Energy Bill Shouldn’t Be Rushed Through Legislature At The Last Minute

Hartford Courant- Our View
ELECTRIC OVERHAUL • Sweeping legislation too late for review

Bills and sweetheart amendments to pending legislation have a way of materializing in the waning hours of each General Assembly session. Legislators consider these dark-of-night legislative maneuvers as the pressure to decide on the state’s budget and other key bills mounts. The chance of a rat wiggling through the system increases as the hours grow short.

That’s why proposed legislation that staff members have labeled the “Big Energy Bill” should not be rushed to a vote by Wednesday’s adjournment.

The measure promises to cut electric rates by 15 percent, promote clean energy and establish a new Connecticut Energy and Technology Authority in place of the Department of Utility Control. Drafts of the bill, which was put together by Sen. John W. Fonfara, D-Hartford, and Rep Vickie O. Nardello, D-Prospect, were circulated last week, even as the exact wording was being edited. The bill has not had a hearing, which would allow all sides to offer their views.

Connecticut’s electric rates are reported to be the highest in the continental U.S., so legislators, eyeing fall elections, are eager to bring home a reduction. Certainly, residents would favor a cut in their bills and would likely support efforts to increase the production of power from clean energy.

But it is wrong for the legislature to pass a bill of 169 pages without adequate time to sift through its provisions and consider their effects. A measure as far-reaching as the Big Energy Bill should not be considered when legislators cannot give it the scrutiny it warrants.