Skip to main content Skip to office menu Skip to footer
Capital IconMinnesota Legislature

Environment and Natural Resources

FOURTEENTH MEETING

2007-2008 Regular Session - Tuesday, March 6, 2007

STATE OF MINNESOTA FOURTEENTH MEETING
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES EIGHTY-FIFTH SESSION

ENVIRONMENT & NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE

MINUTES


Representative Kent Eken, Chair, called the meeting to order at 4:13 P.M. on Tuesday, March 6th, 2007, in Room 5 of the State Office Building.

The Committee Legislative Assistant noted the roll.

Members present:


EKEN, Kent (Chair) McNAMARA, Denny
HANSEN, Rick (Vice-Chair) MOE, Frank
BRYNAERT, Kathy OLIN, David
CORNISH, Tony OZMENT, Dennis
DILL, David SAILER, Brita
GARDNER, Paul SCALZE, Bev
HACKBARTH, Tom THAO, Cy
HOPPE, Joe TINGELSTAD, Kathy
MARIANI, Carlos WAGENIUS, Jean



A quorum was present.

Representative Cornish moved approval of the minutes of March 1st, 2007. THE MOTION PREVAILED AND THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED.

HF 375 (Ruud) Global Warming Mitigation Act adopted, and money appropriated.

Chairman Eken moved HF 375 be recommended to pass and be re-referred to the Committee on Energy Finance and Policy.

Chairman Eken moved the H0375DE1 amendment. THE MOTION PREVAILED AND THE AMENDMENT WAS ADOPTED.

Chairman Eken moved the H0375A3 amendment. THE MOTION PREVAILED AND THE AMENDMENT WAS ADOPTED.

Representative Hackbarth moved the H0375A6 amendment. THE MOTION DID NOT PREVAIL.

Representative McNamara moved the H0375A2 amendment. THE MOTION DID NOT PREVAIL.

Chairman Eken moved the H0375A7 amendment.

People who testified on the H0375A7 amendment:

Kevin Reuther, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy
Loren Laugtug, Ottertail Power Company
Rick Lancaster, Great River Energy

Chairman Eken recessed the committee at 5:05 P.M.

Chairman Eken reconvened the committee at 5:43 P.M.


Environment and Natural Resources
March 6th, 2007
Page 2


Chairman Eken offered an oral amendment to the H0375A7 amendment as follows:
Page 1, delete everything after line 1.2 and insert:
"Page 4, after line 9, insert:
"(7) evaluate the option of exempting a project from the prohibitions contained in section 5, subdivision 1, if the project contributes a specified fee per ton of carbon dioxide emissions emitted annually by the project, the proceeds of which would be used to fund permanent, quantifiable, verifiable and enforceable reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that would not otherwise have occurred.""

Representative Hackbarth offered the H0375A8 (the original H0375A7 language).

Representative Hackbarth requested a roll call vote on H0375A8. The results were as follows:


AYES NAYS

EKEN, Kent BRYNAERT, Kathy
CORNISH, Tony GARDNER, Paul
DILL, David HANSEN, Rick
HACKBARTH, Tom MARIANI, Carlos
HOPPE, Joe MOE, Frank
McNAMARA, Denny OLIN, David
OZMENT, Dennis SAILER, Brita
TINGELSTAD, Kathy SCALZE, Bev
THAO, Cy
WAGENIUS, Jean



On a vote of 8 Ayes and 10 Nays, THE MOTION DID NOT PREVAIL.

Representative Dill offered the H0375A4 amendment.

Rick Lancaster, Great River Energy, testified to the H0375A4 amendment.

Representative Hoppe requested a roll call vote on H0375A4. The results were as follows:



AYES NAYS

EKEN, Kent BRYNAERT, Kathy
CORNISH, Tony GARDNER, Paul
DILL, David HANSEN, Rick
HACKBARTH, Tom MARIANI, Carlos
HOPPE, Joe MOE, Frank
McNAMARA, Denny SAILER, Brita
OLIN, David SCALZE, Bev
OZMENT, Dennis TINGELSTAD, Kathy
THAO, Cy WAGENIUS, Jean



On a vote of 9 Ayes and 9 Nays, THE MOTION DID NOT PREVAIL.

Representative McNamara moves an oral amendment to HF 375 as follows:
On page 4, line 5 after the semicolon insert:
"permitting the construction of new nuclear power plants;"
On a division vote of 7 Ayes and 11 Nays, THE MOTION DID NOT PREVAIL.

Chairman Eken renewed his motion that HF 375 be recommended to pass, as amended, and be re-referred to the Committee on Energy Finance and Policy.

Environment and Natural Resources
March 6th, 2007
Page 3


Representative Dill moved to amend the Eken motion to pass HF 375 without recommendation.
On a division of 7 Ayes and 10 Nays, THE MOTION DID NOT PREVAIL.

Chairman Eken renewed his motion that HF 375 be recommended to pass, as amended, and be re-referred to the Committee on Energy Finance and Policy. THE MOTION PREVAILED.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:40 P.M.

_____________________________________
Kent Eken, Chair


______________________________________
Andrew Duerr, Committee Legislative Assistant
More Info On This Meeting..

HF375 (Ruud) Global Warming Mitigation Act adopted. Amendments and final vote only, no testimony.