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Neighbors Banding Together With Solar to Control Power Bills

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Florida has taken the lead in both residential and utility solar. All across the state neighbors are banding together to bundle their buying power and use their roofs to save money and reduce their utility bills.
Solar co-ops have helped propel the state into a leading position for rooftop solar, with the state leading the nation with a 110% growth rate in residential rooftop solar permits. The co-ops help by bundling consumer buying power and bringing discounts, as well as easy to understand information about how solar can help homeowners save money.
Solar United Neighbors, a non-profit based in Washington D.C., working with their partner the League of Women Voters of Florida, has launched 34 solar co-ops around the state, with many more planned or in process for 2018. Currently there are active co-ops in Orange County, St. Petersburg, Miami-Dade, Highland, Citrus, Franklin, Bay, and Sarasota counties,as well as the Upper Keys. In the past two years, the co-ops have accounted for 10% of all new residential solar in the state.
The co-ops are installing their 1,000th home this summer, using local solar installers from around the state. In just over two years the co-ops have invested almost $10 million in rooftop solar, added 267 jobs, and helped Florida consumers save millions.
Now growing by $1 million a month for rooftop solar, co-op participants all across Florida are jumping on board. “The best part was that by working with the co-op, it was really easy,” said Charlie Behrens, a co-op participant from Orlando. “The last time I went solar, I had to do all of the legwork myself. This meant vetting the installers, researching different hardware, figuring out endless financial permutations and lots of cold-feet second-guessing. This year when we wanted to add panels via the co-op, we had a good clear decision within a day, and at a lower price than we could ever get as just one rooftop.”
Co-op participants work together and with the support of Solar United Neighbors to learn about solar. They form a bulk purchase group that selects one installer through an open bidding process. Participants select the installer whose proposal best serves the needs of the group. The selected installer then develops personalized proposals for each homeowner. Participants then decide if going solar is right for them. The co-ops are free to join and there is no obligation to proceed or purchase a solar system.
Experts say Florida should be one of the top three states in the country for rooftop solar due to days of sunshine and high electric bills stemming from almost year-round use of air conditioning.
“Rooftop solar is one of the very best investments a homeowner in Florida can make,” said Dr. Jim Fenton, Director of the Florida Solar Energy Center at University of Central Florida. “Depending on some variables such as roof orientation, utility, etc., homeowners can expect almost a 14% return per year.”
To help spread the word, the League has released a Sun$ense video campaign to help educate the Florida public. The videos are free to use in their entirety or for b-roll and sound bites.
“Standing room only at our public meetings around the state from cities to small towns showed us that the time was right to use this fun social media device to expand awareness,” said League president Patricia Brigham.
The results speak for themselves. Angela DeMonbreun, state director of Solar United Neighbors, says the neighborhood co-ops contributed nearly 10% of all new residential rooftop solar in Florida in 2017, and is the largest and fastest growing marketplace for Solar United Neighbors, which introduces solar co-ops in nine states.
Videos can be viewed on the League’s YouTube channel. For local interviews of volunteers or solar owners, contact Deirdre Macnab, Chair, League of Women Voters Campaign for Solar (407) 415-4559.
The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.

Florida Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence Happy To Have Helped Defeat Dangerous Gun Legislation

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The early failure of three proposed bills that would have drastically loosened state gun laws, including one that would have allowed people to bring weapons into a courthouse, is good news for Florida residents and visitors. “No” votes from two Republican senators reinforced that some state legislators are willing to break party lines to vote responsibly.
The Florida Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence is proud of its work in Tallahassee and across the state to help defeat the proposed legislation and will continue to fight for sensible gun laws, including those that would require universal background checks and a ban on the sale of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines.
“These bills were given a fair hearing and failed,” said Patricia Brigham, Coalition co-chair and 1st vice president of the League of Women Voters of Florida. “This is further proof that legislators are listening to voters who do not want irresponsible laws that would continue the gun lobby’s push for ‘guns everywhere.’ It is a victory for public safety.”
The bills were voted down in the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is chaired by Sen. Greg Steube (R-Sarasota) who sponsored two of the bills, just the latest of the proposals he has backed to loosen gun laws in recent years.
In addition to the courthouse-carry bill, another would have allowed concealed carry permit holders to bring guns onto private school campuses with religious institutions on property. The third would have reduced penalties for permit holders who temporarily open carry.
Republican Sens. Anitere Flores and Rene Garcia, both of South Florida, crossed party lines to vote against the private-school and courthouse-carry bills. Garcia voted for temporary open carry, which failed due to a tie vote.
“At a moment when our country is reeling amidst an epidemic of gun violence, Sen. Steube’s gun policy priorities would have allowed more people to have more guns in more places,” said Hannah Willard, senior policy director for Equality Florida. “We applaud the senators who stood on the side of common sense and rejected these dangerous proposals, and we call upon the legislature to take up gun violence prevention policies that would actually make our communities safer.”
Florida PTA Legislative Chair Angie Gallo stressed safety for our children. “The Florida PTA believes that protecting our children and youth from gun violence is paramount and we believe that the safest learning environment, one that is conducive to the highest level of student achievement, is a gun-free environment,” she said. “We applaud the senators who sent a clear message that guns do not belong on any property where a school exists.”
The Coalition To Prevent Gun Violence was created by the League of Women Voters of Florida after the Pulse Nightclub massacre to promote smart gun legislation. It has grown to include more than 120 local, state and national organizations and includes such diverse groups as the Hispanic Federation, Interfaith Council of Central Florida and Doctors for America.

