Lansing is a place where compromise is a dirty word. Republican dominance of the Legislature has made the Capitol dome a bubble, an incubator for conservative ideas.
The GOP has no reason to strike a bipartisan deal and liberal Democrats try to stay as far away from Republican legislation as they can. On measures related to the environment, the gap has been especially wide as environmental activists who unanimously side with the Dems have portrayed GOP Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration as a virtual house of horrors since the Flint water crisis.
So, how in the world did the House and Senate craft a revised compromise energy package on Thursday that received overwhelming support from Republicans and Democrats? Not only was the two-bill plan hailed by environmental groups, conservative Republicans gave Snyder — whom they tend to view as radioactive these days — much of the credit for the accomplishment.
As reported by MLive, ultimately the compromise made changes to energy efficiency, electric choice and solar “net metering” provisions that satisfied almost everybody. The main bill, Senate Bill 437, passed the House 79-28 and the Senate confirmed the changes 33-4. The bill focusing on renewable energy, Senate Bill 438, passed the House 76-31 and the Senate confirmed the changes 33-4.
This was a show of bipartisanship on a contentious, complicated that had rarely been seen in the past decade.
Electric choice and competition, as well as replacing aging coal-fired power plants, had been a controversial issue for years in Lansing and these two bills, in their original form, wallowed throughout the 2015-16 legislative session as Consumers Energy and DTE Energy battled for language to their liking. Individual Republican legislators took up sides. Democrats focused on clean, renewable energy standards.
In the end, the Michigan Environmental Council issued a statement Thursday night praising the approved bills as an “important victory” for wind and solar power. “These bills are a vast improvement over earlier proposals and will keep Michigan’s energy policy moving in the right direction,” the MEC said.
The League of Conservation Voters offered praise that rarely extends to the right side of the aisle: “We applaud lawmakers in both parties for working together on a bipartisan compromise that ensures clean air and water, promotes economic investment and moves Michigan toward cheap, reliable energy sources.”
The MI Air MI Health coalition, health care providers who seek tougher air pollution rules, also “applauded” the energy package. “This legislation will reduce dangerous pollution in our air and water and ultimately save lives,” they said.
All of this celebratory language must make Republican stalwarts back home in legislators’ districts suspicious that the GOP got duped during an exhausting, all-night lame-duck session.
But in the aftermath, pleased Republican senators and representatives used language that sounded a lot like the Democratic lawmakers’ favorable comments:
The legislation represents a milestone that will “modernize the framework for Michigan’s energy grid.” The bills will encourage competition by out-of-state energy companies, which will force the Consumers-DTE duopoly to innovate and improve customer service. The legislation provides a “strong foundation for Michigan’s next-generation energy policy,” with an emphasis on “cost-efficient power needed to fuel economic growth and job creation.”
Even staunch Republicans who voted against the package, including Sen. Patrick Colbeck and Rep. Gary Glenn, lauded many of its provisions.
After the final Senate votes, a pumped up Snyder stuck around to shake hands with legislators and receive plaudits for his job of brokering the compromise deal. The governor typically offers no indications in advance whether he will sign legislation that arrives on his desk.
But on Thursday night he told reporters, “You’ve got a pretty safe bet on this one.”
