With the renewable energy standard now signed into law, the first major piece of legislation this session is officially on the books. But with many other noteworthy bills making their way through the process – many of which come with a built-in hefty price tag – some attention should be given to the thought of how we will pay for all of these competing proposals. Challenging Minnesota to break the addiction from fossil fuels, Governor Pawlenty this week signed into law a nation-leading renewable energy initiative. The bill, Senate File 4, modifies the current renewable energy objective law by increasing that objective from 10 percent of electric energy from renewables in 2015 to 7 percent by the year 2010. After 2010, the objective is repealed and a standard for electric utilities to supply certain percentages of their energy from renewable sources is put in place. All utilities, except Xcel Energy, must achieve a standard of 25 percent in 2025. Xcel Energy must achieve 30 percent by 2020 with 25 percent being wind energy and the remaining five percent other types of renewables. The Public Utilities Commission is authorized to modify or delay the implementation of the standards using various criteria including excessive rate increases, transmission issues and lack of effective technology. After lingering in the Senate Business, Industry and Jobs Committee for the last week, legislation to implement a statewide smoking ban passed the committee on Monday, but not without significant changes. While the committee narrowly defeated an earlier amendment exempting from the ban bars that generate more than 50 percent of their sales from liquor, the committee did adopt an exemption for bars that install qualified ventilation systems. The amendment phased-in the ventilation requirement based on the percentage of bar sales from liquor. Another provision in the amendment would prohibit local governments from enacting stronger ordinances than the state law. Opponents argued that no ventilation system is adequate to remove the harmful effects of second hand smoke, and vowed to push for reinstatement of the original restrictions in the bill as the legislation continues through other Senate committees. The next stop for the bill will be the Senate State and Local Government Operations and Oversight Committee. The Health Policy Committee passed three bills on Thursday that all included a cost of living increase for direct care staff in long term care facilities. The two year increases ranged from five percent each year to 7 percent the first year and 6 percent the second year. These bills will next be discussed in the Health and Human Services Budget Division, where it will be determined what the actual increase will be. Long term care employees are some of the most dedicated workers in the state and they provide an essential service in caring for our senior and disabled citizens. A cost of living increase this biennium will hopefully show these workers our gratitude for their service and help them to provide even better care in the future. Senator Michelle Fischbach is serving in her fifth term in the Minnesota Senate. She encourages and appreciated constituent input and can be reached at (651) 296-2084, by mail to 153 State Office Building/St. Paul, Minn. 55155 or via e-mail at sen.michelle.fischbach@senate.mn.
