Connecticut Mirror - Wednesday May 5, 2010
Mark Pazniokas
May 5, 2010
The House gave final legislative approval at 6:01 a.m. today to a bill that subsidizes solar power, encourages energy efficiency and exerts influence over a deregulated electric industry that has given Connecticut the nation's second-highest electric rates.
The most heavily lobbied bill of year was passed 20 to 14 in the Senate on Tuesday night and 81 to 40 in the House as the sun rose over the State Capitol today, the final day of the 2010 session.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell has expressed opposition, but environmentalists urged her to sign a bill that encourages the consolidation of energy functions in one department, an idea proposed by Rell in 2007.
"This bill is an important first step in addressing a broken energy infrastructure, and a way for the state to move towards cleaner energy and a stronger economy," said Charles Rothenberger, a staff attorney for the Connecticut Fund for the Environment.