Proposed Law Protects State from Threat of Clean Power Plan
Via The St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
If it becomes the law of the land, the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Clean Power Plan will drive up the price of electricity in Missouri and lead to the destruction of good-paying jobs in energy-intensive industries like manufacturing. More than that, it would radically reshape the relationship between federal and state governments, removing decision-making about how a state generates electricity from the state Capitol to EPA headquarters.
Understanding the threat that CPP poses to Missouri’s economy, Sen. Roy Blunt recently co-sponsored the Affordable Reliable Energy Now Act, or ARENA. Under ARENA, state governors, including Gov. Jay Nixon, would have the power to opt out of the Clean Power Plan if they believe that it would harm their state’s economy. Just as importantly, ARENA would protect states that refuse to comply with the job-killing mandates of the Clean Power Plan from the all-too-real danger of federal retaliation.
Thanks to Sen. Blunt, Gov. Nixon could have the tools to protect Missouri’s economy from this latest egregious federal overreach, but will he take advantage of it?
Terry Jarrett • Jefferson City
See the article here.
- On May 28, 2015