A bill from this year s legislative session could offer businesses and homeowners more opportunities to invest in green technologies and energy efficiency.
Minnesota legislators agree on first major energy bill in years The new energy conservation act would help low-income households upgrade appliances, utilities fund alternative energy and companies make clean energy products. May 18, 2021 5:44pm Text size Copy shortlink:
The Minnesota House and Senate agreed this week on expanding the state s energy conservation program, the most significant energy legislation in recent years.
The Energy Conservation and Optimization Act should increase spending by utilities on conservation programs, particularly to low-income households. Gov. Tim Walz is expected to sign the legislation. It s possibly the biggest piece of energy legislation we have passed in several years, said Rep. Jamie Long, DFL head of the House Committee on Climate and Energy Finance and Policy. This will be really meaningful.
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Serious Negotiations
The Minnesota legislative session is required to end within ten days. At the beginning of the week, legislative leaders announced that they had given themselves a goal of having a broad global agreement on key issues and budget targets by Friday (today). Following such an agreement, conference committees would need to finalize details within their individual bills.
On Tuesday, Senate leadership publicly shared a document that explained its opening offer to the House for a global agreement on key end-of-session issues. In the days since, there have been no other offers or counteroffers that have been made public. Quiet negotiations such as those happening now is typically a sign that the legislative leaders are conducting serious negotiations.