Representative George Cleveland has introduced House Bill 431 “Repeal Senate Bill 3 of the 2007 Session.” As I have pointed out in the past, SB3 is North Carolina’s own cap and tax legislation. The bill caps the amount of electricity that can come from inexpensive energy sources like coal and natural gas by mandating the percentages of North Carolina’s electricity that must come from so-called renewable energy sources like solar and wind power. Because wind and solar power are very expensive energy sources the renewable energy requirements in the bill are driving up electricity rates, in essence taxing electricity consumers, stifling economic growth and job creation. Economists from the Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University in Boston estimate that over the next 3 years HB3 will reduce economic growth in the state by $116 million and cost the state over 3200 jobs. It will also reduce disposable income by $44 million and revenues to state and local governments by over $42 million. Repeal of this legislation should be a no-brainer for the Republican controlled General Assembly. But despite these costs and despite the fact that the bill has no quantifiable environmental benefits, most Republicans almost all of whom, with no cost benefit analysis, supported the bill, in 2007, are against its repeal. It is not at all clear why this is the case except that when the bill was initially crafted a number of special interests such as the utility monopolies and some farming and manufacturing interests were appeased with special tax breaks and subsidies. Repeal of the law would also mean the repeal of these goodies. It is quite possible that many Republican lawmakers are responding to pressures from the special interests that are benefiting from the legislation. Of course repeal of SB3 would also mean a repeal of the massive energy tax that is being placed on the bulk of electricity rate payers, boosting the economy and stimulating job growth. Unfortunately right now it is looking like the special interests will trump the general interests and SB3 will remain in place.