St. Petersburg says no to money in politics

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The City of St. Petersburg City Council made history today becoming the first municipality post-Citizens United to abolish Super PACs and limit foreign corporate spending in local elections by passing two campaign finance reform ordinances. The first ordinance abolishes Super PACs by limiting individual and/or corporate contributions to the pre-Citizens United limit of $5,000. The second ordinance limits foreign owned corporations from spending money in local elections. A third ordinance also passed that increases transparency and creates a disclosure reporting requirement for all contributions. The first two ordinances passed by a 6-2 vote and the transparency ordinance passed by a 7-1 vote.
The League of Women Voters of the St. Petersburg Area, American Promise and Free Speech for People teamed up with Ordinance Sponsor St. Petersburg City Council Chair Darden Rice, to introduce the Defend Our Democracy Ordinance in St. Petersburg in July of 2016. The Ordinance was later co-sponsored by City Council Member Karl Nurse.  Nearly 30 local, state and national organizations with St. Petersburg roots, representing thousands of local residents, later joined to form a coalition that worked to get the ordinances passed over the last 15 months.
Dr. Julie Kessel, President of the League of Women Voters of the St. Petersburg Area, explained the goal of the coalition formed more than two years ago. “The League believes in the beauty of our representative democracy and we are strongest when everyone participates and has a voice. She went on to say, “We believe that “big money” in politics is a root cause of a compromised democracy, every bit as corrosive as gerrymandering, governmental abuse of power and voter suppression. When money is as important to a candidate or an elected official as a citizen’s vote, the sovereign power of the people to elect officials to represent their interests has been corrupted.” Karen Lieberman, of American Promise, said “What we did in St. Pete is historic. It is a great first step in taking back our democracy for our city, our state and our country”.
“Today, St. Pete took a historic and critical step forward to challenge the scourge of Super PAC money in elections. The fight begins here for common sense campaign reform to take back our democracy”, said Darden Rice, Chair of St Petersburg City Council. City Council Member, Karl Nurse, said of the vote, “The citizens of St. Pete made it clear that defending our democracy is a value that we are prepared to defend”.
According to Free Speech for People, Super PACs were the progeny of the 2010 DC Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals SpeechNow.org v. FEC holding the federal law limiting contributions to political committees to $5,000 per person each year and did not apply to a political committee that promised to make only “independent expenditures.”  Free Speech for People indicated that while some appellate courts have applied the ruling to cases within their jurisdiction, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction for the state of Florida, has not ruled to date on the merits of this type of case. The Florida Supreme Court and the US Supreme Court have not yet ruled on the issue.
John Bonafiz, Esquire, Co-Founder and President of Free Speech for People said today, after the historic St. Petersburg City Council vote, “The City of St. Petersburg is leading the way in the fight to reclaim our democracy. Today’s vote by the St. Petersburg City Council marks a huge victory for the people all across the city who have stood up to demand an end to super PACs and foreign-influenced corporations threatening the integrity of their local elections. This ordinance will be a model for communities throughout the nation on how to fight big money in politics and defend the promise of American self-government. Free Speech for People congratulates the St. Petersburg City Council on this historic vote, and we thank the many grassroots activists and citizens of St. Petersburg who have worked tirelessly to achieve this victory.”