ST. PAUL – House Democrats on Thursday approved legislation which Rep. Chris Swedzinski, R-Ghent, said provides paybacks to political friends instead of delivering the major permitting reform he indicated is needed in other industries statewide.
The bill is an omnibus package featuring energy provisions. Swedzinski said the bill’s main focus is streamlining the permitting process for moving power from new renewable generation to the transmission grid by making more projects exempt from the certificate of need requirements.
“On one hand, it is nice to see our Democrat colleagues recognize Minnesota’s burdensome permitting process is a roadblock for industries, small businesses and communities across our state,” said Swedzinski, the ranking House Republican on energy issues. “But major reform is needed for industries statewide instead of just the paybacks to political friends the Democrats propose in this bill.
“Minnesota employees and job creators deserve a permitting process that is efficient and easy to follow not only for the clean energy sector, but also for other important industries like mining, housing, construction, manufacturing, and more. The permitting process does not need to be an either-or proposition, Minnesota can and should maintain necessary environmental and safety standards, while also giving job creators the certainty they need to invest in our state and its people.”
Swedzinski said the bill also includes $1.7 million to subsidize free software that automates review of applications and issuance of permits for residential solar projects. It also spends millions of dollars to facilitate spending hundreds of millions more dollars to achieve a negligible effect on climate change mitigation, Swedzinski said.
“Last session, Democrats enacted the Blackout Bill, making energy in Minnesota less affordable, less reliable, and less safe,” Swedzinski said. “This bill continues the Democrats’ priority of increasing our reliance on unaffordable and unreliable energy sources, and spending millions under the guise of climate change mitigation – but with no real impact. If the changes Democrats propose are good enough for the clean energy sector, then they should be good enough for the rest of Minnesota’s businesses.”
The bill (H.F. 4975) passed the House mainly along party lines after the Senate approved it 36-30 earlier in the week. It also includes measures related to agriculture and commerce.
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