An energy efficiency measure that passed just last year could be voted down by a House committee later today.
The Municipal & County Government Committee will hold an executive session on House Bill 144, which is sponsored by Rep. Carol McGuire (R-Epsom). It would repeal the law allowing cities and towns to create energy efficiency and clean energy districts.
A likely flashpoint on the horizon for environmental and energy policy in the upcoming legislative session will be the proposal to repeal New Hampshire’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI.
Rep. Richard Barry (R-Merrimack) is so far the sole sponsor of the repeal bill. But we hear from Jim Rubens, an outspoken Republican environmentalist, that getting out of RGGI is part of his party’s agenda.
What’s next for energy policy in the wake of the recent mid-term elections? New Hampshire will see Republicans take control of the Legislature, and one of the outstanding policy questions will be if a bipartisan consensus remains to build on the wide range of energy efficiency and renewable energy programs recently created.
The EESE Board, which is connected to the state Public Utilities Commission, just turned two years old. One of its current projects is a comprehensive review of New Hampshire’s energy policies, although it won’t be doing this review itself. Rather, the PUC is hiring a consultant to do the review, and EESE got to choose the people who will pick the winning bid.
The N.H. House and Senate managed to come to an agreement Wednesday about New Hampshire’s budget—sort of.
They agreed, at least, to keep trying to agree on how to achieve about $300 million in savings and/or new money to balance the state budget by the middle of next year. They almost threw in the towel in defiance of one another, in which case Gov. John Lynch would likely have called them into special sessions this summer. Instead, they formed a Committee of Conference just in time to meet the deadline for doing so.
New Hampshire could see new jobs and renewable energy initiatives this summer, if a newly proposed amendment to a Senate bill is approved. But, that amendment also presents a number of complications.
The Senate Energy, Environment and Economic Development Committee will hold a public hearing on Senate Bill 334 and the amendment on Thursday, March 4, in room 102 of the Legislative Office Building in Concord.