SLC state-by-state updates on the most recently concluded legislative sessions.
The Energy and Environment Committee, Chaired by Representative William E. “Bill” Sandifer III of South Carolina, is one of six standing committees in the SLC committee structure. Through panel discussions and presentations, the Committee routinely examines clean water programs and water permitting, alternative energy, state compliance with federal clean air and water standards, the future for nuclear power, growth and sprawl, and hydraulic fracking in an attempt to forge policies that will ensure sound stewardship of the regions’ resources.
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 on the Southern Legislative Conference, please click here.
Representative Lynn Smith represents the citizens of District 70, which includes portions of Carroll and Coweta counties. She was elected into the House of Representatives in 1996, and currently serves as the Chairman of the Natural Resources & Environment Committee. She also serves on the Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government and the Legislative & Congressional Reapportionment and Rules committees.
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