On June 18, 2015, Pope Francis released “Praise Be to You” his encyclical on climate change and the environment. The subtitle is “On Care for Our Common Home.” The Pope has rock star status as it is, and the new encyclical has generated a huge wave of media attention. Most people, even most Lutherans, aren’t aware that there has been an ELCA Social Statement on Caring for Creation for 22 years!

LEAN’s Advocate, Rev. Mike Patterson, was privy to some advance information about the Catholic encyclical, and he reports that it follows very closely the ELCA statement. That may be why on the day of the release, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton released the following statement:

June 2015

ELCA statement on Pope Francis encyclical

As members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, we share a deep concern with our Catholic brothers and sisters for the well-being of our neighbors and of God’s good creation. “Humans, in service to God, have special roles on behalf of the whole of creation. Made in the image of God, we are called to care for the earth as God cares for the earth” (ELCA social statement, “Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope and Justice”).

Daily we see and hear the evidence of a rapidly changing climate. At the same time, we also witness in too many instances how the earth’s natural beauty, a sign of God’s wonderful creativity, has been defiled by pollutants and waste.

An accounting of climate change that has credibility and integrity must name the neglect and carelessness of private industry and the failure of government leadership that have contributed to these changes. However, it also must include repentance for our own participation as individual consumers and investors in economies that make intensive and insistent demands for energy.

Yet we find our hope in the promise of God’s own faithfulness to the creation and humankind. We serve in concert with God’s creative and renewing power, understanding that we have the resources and responsibility to act together for the common good, especially for those who are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

Today we join with Pope Francis in calling on world leaders to embrace our common responsibility as work continues toward a global agreement on climate change. We urge leaders to support an ambitious agreement that reduces greenhouse gas emissions, encourages development of low-carbon technologies, and supports the ability of countries to cope with the effects of a changing climate and build resiliency for a sustainable future.

The present moment is a critical one, filled with both challenge and opportunity to act as individuals, citizens, leaders and communities of faith in solidarity with God’s good creation and in hope for our shared future.

God’s peace,

The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, Presiding Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Lutheran Episcopal Advocacy in Nevada takes its positions from the ELCA Social Statements, so we have supported care for the environment for years. It was surprising to see that over fifty bill draft requests were submitted for the 2015 legislative session that dealt with environmental issues in some way. Sadly, most of them died in committee. Generally the few that passed had a commercial interest behind them, but some appear to show willingness on the part of industry to make small reforms, probably to avoid harsher measures. The legislature was willing to call for some studies. Senate Bill 360 authorizes a study of how the state can encourage and expand use of renewable energy, and how such projects could be financed. Assembly Bill 189 mandates a study of water conservation and alternative sources of water for the state.

It seems that the political climate is changing along with the physical climate, albeit at a much slower pace. Some Nevada legislators are not afraid to talk about care for the environment, and when Pope Francis speaks up, they really have great “cover” to do more. LEAN will be back at the Legislature in 2017, and we plan to speak up, too.

Read the ELCA Social Statement on Care for Creation

Read the Catholic encyclical “On Care for Our Common Home”

By Sheila Freed
The Nevada Legislature will likely have adjourned by the time you read this, and won’t re-convene until 2017. The 2015 Session is due to end June 1st. In May, things get really intense in Carson City. The legislature has set for itself certain benchmarks which are designed to keep the legislative process moving. That is why some bills die without ever being voted on, and explains why committee chairs have so much power. A bill must pass out of committee and go to the floor of the house that submitted it by a certain deadline. If it doesn’t get out of committee by that deadline, it dies. The same thing happens on the floor of the originating house; if it doesn’t get passed by a certain date, it dies. Then the bill goes to the other house and the same kinds of deadlines apply: Out of committee, then floor passage. A committee chair can just not have hearings on a particular bill, thereby ensuring the bill goes nowhere.

This all sounds like an orderly process until you factor in the “exempt” bills. These are bills that have a financial impact, so they’re “exempt” from the usual deadlines. Since virtually everything has a money impact, it’s easy to see how all the tough issues pile up in the last few days of the session. Eleven days before the session is set to end, “budget differences” have to be settled, and the actual budget bills, that fund everything, are introduced just six days before the end. It’s not that nobody has thought about money until the very end; tax and budget proposals appear early in the session, but they are just proposals. When the tough decision making has to happen, it is often in haste and with limited information. The result can be poor policy and unintended consequence that ensure the same issues will be revisited in the next session.

So who runs the government after the session ends? The Governor of course stays in Carson City, and all the administrative agencies function. There is a group called the Interim Finance Committee, composed of members of the Senate Finance Committee and the Assembly Ways and Means Committee from the just-ended session. They convene and make financial decisions as needed until the next legislative session. There is also a Legislative Commission that meets to make needed policy decisions.

There are also other interim committees. Some are standing committees that are charged with studying a particular policy area and making recommendations for legislation during the next session. An example would be the Committee on Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice. The Legislature also appoints special committees to study and report on issues outside the purview of standing committees. Learn more about the interim at http://www.leg.state.nv.us/Interim/interim.cfm.

Lutheran-Episcopal Advocacy in Nevada also keeps going between legislative sessions. Even before the session ended, Advocate Mike Patterson was planning for the interim. LEAN wants to know what parishioners are concerned about, because we plan to continue to advocate during the interim. Interim committees hold hearings and take testimony just like regular Assembly and Senate committees, and LEAN will be there to speak for the poor and disadvantaged. Check back here for updates, and talk to your Parish Communicators.

We’ve all seen those books titled, “[fill in a topic] for Dummies” that represent that after you’ve read the book on a particular topic, you’ll know enough to get by. There’s a similar approach to public policy, and you don’t even have to buy a book!

The wonderful people at the State of Nevada Legislative Counsel Bureau provide staff support to our Legislators. Their job is to do the research and marshal information so our elected officials can make sound decisions. All their reports are on the Legislative website, and it’s available for anyone. If you want to come off to your friends as a full-on policy wonk, check this out.

Find the Legislative home page on the state website: http://www.leg.state.nv.us/  Look at the left-hand corner, in the circle; you’ll see Research/Library. Clicking there will take you to a page saying “Welcome to the Research Division,” and there’s a ton of interesting stuff to check out there. But go to the left side and click on “Publications of the Research Division.” That opens up more choices, and the hot topics are flagged with buttons marked “New.” Choose “Research Briefs and Issue Papers” and you can read up on even controversial topics such as firearms and “vaping.” These two were just published in February 2015.

For a really quick read, go back to the “Publications” menu and choose “Fact Sheets.” These are two or three page rundowns on medical marijuana, the prevailing wage law, drones, and more. If you’re into statistics or little-known facts, there are other fact sheets you’ll love.

The Legislative Counsel Bureau’s main function is to ensure that Legislators are informed, but your tax dollars pay for all their research, and there’s no reason not to make use of it. There is probably no other place you can find such unbiased, professional information on topics that affect us all. An informed electorate is one of the pillars of our democracy, and LCB makes it easy to be informed.

The ELCA Social Statement on Church and Society says “God works through the family, education, the economy, the state, and other structures necessary for life in the present age. . . . This church must participate in social structures critically, for sin also is at work in the world. . . . Christians also exercise their calling by being wise and active citizens. Christians need to be concerned for the methods and content of public deliberation. . . .” The Legislative Counsel Bureau can certainly help us all fulfill that obligation.