Rep. Weaver graduates from Legislative Energy Horizon Institute
Published 1:19 pm Tuesday, November 27, 2018
FROM STAFF REPORTS
State Rep. April Weaver, R-Brierfield, has completed the Legislative Energy Horizon Institute’s course in energy policy. The Institute is a 60-hour energy immersion executive course with the University of Idaho. Founded in 2009, the course is designed to increase the knowledge of the energy infrastructure and delivery system to inform future energy policy decisions.
Weaver is only the second legislator from Alabama who has been chosen to participate in the LEHI program and the only legislator currently serving who holds this certificate in energy policy planning.
The course consists of two 30-hour classroom sessions in Richland, Washington and in Washington, D.C. that explore electricity, oil and gas infrastructure, how the infrastructure is built, and the effect of market and regulatory forces in North America. The graduation ceremony was held at the Canadian Embassy in Washington D.C.
“I am very honored to have been nominated by The Energy Council and to have been selected to attend the Legislative Energy Horizon Institute program. It has been a great experience and has certainly broadened my understanding of energy infrastructure and issues at both the state and the national levels,” Weaver said.
“It is critical that citizen legislators get this basic knowledge of how our energy systems operate. I am impressed that Representative Weaver took over a week of her personal time this year to better inform her energy policy decisions,” said Rep. Jeff Morris of Washington State, the institute’s director.
The Pacific NorthWest Economic Region partnered with the University of Idaho and the U.S. Department of Energy to found the Institute in 2009. In 2012, the National Conference of State Legislatures and the federal government of Canada joined the effort to make the program nationwide and also include Canadian legislators.
Since its inception in 2009, 261 policymakers have completed the LEHI program. Those who complete the 60-hour executive course receive a certificate from the University of Idaho in Energy Policy Planning. These alumni have gone on to become leaders in energy policy in their respective state and provincial governments.
Weaver represents House District 49, which includes parts of Bibb, Chilton and Shelby Counties. She was first elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 2010 and was just elected to her third term.