The Florida YES Coalition works toward Green Fee
The Florida Youth Environmental Sustainability Coalition is petitioning the Board of Governors to approve a Student Green Energy Fee option for Florida’s universities. The fee, which will be voted on by each university’s student body, will be less than $1 per credit hour and used to create more energy efficient campuses.
“The state doesn’t have the funds for these projects to happen,” said Dan Cannon, the Florida Organizer for the Southern Energy Network and Energy Action Coalition. “I think a lot of students are realizing that a minimal amount of money can produce a monumental amount of change. And they can really progress their campuses to go green faster.”
The proposal allows each university’s Board of Trustees to implement a fee that would be used on renewable energy technologies or energy efficiencies. Every three years, the student body will vote on a referendum to renew the fee. It also establishes a committee at each university, to determine how the funds should be spent.
“This benefits students,” said Stefan Massola, an FSU student and intern at the Florida Public Interest Research Group. “We are saving money for the university, so they can put more money into other initiatives, while increasing our university’s reputation as being one that promotes sustainability.”
The campaign began in 2007. After failing to move through the Higher Education Appropriations Committee last year, student leadership from eight universities created the Florida YES Coalition to create a powerful campaign presence. However, since the Board of Governors withdrew from a lawsuit against the legislature on March 22, legislation has changed, and now the Board of Governors has the authority to set fees.
“We have to re-tool our entire campaign,” said Stephen Mortellaro, director of Governmental Affairs for SGA at the University of Central Florida. “Before, it was going to be a proposal before the legislature. Now it’s going to be a proposal before the Board of Governors. It’s a completely separate entity.”
Mortellaro is optimistic that the Board of Governors will approve their proposal.
“I don’t see the Board of Governors having any problems charging a new fee,” said Mortellaro. “I don’t know if they’ll be quite as willing to give us a three-year referendum approval …That’s one thing we’re going to be pushing hard, to make sure we still have that, because, you know, that this is our money, we’re the ones saying we want this, and we’d like to have the opportunity to approve it.”
This is the first time Florida students have ever asked to raise tuition. During the February Student Government Association Elections at FSU, the referendum for the fee passed with a 66 percent vote.
“I think that it really does four great things: it empowers students. It decreases energy costs and thus increases academic funding. It has the potential to create green jobs, and it decreases a campus’ environmental footprint,” said Moterello.
The Florida YESS Coalition is taking the campaign back to the universities, where they’re hoping student support will rally interest at the administrative level.
“The Board of Trustees has to make a formal request for this to be heard [by the Board of Governors],” said Moterello. “We’re going to be working very hard on lobbying our own university administration to make sure that this request is heard.”
