Fellow Lawmakers in Helena are moving closer to passing new legislation that
supporters say would get construction of the NorthWestern Energy gas plant in
Laurel moving again.
That construction was recently halted after Yellowstone County District Judge
Michael Moses revoked the plant's permit, saying the Montana Department of
Environmental Quality failed to fully evaluate the plant's impact on air quality and
greenhouse gas emissions.
In response to the court, House Bill 971,Introduced by Josh Kassmier, (R) Ft
Benton, has made it through the House Natural Resources Committee last
Monday, and has passed its first hurdle before the full House Friday, it awaits a 3
reading vote today, (Monday) before moving to the Senate for consideration.
The bill states that an environmental review may not include an evaluation of
greenhouse gas emissions when corresponding impacts to the state are beyond
its borders.
Let me be clear, Montana as a State has not enacted carbon regulations,
despite the clear direction via state law, the court has decided that MEPA
(Montana Environmental Policy Act) is now a tool for regulation of carbon.
This is a very dangerous precedent, when a judge can uproot a necessary
project that has already passed the rigors of MEPA, and furthermore withstood
the permitting process in good faith, only to be halted years into the project,
with hundreds of millions already invested.
Meanwhile, construction at the plant has all been halted, except for minor work
in compliance with the judge's order.
About 110 workers were laid off on Tuesday. The plant's union says about 50
employees now remain.
These workers didn't ask to be laid off, It's an impact on their families, and It's
an impact on the community.
A union steward representing these workers told me that crews immediately
stopped work, on installing 18 smokestacks and 18 natural gas motors.
I feel that Montanans need safe, reliable power and this facility helps get to that
end. This delay in construction is hurting Montana energy customers and the
local and state economy.
The Yellowstone County Generating Station was permitted based on defined
criteria. The permitting process was followed. It is in the best interest of electric
consumers, and Montana as a whole, for Senate to do our part to help resolve
this matter quickly.
Most likely we will hear this proposal in Senate Natural Resources, where I serve
as chair, I'm confident that we have the votes to get it to the Senate Floor, and
with a positive vote there, onto the Governor's desk before we adjourn.
Shifting gears,
Members in the House have tabled a bill that would have changed the primary
process for the 2024 U.S. Senate race and effectively boxed out minor party
candidates.
I voted against this measure in the Senate for two simple reasons;
One, the measure seemed narrowly crafted by design, which simply takes the
people's voice away in elections. That, coupled with with National Party Leaders talking about putting an emphasis on recruiting high net worth individuals, it seems to be designed to eliminate good home grown candidates, regardless of party affiliation, and it flies in the face of how we traditionally do business in Montana.
The proposal, as it turns out, according internal documents obtained by the New
York Times and other news organizations, was in fact designed to target a
single race, that will be hotly contested as U.S. Sen. Jon Tester. A Democrat,
seeks reelection. It would have allowed the top two vote-getting candidates,
regardless of party, to advance to the general election, once the 2024 elections
were over, the change in law was set to revert back to the way we currently do
federal elections in Montana, after the 2024 contest. That in itself told a story of
election interference, as articulated in a text message I received from a local
voter and long time political supporter of mine, I agree with that assessment as
well.
During a recent hearing, supporters of the bill said it would ensure that the
winning candidate wins a majority of the vote. Opponents said the bill would
disenfranchise third party voters, and was politically motivated.
The House Administration Committee voted 17-1 to table the bill.
Let me be clear, I'm a Republican, and will support our candidate, in the
upcoming US Senate race, however gaming the outcome of an election,
regardless of who is behind, it is bad for Democracy, and puts a stain on politics
in general.
Lastly, today we take up HB 2 on the Senate floor.
Its the General spending and appropriations bill, that seeks to fund State
Government over the next two years, which we are constitutionally mandated to
do.
I'm disappointed so far, in that the proposed budget has grown State Spending
by around 14%, but continues to be promoted as a conservative budget, more
disappointing is that even with a Republican Super Majority in the Senate, we
can't seem to hold the line on what I feel is reckless spending proposals being
muscled through in the eleventh hour by House Appropriations leadership, and the Governor's budget office. Montana deserves better, and Im hoping we get
some budget cutting concessions as the bill ends in in final negotiations, I'm
committed to keep pushing back as necessary, until we adjourn.
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