The Wisconsin state Senate crossed partisan boundaries Tuesday by almost unanimously supporting a bill that is said to ensure a sustainable energy future.
Co-authored by state Sen. Robert Cowles, R-Green Bay, and state Sen. Phil Montgomery, R-Ashwaubenon, Senate Bill 459 will increase renewable resource use and energy independence in Wisconsin.
Passed by a vote of 32-1, the bill had one opposition vote by state Sen. Tom Reynolds, R-West Allis.
Barton Jacque, communications director for Reynolds, said the bill was too small of a step for a much bigger energy problem, and not as competitive as other options.
'Senate Bill 459 lays the groundwork for less reliance on imported energy,' said Kelley Flurry, spokesperson for state Sen. Minority Leader Judith Robson, D-Beloit. 'Right now 75 percent of the energy used in Wisconsin comes from coal, and a little over 20 percent from natural gas.'
Flurry said the bill works to increase the use of renewable energy and the conservation of resources.
'We would be getting more clean energy in Wisconsin, which means that there will be less need for us to be generating energy from dirtier sources,' said Jennifer Giegerich, state director of Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group. 'WisPIRG definitely supports the bill as it was passed, and we would like to see the Assembly pass it with no changes.'
Giegerich also said the bill addresses the Public Benefits Fund, money collected from consumers to pay for energy conservation and efficiency programs in the state.
Cowles' policy advisor, Todd Stuart, said the energy funds have previously been misused.
'That money, unfortunately, has been used to balance the state budget over the last couple of years,' he said. 'It's a centerpiece in this bill to make sure that money never goes into state government.'
SB 459, adapted from recommendations by the Governor's Task Force on Energy Efficiency and Renewables, was created in 2003. The proposal outlines components that include reducing energy costs for schools and local government units, increasing the renewable portfolio standard 10 percent by 2015, increasing in state government purchase of renewable resources and reforming public benefits.
Tuesday's legislation came one day after President Bush spoke in Milwaukee about alternative energy and conservation. Stuart said passing the overwhelmingly bi-partisan legislation shows active Republican commitment to spoken promises.
'We put our money where our mouth is today,' he said.
