Scary ideas continue to slip through Congress. Huge payouts are being offered to a handful of lawmakers who are lawyers, potentially adding further confusion to the state's chaotic energy policy.
For decades, Connecticut has barred lawmakers from representing clients before 11 major state agencies and commissions. The purpose is to prevent legislators from using their political power to influence the day-to-day decisions of these institutions.
The damaging proposal, awaiting action in the Legislature in its final days, would eliminate the ban on representing customers before utility regulators or the Connecticut Siting Council. There is no good reason to lift that ban, and no good reason to continue it.
PURA and the Siting Council deal with energy and are therefore important institutions in determining the future of the state. PURA handles the complex task of setting the rates that utility companies can charge their customers. This summer, you'll receive a notice about your electricity when your electricity rates go up for 10 months to pay for costs imposed on power companies by the state Legislature. When you look at your utility bill, you can see how much the state government determines your monthly bill.
On Thursday, Eversource President Joseph Nolan announced that the power giant will cut spending on capital projects in Connecticut by $500 million over the next five years. As we electrify our daily lives and move away from carbon-based electricity, Eversource and state power regulators are in a heated battle.
Also Thursday, Gov. Ned Lamont appointed PURA Chair Marissa Gillette to an additional four-year term. Mr. Lamont's decision to support Gillette showed he was not intimidated by Eversource.
Eversource announced in February that it was considering selling Aquarian, a water company in Connecticut, because it was unhappy with PURA's treatment of the company. Financial legend Warren Buffett is dissatisfied with utilities as a reliable source of superior investment returns. Like millions of other people, Mr. Buffet prefers businesses that guarantee a profit. This is changing.
The siting council is also deeply involved in energy policy. Approve or deny proposed sites for power generation facilities, transmission lines, base stations, solar power, and wind power. The governor appoints a majority of the commissioners. The remaining four will be appointed by other state officials, including the Speaker of the House and the Senate President Pro Tem.
The siting council considers the balance between supply, cost and the environment when making decisions. Wind and solar expansion will keep Congress busy. So is the potentially disastrous proposal to install a power-hungry data center on the site of Waterford's Millstone nuclear power station.
We have done everything we can to keep these institutions independent and accountable. Prohibiting legislators from appearing in court on behalf of their clients is a key element in maintaining that balance. The public's trust in the integrity of the government is under constant attack. The proposal to allow developers and utilities to spend millions of dollars to hire powerful legislators to represent them in PURA and the current Congress is a prelude to disaster.
The only reason developers and power companies hire lawyers who are members of Congress to appear before these two bodies is to make political decisions on their behalf. This is dangerous. Both organizations are making decisions that have an increasingly significant impact on the quality of life in Connecticut. The infusion of influence from lawyers in public office can change these decisions and cast a shadow on their legitimacy.
A fatal nine-word change to the state's ethics law is buried in a 62-page bill pending in the Senate. Parliament must adjourn by midnight Wednesday. The pace of activity has accelerated in the last few days, and the final hours could be especially dangerous for the public interest as Congress makes careless deals to pass its own stalled proposals. be.
The bill, with its many sections and legislative changes, will be in its last flight for the year. Vows of silence are exchanged as long bills become a means of satisfying narrow interests and terrible ideas.
The state's drastic relaxation of ethics rules should be brought to light. It shouldn't be hidden in a bill of 37 mostly technical provisions, only one of which weakens ethics laws that apply to state legislators and attacks the integrity of government. .
Kevin Rennie can be reached at kfrennie@yahoo.com.
