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HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JUNE 24, 2024 7 POLITICS & POLICY "I don't think it goes away," Gresko said, while citing the fruitful conversa- tions that happened while negotiating and debating the bill. "As much as I would like to see CBIA come out in favor of the bill, I think it was an accomplishment that you were kind of neutral on it, and you saw it as more of an incentive package rather than mandates that the state puts on energy-generating companies. … So, I still think there's room for this bill to make it through the legislature in some form." Callahan, the New Fairfield GOP House member, said he couldn't vote for the bill last session because it would have led to higher electricity rates, according to an analysis from the nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis. But Needleman, the Democratic Senator from Essex, said he thinks House Bill 5004 was mostly impacted by the "Green Monster" nickname given by opponents. He said he also expects some iteration of the bill to be back in the future. "5004 probably suffered as much from just the title — the Green Monster it was not," Needleman said. "I think it was just the calendar that ran against us as things got down to the wire." The Yankee Institute, a conser- vative think tank, called the original version of the bill a Green Monster that would have placed addi- tional costs on state government and businesses. The bill required state agencies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% from 2001 levels by 2030, 75% from 2016 levels by 2040, and to achieve net-zero by 2050. Statewide, the bill required green- house gas emissions levels 65% below 2001 levels by 2040. It also required the state to achieve econo- my-wide net-zero emissions by 2050. Some of those provisions were removed from the bill late in the legis- lative session to broaden support for it. That still wasn't enough to get the legislation passed. Fazio, the Greenwich Senate Repub- lican, said that any legislative proposal that could increase Connecticut's energy costs will receive pushback, both from residents and members of the General Assembly. "I think the Green Monster ending up as the Green Muppet is probably because the public understands how costly energy bills are in Connecticut already, and electricity is already, and that we are up against a future reliability problem on top of it all," Fazio said. Needleman said the state's long-term clean energy goals are ultimately about the health of Connecticut's climate and people. "I'm not a gung-ho advocate for phasing out fossil fuels tomorrow, but over the next 30, 40, 50 years, I hope we can all see that fossil fuels need to be phased out, and we need to continue to innovate and be creative," Needleman said. "There are costs, but there are costs to not doing it." Feel good about your bank Connect with us today! 860-448-4295 NMLS #402928 ChelseaGroton.com/GrowThatBusiness What if it was more than a hobby? Let's make it your business! Amid labor shortage, HVAC association asks for more workforce development support By Skyler Frazer sfrazer@hartfordbusiness.com A n association of HVAC professionals is hoping the state ramps up its focus on getting young people to join its workforce as the industry faces a nationwide labor shortage. The Connecticut Heating and Cooling Contractors (CHCC) asso- ciation recently hosted a workforce summit at the state Legislative Office Building in Hartford to highlight the need to bolster the local HVAC work- force. Citing recent industry data, CHCC President Stillman Jordan said there is a shortage of 110,000 HVAC technicians nationwide, with about 25,000 professionals leaving the trade or retiring annually. Jordan said with the surge of Baby Boomers retiring, a generation that makes up almost one-third of the country's entire workforce, all indus- tries will need more workers. "The Baby Boomer generation is the backbone of the trades," Jordan said. "They are also the largest group to retire over the next 10 years." To help recruit new skilled talent, CHCC Executive Director Jenn Jennings said it is important to "provide more access points and exposure" to trades in public high schools, rather than fully relying on vocational or technical schools. Expanding opportunities for young people who aren't interested in going to college after high school is crucial to mitigating workforce shortages in the future, she said. Stillman said Connecticut's continued focus on energy efficiency, indoor air quality and reducing its carbon footprint will come with the need for more experienced HVAC workers, if the state wants to reach certain environmental goals. "We need to get more efficient — heating and cooling is one of the largest consumers of energy, bar none, and we have to address it," Stillman said. "One of the ways that the statehouse has advocated for that is heat pump conversions. Well, this is the trade that's going to do that work … and will be a part of the transition to heat pumps." Stillman added that housing initia- tives are also contingent on having a network of HVAC professionals to outfit new properties. "You have all these forces, all these things that are leading to a huge problem — we do not have enough people to do the work demands of today, and unless we make drastic changes to the availability of our workforce, we have no shot to accomplish the goals that are being set here," Stillman said. State Reps. Jill Barry (D-Glaston- bury) and Tim Ackert (R-Coventry) were both on hand at the event to 2019 3K 4K 2020 2021 2022 2023 HVAC EMPLOYMENT IN CT * Each year is as of May | Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics JOBS 5K offer their support for the industry's workforce initiatives. Ackert, a licensed electrical contractor who owns Coventry-based Ackert Electric LLC, said he hasn't supported certain energy-related bills because lawmakers haven't properly addressed building up the workforce needed to implement them. Ackert led an unsuccessful push earlier this year to reduce the state's apprenticeship hiring ratio, which he and others argue would help bolster Connecticut's trade industry workforce. "The problem is that we don't have the bodies to do the agenda you want us to do," Ackert said of the state's climate change initiatives. "We need a top-down approach to this. It has to come from the executive branch office with partnership with the legislature."