After a whirlwind day of debate, the MA Senate passed a big climate bill. It does a lot to curb emissions in transportation and buildings, doubles the amount of offshore wind the state needs to buy, and pumps millions into clean energy development.
Nearly 12 hours after they kicked off debate, senators voted 37-3 on legislation that faces an unclear future as negotiators prepare to reconcile it with a smaller-scope bill that cleared the House . All three of the chamber's Republicans, who unsuccessfully pushed an alternative proposal, voted against the final measure.
The bill focuses on three main areas: electricity, transportation and buildings, all of which play major roles in existing greenhouse gas emissions. Ten municipalities would be empowered to limit the use of fossil fuels in new construction, a local option that Senate Democrats crafted in response to the Baker administration's stretch energy code that does not authorize cities and towns to mandate builders use all-electric heating.Sen. Marc Pacheco at one point delivered a 61-minute speech calling for the Senate to expand the bill's focus to include housing emissions.
Fellow Democrats contended that Pacheco's amendment, while targeting an important area, would have delegated too much responsibility to unelected panels."My argument is with the wording of the amendment, which essentially sets up a task force in place of the Legislature. The policymaking that we do, we would be delegating to an unelected body that doesn't have a single elected representative of a city, a town or a state legislative district.
With an unrecorded voice vote, senators approved a Sen. Julian Cyr amendment that calls for the Department of Energy Resources to"strive to achieve the goal of not less than 10,000 megawatts of offshore wind capacity by not later than 2035." Lawmakers are set to wrap up their formal business for the 2021-2022 session on July 31, leaving less than four months remaining to hammer out a compromise and get it to Gov. Charlie Baker's desk.
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