NCLCV’s never awarded a zero average for an entire legislative chamber caucus – until now, plus more news, this week in CIB.

Legislative Watch: Scores Sink to New Low

Average scores on NCLCV’s Legislative Scorecard hit a new low in 2014, punctuated by one especially jarring number: zero. That was the average score earned by Senate Republicans on the key environmental bills and amendments prioritized by NCLCV during the 2014 short session.

Since Thom Tillis and Phil Berger have taken over the top leadership posts in the General Assembly (as House Speaker and Senate President Pro Tem, respectively), both chambers’ average scores have plunged from 67% (House) and 69% (Senate) in 2009-2010, to 44% (House) and 38% (Senate) in 2013-2014.

However, even those figures understate the dramatic – and entirely negative – difference created by the new legislative leadership in Raleigh. Scores among the now-minority Democratic legislative caucuses have remained stable: for House Democrats, 81% average for both 2009-2010 and 2013-14; and for Senate Democrats, 76% average for 2009-2010 and 74% for 2013-2014. For House Republicans, however, the average score plummeted from 51% in 2009-2010 to 6% in 2013-2014; and for Senate Republicans from 58% in 2009-2010 to 2% in 2013-14. (That last average includes the Senate Republican caucus’s absolute zero in 2014.)

This completely unprecedented degree of partisan polarization in the General Assembly heralded the remarkable reversal of North Carolina’s state environmental policy environment, from moderately progressive to rapid decline in environmental regulatory protections. “North Carolina has a history of making balanced decisions for the environment and economy,” said Dan Crawford, director of governmental relations for NCLCV. “We have the potential to be this way again. We need leaders who will speak out for the health and future of our citizens instead of protecting the interests of major polluters.”

The complete 2014 Scorecard can be found here.

Campaign Watch: Judicial Elections and the Environment

Four seats on the NC Supreme Court are at stake in this year’s statewide judicial elections – a majority of the Court that normally has the last word on interpreting and enforcing state law and rules in North Carolina. Most voters seldom consider the importance of these contests and even more rarely recognize their potential impact on key policies that affect our lives.

A just-released research paper by an environmental law scholar may help to illuminate what’s at risk for public health and the environment in this year’s state judicial contests. It’s titled “State Judicial Elections and Environmental Law: Case Studies of Montana, North Carolina, Washington and Wisconsin.”

In his study, Vermont Law Professor John Echeverria notes that the North Carolina Supreme Court in recent years has been markedly hostile to strong interpretations of state environmental laws and rules. He cites 15 cases in which the Court’s majority ruled contrary to an environmentally-protective interpretation of the laws involved.

He goes on to describe the flood of corporate interest group spending in our state’s judicial elections, with specific examples of that spending’s impact on particular contests. As he recounts, much of the spending comes through “independent expenditure” efforts channeling money from interests opposed to strong environmental regulations.

Echeverria’s paper can be found posted online here. Its discussion of the North Carolina courts is found at pps. 33-57.

It’s easy to identify continuing examples of the trends described by Echeverria. One current candidate for the NC Supreme Court is now running ads touting his business experience and promising “conservative leadership” if elected to the Court. For many attorneys and legal scholars, this kind of implied promise to pursue a personal policy agenda on the court is alarming in a potential Supreme Court justice. From an environmental standpoint, it’s especially worth noting that the promise of “conservative leadership” in the ad is immediately preceded by a reference to business experience and cutting of “red tape,” which is widely shared political code phrasing among political ‘conservatives’ for environmental regulations. This candidate, Mike Robinson, has been endorsed by business interests among those most critical of strong environmental rules, including the NC Chamber of Commerce PAC.

Another candidate for the Court, Judge Eric Levinson, benefited during the spring primary from generous spending on ads endorsing him by the NC Chamber IE (‘independent expenditure’) committee. Meanwhile, his chief opponent, NC Supreme Court Justice Robin Hudson, was being battered by negative advertising funded by an out-of-state committee which was channeling funds from multiple corporate sources including the oil and gas Koch Industries. It’s no coincidence that the target of those attacks, Hudson, has been among the Justices most inclined to uphold strong interpretations of environmental protections. Levinson and Hudson are now fighting head-to-head for Hudson’s seat on the Court.

More detailed analysis of spending in the Levinson-Hudson race and other current judicial contests can be found .

At present, NCLCV does not make endorsements in judicial contests. However, we can encourage our supporters and other concerned citizens to carefully study the information available and make informed choices in statewide judicial contests. The effect of those races’ outcomes can be powerful on our state’s environment.

Education & Resources: Ocean Acidification

The Southeast Coastal Climate Network’s webinar series continues this week with a discussion of “Ocean Acidification: The Other CO2 Problem.” According to the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE), about a third of the carbon dioxide released globally into the atmosphere is absorbed by the oceans. There are indications that this superabundance of CO2 is beginning to cause a major shift in the ocean’s chemistry, with potentially severe consequences.

The webinar will be held this Wednesday, October 22, from 1 to 2pm. Click here for more information and to register.

Conservationists: Bowman Receives 2014 Catalyst Award

Last week, NCLCV presented its 2014 Catalyst Award to board member Everett Bowman of Charlotte, in recognition of his extraordinary service to building its organizational capacity to protect our environment. A native of Wilmington, Bowman is a long-time advocate of protecting North Carolina’s waterways and natural areas through cooperative efforts such as land trusts. Since 2011, he has turned much of his effort toward the work of comprehensively improving environmental law and policy by impacting who is elected to set those policies. For strengthening and expanding our network of supporters and resources, NCLCV gives a special thanks to attorney and advocate Everett Bowman.

The Catalyst Award is presented by NCLCV to leaders who have provided exceptional service to our state’s environment. Past award recipients include Governor James B. Hunt, Attorney General Roy Cooper, Congressman G.K. Butterfield, and journalist Sue Sturgis.

That’s our report for this week.