State Representative Lynn Smith (R-Newnan) was recently elected by the Southern States Energy Board (SSEB) to serve as vice chair of the SSEB’s Executive Board for the 2020-2021 term, which will be her second term as vice chair. Rep. Smith was reelected during the SSEB’s 60th annual business meeting on September 29, 2020.

“It is an honor to continue to serve on the SSEB in this leadership capacity for a second term,” said Rep. Smith. “During this unprecedented time, many state legislatures have worked to address pressing energy and environment matters as they relate to emergency and disaster planning. As such, SSEB offers an incredible opportunity for Georgia to learn and collaborate with neighboring states to develop legislative initiatives that may be beneficial to our own energy and environment policies.”

In 2019, she was first appointed to serve as vice chair for the remainder of the 2018-2019 term. Rep. Smith previously served as a member of the SSEB’s Executive Board in 2018, and she also served as an ex-officio member of the Executive Board in 2017.

Additionally, at the SSEB’s 60th annual business meeting, Rep. Smith issued her Vice Chair Report before the board. She also introduced the SSEB’s 2020 Legislative Digest, which is a compendium of energy and environmental legislation enacted by the board’s 18 member states and territories during 2020 legislative sessions. In the publication, Rep. Smith highlighted several legislative trends during 2020, including expanding broadband access through existing electric cooperative infrastructure and implementing telecommunicating and at-home learning. She also highlighted Georgia’s new law to address coal ash landfills across the state.

The SSEB is a non-profit interstate compact organization created in 1960. The board’s mission is to enhance economic development and the quality of life in the South through innovations in energy and environmental policies, programs and technologies. SSEB is composed of sixteen southern states and two territories (Puerto Rico and U. S. Virgin Islands).

For more information on the SSEB, please click here.