Green fee passes legislative first step

A bill that would allow Florida's public universities to implement a Student Green Energy Fund passed its first test at the Committee on Higher Education meeting on Feb. 18 in Tallahassee.

Committee members unanimously passed Florida Senate Bill 778. Although the bill must pass through three other committees in the Senate, 3 UCF students celebrated their first victory in the Florida Capitol.

Stephen Mortellaro, a long-time advocate of the Student Green Energy Fund and a UCF student, said he was ecstatic after the vote.

"Students like myself have been working for over two years to pass this," Mortellaro said. "Making it over this initial hurdle in legislature is great."

The fund is designed to support projects that increase energy efficiency on campuses. The bill proposes that Florida's public universities should be able to determine the assessment of $1 per credit hour to contribute to the fund. Every three years, students would vote on this assessment.

This enables freshmen to have the same voice as seniors, Mortellaro said.

In addition to UCF, five other state universities had representatives at the meeting: the University of Florida, the University of South Florida, Florida State University, Florida A&M University and the New College of Florida.

All of these schools, except FAMU, have passed referendums through student governments expressing support for the Student Green Energy Fund.

Florida Sen. Lee Constantine, R-22, sponsored the bill because of its strong support from students, especially those attending UCF who live within his district.

"This bill is good for [the students], good for UCF and good for the state of Florida," said Constantine, who is no stranger to green initiatives at UCF. As student body president in 1974, he implemented a student carpooling system.

Constantine said he is optimistic about the bill's future, but doesn't want to create false hope.

"You can beg, borrow and plead, but for many, this is not a top priority," Constantine said.

The bill, which was attached as an amendment to another bill last year, collapsed in its third round in the  Committee on Higher Education Appropriations.

Last year, the committee's chairwoman, Florida Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R-7, voted against the bill in its first round as a member of the Committee of Higher Education. Last week, the unanimous vote in favor of the measure included Lynn's.

Constantine credits Mortellaro for presenting compelling arguments that he said probably convinced Lynn to vote in favor of the bill.

Aaron Alva, the Legislative Affairs and Outreach Specialist for the Student Government Association, agreed.

"[Lynn] is starting to see now exactly how the fund works and that the fee is structured in that it gives students the ability to vote whether they want it, in order for it to move any further," said Alva, who traveled with Mortellaro to Tallahassee to lobby on behalf of protecting Bright Futures and preventing budget cuts. "Stephen did a commendable job."

In March, the Committee on Finance and Tax will vote on the bill. Its chairman, Florida Sen. Thad Altman, R-24, is a proponent of the bill. Altman, whose district includes students from UCF's satellite campuses in Palm Bay and Cocoa, as well as the main campus, said there was a "good likelihood" the bill would become legislation. Unaware of any current opposition, Altman did express some uncertainty.

"Any time you talk about a fee, it's a touchy situation, especially in the economic environment we're in," Altman said.

But Altman said that gaining Florida Rep. Robert Schenck, R-44, as a sponsor for the bill in the Florida House of Representatives is promising. Schenck is also an alumnus of UCF.

Mortellaro said gaining a sponsor in the House, establishing the Student Green Energy Fund as a stand-alone bill rather than an amendment and speaking to members of Congress early on, is what sets this bill apart from last year's attempt. Mortellaro also said he hopes to rouse more student support in the upcoming months.

"The only way that this Legislature is going to pass the bill is by demonstrating the vast student support that already exists," Mortellaro said. "If students weren't supporting this bill, I wouldn't be supporting this bill."

Mortellaro said he plans to graduate in May but doesn't plan to stop lobbying. Florida's congressional session ends on April 30, so the bill will be considered before he leaves UCF.

"The best graduation gift would be seeing the bill signed by Gov. Crist," Mortellaro said.