Global Warming Bill Hijacked

The guys in ski masks with Uzi’s weren’t parading on the tarmac demanding a flight to Cuba.

They were wearing $600 suits, talking on cell phones, packing Bradbury’s, and asking legislators for amendments to the bill.

This was the latest Trenton spectacle yesterday, before the Senate Economic Growth Committee on a substitute version of Senate global warming bill No. 2976 (Sweeney/Smith)
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2006/Bills/S3000/2976_I1.HTM

Sponsor Senator Sweeney summarized the bill in 30 seconds. He characterized the extensive closed door negotiations on the bill as “mud wrestling.” Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Lisa Jackson – only half in jest – was careful to distance herself on the record by testifying that:

“I watched the mud wrestling but did not participate in it”.

It only got uglier from then on.

The Committee spent just minutes discussing the merits of the bill being rammed through in the lame duck session.

Deliberations focused almost exclusively on whether Valero or Sunoco oil refineries – or both – should be provided loopholes. Chairman Lesniak sought to eliminate some of the most egregious loopholes (listen to hearing by clicking on http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/media/archive_audio2.asp?KEY=SEG&SESSION=2006

So, the mask is off and it is now obvious for all to see that the Corzine Administration’s first attempt to begin reductions in green house gas emissions to meet the ambitious goals of his own Global Warming Response Act (GWRA) is in the process of being hijacked.

The legislative process thus far has transformed a very modest initiative known as the “Regional Green House Gas Initiative” (RGGI) into a special interest money bill. If the economic special interests have squealed like stuck pigs in response to the modest 1% RGGI solution, what will they do when the real emission reductions initiatives are proposed?

RGGI is a cooperative effort of 10 northeastern states intended to limit future increases in carbon dioxide emissions from power plants (see: Global Warming showdown in Trenton?
http://blog.nj.com/njv_bill_wolfe/2007/11/global_warming_showdown_in_tre.html

RGGI’s regional emission reduction goals are modest – 10% by year 2019 – and NJ’s burden is even lighter. NJ’s 22.9 million ton emission share amounts to a 1% reduction from current in state power plant emissions. The RGGI emissions inventory and “caps” do NOT consider emissions from energy imports from coal plants. RGGI does not address 60-70% of the problem from other major green house gas emissions sectors, such as transportation and buildings. So RGGI is only a small part of major efforts that will be required to meet the Corzine GWRA emissions reduction goals.

After describing RGGI as a “brave step” last week in testimony in the Assembly, DEP Commissioner Jackson has dampened the rhetoric and conceded that RGGI is “modest by design” and merely a “first step” to anticipate and spur federal action by the Bush Administration. (see, Profiles in courage on Global Warming?
http://blog.nj.com/njv_bill_wolfe/2007/12/profiles_in_courage_on_global.html

But instead of focusing on expanding the scope of a very modest RGGI to begin truly reducing green house gas emissions, the energy and utility lobbyists convinced legislators to load the bill up with “Christmas tree” amendments that would provide monopoly profits to public utilities and huge loopholes to – of all things – oil refineries.

Prior to yesterday’s hearing, a similar bill was heard and approved last week by Assembly committees. In those sessions, testimony focused on whether the amendments sought by energy utility companies would provide monopoly profits. The so-called “rate decoupling” approach is intended to allow utilities to earn excess profits for investments in energy efficiency.

The proposed amendments in Section 13 of the bill would fundamentally alter the current economic oversight by the Board of Public Utilities and allow utilities to pass on costs to ratepayers while continuing to earn record profits for shareholders.

During this absurd lame-duck legislative process, the special interests essentially have taken us all hostage. Perhaps even worse, they have done so under the pretext of responding to the hugely strong and growing public demand to act to reduce green house gas emissions and respond to global warming threats.

Given where we are now, it’s time to pull the plug on the bill and start all over in next year’s legislative session. There simply is no way, procedurally at this point in the waning lame duck session, for amendments to the bill to repair fatal flaws.
Or the Governor can sit back and wait and attempt to fix the bill via a “Conditional Veto”

The ball is now in Corzine’s court.

(Correction: my prior post contained an error – the 600 Megawatt proposed LS energy plant in Sweeney’s district is NOT to be fuled by coal, but natural gas,. I relied on dated DEP information to support the coal claim.)