The Renewable Energy Center Bill has been passed for consent and is to be voted on by the State House of Representatives within the next couple of days.

Eric Wilber has been leading the lobbying for the bill in Springfield.

May 6 was the last lobbying trip. Wilbur was the only student who went.

Jill Nelson, Eastern’s vice president for external relations, Steve Rich from alumni services, and Gary Reed from facilities accompanied Wilbur.

The individuals who traveled to Springfield were able to attend the committee hearing before the State Government Administration Committee.

During the committee hearing, after State Rep. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, spoke, Wilbur was able to speak to the committee about the importance of the Energy Center Bill for Eastern’s campus.

“I spoke for about a minute or so about the negative impact that not having this bill would have on the students, such as a student fee being put into place when we can do it without a fee at all,” said Wilbur.

The chair of this committee, Jack Franks, said this was an innovative and brilliant idea.

The bill passed through the committee by consent 17-0.

While in Springfield, the group was also able to pick up a few more co-sponsors, making about 88 currently.

The next step within the process is for the full House of Representatives to vote on the bill.

This should happen within the next couple of days, Wilber said, because the deadline for bills to get out of the house is May 22. Since so many bills are up for vote right now, it is hard to know when there will be an answer.

Wilber thinks the bill will pass through the House because everyone seems to believe it is a good idea.

“I haven’t heard a negative thing about (the bill) from any of the representatives,” Wilber said. “We talked to a lot of people and I think they are all OK with it.”

With only a fraction of the amount of students being present on campus, student support for the bill will go down, but Wilbur isn’t worried this will affect the bill being passed.

Wilber said the work done during the school year is what got the bill where it is, and isn’t needed anymore.

“I think we have already shown them that we do care about this bill through the almost 2,000 letters sent to Springfield,” Wilber said.

These letters expressed the importance of the new Energy Plant for the university to the students.

The bill should be voted on within the next couple of days. If it passes through the State House, the bill will then be sent to the governor’s desk for his signature, veto, or he can send the bill back to the general assembly for amending.

Kayleigh Zyskowski can be reached at 581-7943 or at kzyskowski@eiu.edu.