Ecominds-a Mailing List: EcoMinds Legislative Updates

[Ralph Wyman (rwmuusja]

Two good news items:

1) The HIRE bonding equity bill passed its second committee this morning!
This was the House Local Government Operations Reform committee, so the bill
has been successfully vetted by the tow major policy committees of the House
and Senate relating to government operations.  This is a significant success
for a first introduction of legislation of this sort.  HIRE, including
MUUSJA, will be meeting tomorrow to strategize possible finance committee
hearings in the House and Senate.

Thank you to Tom and Cecelia for being there.  We look forward to getting
and sharing photos of our brief victory confab on the House Office Building
steps from Tom!

2) The bill that would have repealed the 25% by 2025 Renewable Energy
Standard (RES) bill (HF 3582 Seifert) was defeated in committee today.
There was a roll-call vote and it was 8 votes for and 14 against repeal.
Reps Jeremy Kalin and Kate Knuth, among others, showed strong leadership in
turning this bill back.

Below is a short item from MPR's Pollinaut blog on the bills fate.  As I was
listening to testimony, what struck me is how speculative the push for
repeal is.  The law only takes effect now, and so far there is no data to
suggest that rate payers have experienced ANY negative impact from the RES.

"Seifert fails to turn back renewable energy standards"

Posted at 4:52 PM on March 17, 2010 by Tim Pugmire
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Minnesota Governor 

A Minnesota House panel today rejected a bill to repeal the state's
renewable energy standards.
Rep. Marty Seifert, R-Marshall, said he proposed the repeal because he's
concerned the requirements on power companies to use more wind and other
energy sources is driving up the cost of electricity. Seifert is a GOP
candidate for governor, and he's been facing criticism on the campaign trail
for his 2007 vote in favor of the standards. His main rival voted the other
way. Seifert said he didn't understand the impact of the standards three
years ago and will push for the repeal again if elected governor.

"I plan on pushing a repeal of a lot of the things I think are driving up
the cost of electricity and utilities in the state," Seifert said. "This is
one of them. I have my name on this bill. But there are other thing I think,
policies. I don't want to make us an island in the sand of job creation."

Seifert said he proposed the repeal this session because he's been hearing
concerns across the state, and this was his first year serving on the House
energy committee.

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/polinaut/archiv
e/2010/03/seifert_wants_t.shtml