Solar talks turn cold
Courtesy Photo
The Senate's top Democrat has noted that "jobs are on the line," but legislative negotiators charged with reaching agreement on a bill to keep solar projects moving in Massachusetts have not held a single meeting after their hastily convened gathering 17 days ago.
A House-Senate conference committee met Nov. 18 - the last day of formal sessions for 2015 - but hasn't returned to the negotiating table. The full House and Senate are in sync on a small increase in a cap that could spur on stalled energy projects but have yet to find common ground on other differences.
Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, a member of the conference committee, told the News Service on Thursday that conferees do not have any meetings scheduled and are not exchanging proposals.
"We haven't met since" Nov. 18, Tarr said. "We've had some informal conversations among the members of the conference committee. I think it's important for people to realize the urgency of this matter to try to resolve it. That being said there are some significant differences and it's going to take a lot of work to close the gap. But I think it's imperative that we do close the gap."
Senate President Stanley Rosenberg has raised the possibility that negotiators might hit the "magic note" and strike an accord during the six-week winter recess and has outlined plans for action on other bills once formal sessions resume in January.
But most lawmakers are keeping their distance from Beacon Hill during the holiday season, and a trip to Israel and a planned research trip to Colorado are also factors in the Senate.
Sen. Benjamin Downing, the lead Senate negotiator on the solar bill, is with Rosenberg and other senators on a trip to Israel that runs through Dec. 13 and is designed to "forge new relationships and strengthen current ties" between the state and Israel. In January, as many as ten senators are scheduled to visit Colorado for a research trip to learn about legalization of marijuana in that state.
The House left little time for an agreement to be struck before formal sessions ended Nov. 18. After the Senate in July tacked its solar energy proposal onto a climate change adaptation bill, Gov. Charlie Baker filed his solar bill in August. The Senate received the House proposal on Nov. 17 and quickly passed a counterproposal that stripped climate change language out of the bill and retreated on some proposals favored by the solar industry in an attempt to move closer to the House's plan. The House bill, preferred by business groups and utilities, is less generous with subsidies - solar advocates prefer the term incentives - and includes a minimum charge on electric bills so solar customers who generate their own electricity contribute to grid maintenance costs.
The lead House negotiator is Rep. Brian Dempsey, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Downing's co-chair on the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Energy and Utilities, Rep. Thomas Golden, is also on the conferee along with Republican Minority Leader Brad Jones. Sen. Marc Pacheco, chairman of the Senate Global Warming and Climate Change Committee, is the third member of the Senate conference.
Asked if he planned to join his colleagues on the trip to Israel, Tarr said, "I'm holding the fort here. Hey, I came in number two for Senate president."
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