Climate and energy

Readers have been asking for a short wrap-up of the legislative session from the climate and energy perspective, and of the fate of the various initiatives that CEP tracked.

(This actually does not represent ALL of the legislation on these issues, just the ones that our small staff managed to keep an eye on.)

Three coal bills

They all passed. They were all vetoed. An override was attempted on the second coal bill, but not the first or third (or the trailer that went with the third).

Supporters of the plants are saying the initiatives will return in 2009. Sunflower Electric is now pursuing the denied air permit through the KDHE appeals process as well as in Finney County district court.

Tax credits for wind turbine manufacturer to locate in Kansas

This was brought up at sine die - the original measure was bundled into the third coal bill and got axed with the veto. It remained only one procedural step short of passage, though (it was almost law before the bundling happened.)

49 reps voted to axe it. 46 voted to pass. It would have only taken 63 to pass. Very high attendance at sine die. (for more info, click here.)

Resolution for legislature to sue the governor over her stance on the coal plants

This was proposed, sat on the House calendar for a week or so, never went anywhere.

Nuclear legislation

Regulated utilities can now get cost recovery for the prudent costs of developing nuclear power.

Energy efficiency (KCPL bill)

This language - cost recovery for energy efficiency programs - was in the nuclear bill, but got ditched in a last minute, late night conference committee meeting. Drama was involved.

CEP is still trying to figure out why nuclear energy (which costs an untold but VERY expensive amount of cents per kilowatt hour) is assured cost recovery through ratepayers when energy efficiency programs (which costs 3 cents per kilowatt hour) are not.

Baseload bill

This bill was proposed by a special select committee, and would have mandated a certain level of electric generation from coal and nuclear and natural gas. It became a more general resolution, rather than a bill, and the House did not get to it on the calendar before sine die.

Net metering legislation

There was extremely limited net metering for solar (no wind) that was contained in all three coal bills. However, Reps. Treaster and Holland proposed net metering for all renewables, including wind.

The bill did not make it out of committee, but it was a very close vote, much closer than years before. Rep. Annie Kuether pointed out that at some point a net metering bill really, really needed to get to the entire House floor for debate.

Weatherization

I am so embarassed and CURB is going to hate me - but I do not remember exactly how this bill ended. It was supposed to give a great deal of support to poor and low-income families to weatherize their homes. It started out great, got its funding source brutally gutted, got some but not near enough partially restored… and then… I think… it passed?

Regardless, even if it did pass the funding vaccuum means the legislation probably needs to be upgraded at some point soon.

Timeline of the coal bills

We published this earlier, but it was so popular that we will give it an encore presentation. Unless otherwise indicated, the dates of passage represent the day of final action taken by the Kansas House.

February 4 - hearings begin in House and Senate
February 8 - hearings on the House side implode, and the House Select Committee on Energy and Environment is created for a possible end run (see baseload bill, below)
March 5 - first coal bill is passed
March 21 - Governor vetoes first coal bill
March 24 - very quick and dirty hearings on the second coal bill happen at lightspeed
April 1 - funky carbon tax proposal comes out of nowhere, crashes and burns in about 24 hours. Around same time, amendment to another bill threatens to take casino gambling away from Wyandotte County delegation.
April 4 - second coal bill is passed
April 17 - second coal bill is vetoed
May 1 - House attempts and fails to override the second coal bill
May 3 - the trailer bill starts to float around, as well as a House Concurrent Resolution to sue to the Governor and her administration over the plants (never ultimately goes anywhere)
May 7 - third coal bill is passed
May 16 - third coal bill is vetoed
May 29, sine die - there was no veto override attempt. Coal plant supporters foiled an attempt to extend tax credits for wind manufacturing company who wants to locate in Kansas.

— Maril Hazlett, www.climateandenergy.org