FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 25, 2010

LINCOLN, NE – State Senator Heath Mello will meet with White House officials and state legislators tomorrow representing the Coalition of Legislators for Energy Action Now (CLEAN). Mello is one of nearly 1,200 legislators that signed on to a letter championed by CLEAN urging Congress and President Obama to enact comprehensive clean energy jobs and climate legislation that relies on continued close collaboration between state and federal governments.

“Emerging from the current fiscal crisis is going to require states to look at meaningful long-term solutions,” said Mello. “Building a new clean energy economy accomplishes this goal, and now is the time to take action, pursuing a future that is more prosperous, secure, and energy independent.”

In 2009, Senator Mello introduced the Nebraska Green Building Advantage Act, a bill that would have created new green building tax incentives for LEED certified buildings.

This current legislative session, Mello has introduced six bills that focus on the clean energy economy:

* LB 977 – Require new state buildings and renovations to comply with energy efficiency standards
* LB 978 – Provide requirements relating to energy star certified appliances in the state’s competitive bidding process
* LB 997 – Require cities’ comprehensive plans to include an energy element
* LB 1098 – Authorize the creation of sustainable energy financing districts by municipalities, enabling municipalities to establish Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs.
* LB 1099 – Authorize the establishment of an expanded, voluntary recycling program in cities of the metropolitan class
* LB 1100 – Allow operation of low-speed vehicles on highways as prescribed

Mello is a member of the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators and sits on the Council for State Governments-Midwest Legislative Conference, Energy Committee and Economic Development Committee.

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