A couple more bills of interest out, plus a story on a poll asking people how they feel about the cost of living.

First, the new bills.

HB412 – Energy Development Planning Amendments – again with the wildlife, and not in LUDMA.  This bill would require that a local permit application for a solar or wind power plant must first be submitted by the applicant to the state Division of Wildlife Resources for their review and recommendations on how to avoid, minimize and/or mitigate impacts on wildlife.  These recommendations are then to be included with the permit application to the local jurisdiction for their consideration.  The bill specifically states that the Division does not have authority to deny a permit, or that the Division’s recommendations limit the local authority to grant or deny the permit application.  Okay, then.  I wonder a little bit about the efficacy of such a provision if the local code has not standards or in any way addresses wildlife impacts for such uses.  Seems like that should be in the local code first.

SB219 – Highway Signage Amendments – haven’t seen a bill regarding billboards for a while, but here one is, finally.  This bill has to do with signs that need to be relocated or can no longer be visible due to highway construction, reconstruction or modification. Under current law, the sign owner has the right to relocate the sign within certain distances and to certain zones, and can only be as high as current regulations permit.  This bill would allow signs to be raised to a height of 65 feet, or more than 65 feet to make the entire content of the sign visible to traffic.  This applies to signs that currently do not meet regulations for where they are located, including non-conforming signs.  Oh, and the bill also says the sign owner can begin construction 30 days after making the written request.  Amazing!

HB221 – Housing and Transit Reinvestment Zone Amendments – this bill would make a number of technical and other changes to the provisions for HTRZ and FHIZ zones, and how they relate to CRAs.  We’re learning about these as we go!

Finally, I saw this story in the New York Times this morning, titled What Americans Really Mean by Affordability.  It was interesting because of what a poll  said about what people, particularly the younger age groups just starting out with careers and families, say what makes them feel like life is less affordable.  It’s not groceries, gas, and daily needs – it’s the bigger stuff like medical costs, saving for retirement, education, and … guess what?

Housing stands out as the problem that’s most on the minds of young people. In an open-ended poll question, around half of them said they worried most about affording housing, more than every other item combined, including retirement, health care, education, bills, cars and food. Only 36 percent of young people said the home they would like was “within reach” (or they already owned it), compared with 76 percent of those over 65.

So there we have it, folks.  We’re right in the middle of the political hot zone!