A rewrite of Ohio’s “green” energy rules has cleared an Ohio
House committee after the chairman refused to allow debate on a proposed
compromise that had been suggested by manufacturers and consumer advocates.
The measure is heading to the House floor, where supporters
say they expect it to pass as soon as today.
The Senate passed it this month.
Senate Bill 310 would place a two-year freeze on state
standards for renewable energy and energy efficiency. It also would change the
standards when they resume in 2017.
Rep. Mike Duffey, R-Worthington, asked the panel to consider
a substitute bill that was based on suggestions from the Ohio Manufacturers’
Association and the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel. It would have
reduced the freeze to one year and made several other changes.
The committee chairman, Rep. Peter Stautberg, R-Anderson
Township, declined to recognize Duffey’s motion.
Stautberg also ruled out of order a separate attempt to vote
on a one-year freeze, this one by Mark Romanchuk, R-Mansfield, saying it was
submitted after the deadline for amendments. However, Duffey reminded him that
some of the chairman’s own amendments also were drafted late.
“Maybe we dismissed the House rules. Maybe they don’t
matter,” Duffey said. “The chairman ignores his own deadline that he imposes on
the rest of us.”
Stautberg said that it was within his discretion to rule on amendments
and that he was pleased with the final version of this “very thoughtful bill.”
The proposed compromise is the most recent of several
attempts by manufacturers and consumer advocates to rein in the parts of the
bill that they say will lead to job losses and utility-rate increases. Their
plan’s provisions include reducing the energy-efficiency standards by about
one-third in addition to the one-year freeze.
Despite the support of major employers such as Honda and the backing of
legislators in both parties, legislative leaders have not allowed the
alternative plan to come to a vote. Key legislators have said they are not
aware of the competing plan.
Last week, the bill’s lead sponsor, Sen. Troy Balderson, R-Zanesville, said the compromise plan “
did not come across my desk.”
Yesterday, Stautberg said he had not seen Duffey’s proposal,
so he could not comment on it.
Duffey said that many Republicans are uncomfortable with the
bill and would like the opportunity to vote on a compromise.
The bill has the support of electricity utilities and many
business groups. It is opposed by environmental groups, consumer advocates and
some businesses.
The House Public Utilities Committee passed the bill in a
13-9 vote yesterday. One Democrat voted for it (Rep. Sandra Williams,
D-Cleveland) and two Republicans voted against it (Duffey and Romanchuk).
The panel made two notable changes to the proposal:
• Canadian hydroelectric power would not count toward Ohio
renewable-energy standards. Critics have said the previous version of the bill
was opening the door to using Canadian power in this way.
• Limits on so-called “shared savings” payments that
utilities can get for certain types of energy-efficiency projects were altered.
Critics have said that the previous wording would have allowed utilities to be
paid for things that they would do anyway.
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