Mar. 22--A huge House majority passed a two-year moratorium on coal-fired electricity plants Tuesday, in response to a facility proposed near Jerome. But grass-roots anger in the Magic Valley has failed to turn into electoral challenges for 10 of the 15 legislators from nearby districts, so the fervor to get something done in the Statehouse could dissipate. The 64-5 vote came as lawmakers like House Speaker Bruce Newcomb, R-Burley, hope to slow a proposal by a California company to build a facility in Jerome that would generate enough power to light 450,000 homes. "Let's take the time, do the studies and determine what we want the future to be like," Newcomb said.

"The people are asking for a time-out," Twin Falls Republican Rep. Sharon Block added. "We owe nothing less to the future generations of Idahoans." The coal plant proposed by San Diego-based Sempra Energy has sparked an outcry in the southcentral Idaho agricultural towns along the Snake River. Around 120 people testified on the moratorium at the Statehouse two weeks ago. Company officials told lawmakers last month they could turn their sights elsewhere if the Legislature passed a moratorium. After the House vote, Sempra's San Diego spokesman Art Larson said no decision has been made on the plant's future.

The company will watch the moratorium's fate in the Senate, where it moves next. "We've made it clear should it pass, it will have a significant impact on the project," Larson said. The Senate tried to deal with the Sempra issue with a resolution that could have tightened Idaho's rules regarding mercury pollution, but Republicans on the House Environment, Energy and Technology Committee killed that Monday. Widespread community pressure from towns like Twin Falls, Gooding and Jerome has sparked the Statehouse action from legislators who hail from that part of the state. Some of the political pressure may have slipped away Friday when the deadline passed for potential candidates.

That could affect this bill's future in the Senate. Of the five senators who represent Magic Valley districts, just one has an opponent. And Buhl Republican Sen. Tom Gannon's Democrat challenger is the same activist who won just 35 percent of the vote two years ago. Idaho Statesman writer Rocky Barker contributed to this report.