GOVERNOR VETOES BIPARTISAN OMNIBUS ENERGY BILL
Governor holds omnibus bill hostage in to 11th hour negotiations
AUGUSTA—At 11:55p.m., four minutes before his veto power expired, Governor Paul LePage vetoed the bipartisan omnibus energy bill, which would have significantly lowered energy costs for Maine homes and businesses.
“This is yet another example of one man standing in the way of progress for the entire state,” said Senate President Justin Alfond of Portland. “This is a historic bill with critically important elements that would have helped Maine families and kept Maine’s industrial and commercial facilities competitive. This is a bill that has garnered broad support from people on both sides of the aisle and instead of supporting what’s best for our state, the Governor has yet again resorted to getting in the way of progress for Maine.”
For weeks the Governor had threatened to veto the energy bill, often citing different reasons for blocking this bipartisan piece of legislation that has broad support from both parties, industry, environmentalists, and the university.
In the final hours leading up to when the Governor would lose his veto power, the Governor and his staff insisted on amending an unrelated bill to include a provision that would have undermined the Ocean Energy Act and blocked $120 million of off-shore wind power investment by Statoil in Maine.
“The Governor has made it clear that he is trying to undo a signed agreement between Statoil and the PUC, a contract that would bring millions of dollars and hundreds of jobs to Maine. This isn’t just politics at its worst, it’s business at its worst,” said Senate Majority Leader Seth Goodall of Richmond. “The Governor has jeopardized crucial energy policy for Maine and is attempting to close the door on a multi-million dollar investment by an international company.”
The Governor has repeatedly made clear his contempt for wind power and his desire to block Statoil from investing in Maine. The omnibus energy bill suffered the consequences of the Governor’s failure to stop investment in Maine’s wind energy potential that is overwhelmingly supported by Maine people.
“With this bill, Maine could have seen huge reductions in our energy costs, saved an additional $365 million, and jump-started thousands of Mainers on the path of making cost effective home energy improvements,” said President Alfond. “Unfortunately the people of Maine have suffered the consequences of the Governor’s games.”
The bipartisan energy measure emphasized increased energy efficiency by fully funding Efficiency Maine, implemented reforms to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), and provided rate-relief for Maine businesses. The bill also would have lowered global warming pollution limits from power plants across the Northeast by 45% through reforms to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Additionally, the bill would have given Maine the authority to contract for pipeline capacity into New England in order to relieve costly pipeline congestion for power plants that run on natural gas.
The bill LD 1559, “An Act To Reduce Energy Costs, Increase Energy Efficiency, Promote Electric System Reliability and Protect the Environment,” was approved 28—7 in the Senate, and unanimously approved under the hammer in the House. The House voted 121—11 to override the veto.
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