There were many environmental wins for Connecticut during this legislative session. They included:

• CT DEEP will contract up to 2 gigawatts of wind power, enough to meet about a third of our current electric needs, and join neighboring states in transforming the way we source energy. Learn more about HB 7156 at tinyurl.com/CTWindPower.

• Net metering will not sunset this year and the economic benefits of going solar will remain. Learn more about HB 5002 at tinyurl.com/CTNetMetering.

• Single use plastic bags will be assessed a 10 cent fee at retail starting August 1, and on July 1, 2021 they will be banned. Stricter town ordinances, such as those that charge for paper bags, supersede the new law. Learn more about this amendment to the state budget at tinyurl.com/CTPlasticBags.

• 50 percent of CT state vehicle fleets must be zero emissions vehicles by 2030 and 30 percent of DOT buses must be zero emissions by 2030. And—this is big—the CHEAPR program is funded to the tune of $3 million annually through 2025 and now includes rebates for used EVs.

Many environmental advocacy groups have been in Hartford lobbying hard all session long for these bills to pass. Thank you to everyone who made calls, signed petitions, sent emails and showed up in Hartford. Your actions made a difference!