Conservative groups urge governor to veto alternative energy incentives

Apr 11 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - John Kennedy The Palm Beach Post, Fla.


Conservative activists on Tuesday urged Gov. Rick Scott to veto an energy bill pushed by a fellow top Republican, saying the measure violates free market principles by providing tax incentives to solar, wind and biofuel companies.

Americans for Prosperity and the Heartland Institute have been spearheading the effort, which has flooded Scott with emails and phone calls opposing HB 7117. The bill which would provide $16 million in renewable energy tax credits next year.

Scott has until Saturday to act on the bill, which was a priority of Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.

The organizations condemn the tax credit approach as "crony energy" that builds on millions of dollars in incentives already provided for alternate energy production by the Obama administration, which they also oppose.

"There's no reason to set us down this path," said Slade O'Brien, state director for Americans for Prosperity. "I don't think there are going to be economic benefits. You're basically going to cost the Florida taxpayer more money for energy."

AFP and the Heartland Institute, a libertarian research organization, said developing alternate energy is costlier than conventional oil, coal and gas. These costs will be passed onto consumers and businesses through higher prices.

O'Brien, based in Boca Raton, said Scott should kill the legislation because it runs counter to his drive for improving Florida's economy.

"If you're passing this bill, increasing the energy costs of being in Florida as opposed to being in Georgia, as opposed to being in Alabama, ...that's not good business. That's not smart," O'Brien said.

Americans for Prosperity, a grassroots activist organization, was founded by Charles Koch and part-time Palm Beacher David Koch, billionaire brothers who back of a host of conservative causes and whose Koch Industries is an oil services company.

AFP also is a mainstay of the tea party movement, which was a big Scott supporter in his 2010 election.

The vocal opposition from AFP and the Heartland Institute create some tricky crosswinds for Scott.

Putnam, a former congressman, is seen as a future Republican candidate for governor maybe even a 2014 primary opponent for Scott. Putnam has been a strong proponent of energy diversity, which draws support from the state's agricultural industry, already invested in biofuel production.

"We're putting Florida's energy policy back on the right track, positioning Florida to secure a stable, reliable and diverse supply of energy," Putnam said when the legislation cleared the House last month on a 116-2 vote. A day earlier, it passed the Senate 38-2.

In another twist, the energy bill's House sponsor, Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, had been named AFP's '2011 Legislator of the Year.'

O'Brien offered no apologies. "We're equal opportunity complainers when things aren't right."

But Plakon said he was stunned by the reaction. Three days after he received his award from the organization, Plakon said, he began receiving email opposing the energy bill.

AFP also has opposed President Obama's energy policies, while the Democrat singled out the Kochs for criticism in a campaign ad earlier this year.

"Wow," Plakon said Tuesday, reacting to the hard-nosed criticism leveled at his bill. "I disagree with their description of the bill and why they are fixating on these tax credits is very puzzling to me."

Among those calling Tuesday for a Scott veto was Victoria Jackson, a former Saturday Night Live performer who O'Brien called the "tea party troubadour."

"Obama, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Castro, Communist, Fascist, Socialist, whatever you want to call it, it's the government taking over," Jackson said. "It's the government picking the winners and losers. It's the way our country is being destroyed right now."

 

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