Repeal of nuclear power ban (re) introduced in MN House
HF 9 (same number even) was introduced, again, into the state House of Representatives yesterday. This is the same bill from before that would repeal the state’s ban on new nuclear power plants and lift the size limit on hydroelectric power plants.
Again, the bill is authored by the Chair of the House Energy committee, Rep. Chris Swedzinski (R-15A, Ghent). The co-author is House Majority Leader Harry Niska (R-Princeton).
The single-digit bill number signifies that it remains one of the top priorities of the House Republican majority.
A do-over was needed to accommodate the return of House Democrats after their 24-day boycott of the chamber. All but one of the holdout Democrats returned yesterday with little to show for their “strike.” In the only real change from January 14, Democrats agreed to outlaw the exact same maneuver that Democrats used in 1979 to oust a duly-elected Republican member, lest it be used on them.
The House Energy committee first heard the bill on January 21 and passed it along to the Ways and Means Committee. That maneuver will need to be repeated, this time with the Democratic members in the room, if they care to show. The committee will take up the bill on Tuesday, February 11.
The Senate Energy committee heard similar bills on January 29, which failed to move out of committee on a tied 7-7 vote. The meeting featured the bizarre spectacle of Senate Democratic-co-authors voting against the bills to prevent their advancement.
One positive outcome of the House restart is that the newly-formed Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight committee will finally hold its first-ever meeting. In fact, the Monday 8:15 am meeting will become the first “official” meeting of any House committee in 2025.
An important concession won by Republicans has the committee organized for the full two-year term with a Republican chair (Kristin Robbins, R-37A, Maple Grove) and a permanent Republican 5-3 majority.
The first meeting will feature a timely report and presentation by the Office of Legislative Auditor (OLA) on state oversight of nonprofit grant contracts.
Related to this, the first three bills re-introduced by House Republicans (H.F. 1, 2, and 3) yesterday address fraud prevention. All three bills were referred to the State Government committee. Two of these three are scheduled for a re-hearing on Tuesday.
Time is of the essence.