After pushing back the vote on the Clean Energy Jobs Act Tuesday, the state Assembly will decide the fate of the bill Thursday. Supporters from both houses are concerned about how it then will fare in the state Senate.
The bill, which co-author state Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, said would cut Wisconsin's energy use by 2 percent per year, create 16,000 jobs and dramatically reduce air pollution, will have to make it through both the Assembly and the Senate Thursday to pass before the end of this legislative session.
""If the Senate acts, we will have the votes in the Assembly,"" Black said. ""The problem is that … Sen. Russ Decker, D-Weston, Senate majority leader, has been standing in the way of this bill, despite all the good it would do for the state of Wisconsin.""
John Anderson, spokesperson for bill co-author state Sen. Mark Miller, D-Monona, said even though Miller is continuing to work to get it passed, the process would be very difficult if Decker remains opposed to it.
Decker has said he is concerned the bill would increase utility rates, according to a recent Wisconsin State Journal article.
Kimber Liedl, spokesperson for Minority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said Republicans are also concerned about the possibility of increased utility costs.
Agricultural, business, commerce and manufacturing groups have also spoken out against the bill.
However, Keith Reopelle, senior policy director at Clean Wisconsin, the state's largest environmental advocacy group, urged lawmakers to push the legislation forward.
""Killing the most important clean energy bill in the state's history is no way to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day,"" Reopelle said in a statement.
