Volume 22 | January 30, 2020

Governors Deliver State of the States

The CONEG Governors have begun delivering their 2020 State of the State addresses. Governors Lamont and Sununu are scheduled to deliver their addresses in early February.

CONEG will update their summaries as they become available. Highlights of the speeches are provided including a word cloud illustrating the commonalities among the states.
Governors Deliver Budget Proposals

Governors Baker, Cuomo, Raimondo and Scott have delivered their state budget proposals.

Highlights of their speeches are provided below. Of note: Connecticut, Maine and New Hampshire have biennial budgets that were approved in 2019.
New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers Release Statement regarding the 2019 NEG/ECP Conference
After the cancellation of the 2019 New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers Conference, set to be held in St. John, New Brunswick, senior officials put forward a final statement encapsulating the drafted resolutions and a Transportation and Air Quality Report for approval by the governors and premiers. The omnibus statement recognizes the dedicated work of the Northeast International Committee on Energy and efforts to cooperate with other standing NEG/ECP committees to ensure the region meets the marker of reducing GHG emissions by 35%-45% below 1990 levels by 2030.

We are pleased to announce that the next NEG/ECP Conference will be held in Montville, Connecticut on September 20-22, 2020.

Please check back for more information and visit our website where we'll update all conference details as they become available.
News from the States
 Connecticut
Lamont administration weighing major shifts on regional power grid, natural gas (Hartford Courant)

Governor Lamont Announces Hartford Line Surpasses One Million Riders , Exceeding Forecasts

 Maine
Maine has the potential to power itself through wind (Bangor Daily News)

Electric school buses latest stop on Maine’s climate-change journey (Press Herald)

Massachusetts

Baker travels to D.C. on transportation (Boston Herald)

New Hampshire
NH DOT develops draft ten year transportation plan for 2021-2030

Governor Chris Sununu Signs Executive Order, Establishes USMCA Trade Council
New York


Rhode Island
Raimondo Sets Goal for 100% Renewable Electricity by 2030

Governor Raimondo announces energy leadership team

Vermont
Vermont where the first electric vehicle was invented will hold an international electric vehicle festival this year (VT Digger)

Governor Phil Scott Delivers Annual Budget Address
Regional and Federal Updates
Trump signs USMCA deal , revamping North American trade rules (Washington Post)

Many of these US cities prepping workers for a clean energy future are in the Northeast (ACEEE)

House Democrats call for $760 billion in infrastructure spending over five years (Reuters)

Democrats' draft climate bill charts path to carbon neutrality by 2050 (The Hill)

U.S. States Must Target Building Emissions to Meet Climate Goals (Reuters)

New York and Massachusetts Selected for Annual Clean Energy States Honor Roll Released by IREC
Did You Know
Power plant emissions down 47% under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative