Sweeping energy bill gains steam in Legislature

The House gives the green light to legislation that would cap emissions and credit utilities in compliance.

Florida would develop a plan to cap emissions of the greenhouse gases thought to cause climate change, and would allow businesses to buy and sell credits in order to meet those limits, under a measure approved Tuesday by the House of Representatives that supporters called a historic shift in state energy policy.

But the far-reaching energy legislation also would make it easier for utilities to run transmission lines across state lands, and would permit power companies to charge consumers in advance for the costs of building or relocating some infrastructure. Lawmakers at the last-minute also attached a provision designed to block Gov. Charlie Crist's administration from unilaterally copying the stringent auto-emission standards adopted by California.

Supporters said the total package balances environmental goals with financial realities, particularly as pressure builds nationally to address global warming.

"Whether you believe that we're really causing or accelerating climate change or not, I think the work we've done here is really going to position Florida to debate or be part of the national debate with regards to climate change," said Rep. Stan Mayfield, R-Vero Beach, who sponsored the package in the House.

The Senate could take up the legislation today, and most expect it to pass before the Legislature's 2008 session concludes Friday. Crist, who has made combating global warming a signature issue, indicated Tuesday that he intends to sign the measure once it arrives at his desk.

"This legislation is a great step forward," the governor told reporters.

The subject of intense lobbying from environmentalists, utilities and other interest groups, the House energy bill is more than 200 pages long and addresses everything from telecommuting to composting.

The centerpiece is a provision authorizing the state Department of Environmental Protection to develop a cap-and-trade system to regulate emissions of carbon, methane and other greenhouse gases. Under the plan, which Crist has championed, utilities that reduce their emissions under state-set limits would gain credits that they could sell to other polluters who have been unable to get below the caps.

The catch: Environmental regulators can't roll out the system until at least Jan. 1, 2010. And the Legislature would also have to approve it.

The package includes scores of other provisions that backers labeled environmentally friendly:

*Mandates that all gasoline sold in Florida as of Dec. 31, 2010, be blended with at least 10 percent ethanol.

*Creates and expands property, sales and corporate-income tax breaks aimed at encouraging conservation and fostering the development of alternative fuels.

*Directs regulators to devise a rule requiring utilities to offer electricity from renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, subject to the Legislature's approval.

The measure stops short of requiring that utilities generate at least 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources, a standard Crist has called for. Republican lawmakers said they were wary of forcing mandates that they said would ultimately be passed on to consumers. "We need to make sure we're protecting our ratepayer, which is customers paying electric bills," Mayfield said.

The measure contains several elements sought by utilities:

*Loosens power-plant siting rules.

*Offers more access to state lands and public rightsof way for transmission lines, and accelerates the process by which some electric utilities can condemn private land.

*Allows utilities to charge consumers ahead of time to recoup the costs of building or relocating transmission lines for nuclear power plants.

Janet Bowman, a lobbyist for The Nature Conservancy, said environmental groups were uncomfortable with some of the concessions granted to utilities. But they were willing to accept them to gain acceptance for the overall bill -- particularly the cap-and-trade provision, she said.

"It certainly moves the bill way ahead as far as Florida's response to climate change," she said.

The complex legislation was still being rewritten on the House floor Tuesday. One amendment would prevent condominium associations from prohibiting individual condo owners from installing renewable-energy devices such as solar panels. Lawmakers also inserted language designed to steer tax credits toward a solar-panel manufacturer that is considering a move to Florida.

The added restriction that would prevent the Crist administration from adopting California's auto-emission standards is particularly controversial. State environmental regulators are already working on such a plan, and the group Environment Florida blistered the House change as a "roadblock." A top senator said he intends to discuss with Crist's office whether to strip the provision out before the end of the week.

A provision tucked in near the end of the bill would prevent cities and counties from banning disposable plastic bags -- such as those used by grocery stores and newspapers -- until at least Feb. 1, 2010. The city of San Francisco adopted such a ban last year.

House Minority Leader Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, said there is "mischief" buried in the energy package. "But I think, at the end of the day, the merit in this bill clearly outweighs the mischief," he said.