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Senate passes $1.1T funding bill
The Senate voted 56-40 late Saturday evening to pass a $1.1 trillion spending package that funds most of the government through next September. The vote culminates a week of acrimonious sniping and sends the spending bill to President Obama’s desk for a signature. [ read more … ]
Inside Congress’s $42B tax-break package
While there are plenty of narrowly-tailored incentives that critics call corporate pork, there are also broader preferences for both businesses and working families. The preferences most derided as corporate pork are often just a small percentage of the overall cost of the tax package. Here’s a partial list of some of the 50-plus tax breaks Congress is passing for this year, at a cost of some $42 billion. [ read more … ]
Op-Ed: A Pacific Coast model for addressing climate change
Our agreement, which established the Pacific Coast Action Plan on Climate and Energy, represents a regionwide commitment to air quality, clean fuels, carbon pricing, and clean-energy jobs. But it also respects that we have different approaches to reaching our shared goals. California’s carbon pricing program uses an economywide cap-and-trade system, while British Columbia has a revenue-neutral carbon tax program. Oregon is building on existing programs to set a price on carbon emissions. Washington is developing a carbon market program, including consultations with stakeholders.
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Can a state fill a budget gap with a price on carbon? Wash. may soon know
On Wednesday, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee will unveil a new plan to lower his state’s greenhouse gas emissions. And while the Democrat hasn’t tipped his hand on whether he’ll push for a cap-and-trade system or a carbon tax, Inslee and his administration have dropped several hints about how they’ll likely frame the carbon pricing plan as a way to help solve the state’s budget deficit. In an era where states have legalized everything from gambling to recreational marijuana as a way to raise budget revenue, Washington’s upcoming carbon fight may provide a road map for how state legislatures choose to comply with U.S. EPA’s Clean Power Plan. Specifically, whether lawmakers otherwise hostile to the idea of lowering greenhouse gas emissions and increasing energy costs may embrace cap-and-trade systems or carbon taxes as a way to fix budget holes or restructure their tax codes. [ read more … ]
Study: Nebraska has capacity to export more wind energy
Nebraska has the capacity to build and export more renewable energy generated by wind farms than it does now, according to a study that will be released by the Nebraska Power Review Board Monday. The Nebraska Renewable Energy Export Study, mandated by the passage of LB1115 this past legislative session, said there is significant growth potential for renewable electricity generation in the state, both short- and long-term. [ read more … ]
Lawyers gird for fight against EPA’s Clean Power Plan based on states’ rights
On one side of the dispute, supporters say EPA carefully constructed the rule with a strong legal foundation, taking into consideration years of precedents affirming the agency’s right to regulate greenhouse gases. They say the standards for cutting emissions, or building blocks suggested by EPA, are based on proven methods that the energy industry itself has pursued around the country. On the other side, critics say the scope of the rule is unprecedented and the federal agency is violating states’ rights by issuing goals that can’t be met without employing “beyond-the-source” methods, like renewable power and energy efficiency programs. They say EPA doesn’t have jurisdiction to compel states to comply with the required cuts because it would have to base them on programs that are explicitly the business of state governments. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.