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June 14, 2013
Gov. Hickenlooper signs renewable energy bill
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Republicans irked at cost increase to rural Coloradans By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@ourcoloradonews.com
While Democratic leaders applauded at Gov. John Hickenlooper for signing Sening ate Bill 13-252, which increases renewable us, energy standards for energy co-ops in the ogist state, Republican lawmakers claimed the bill will hurt rural Coloradans. find The bill, signed on June 5, will go into effect July 1 and requires Colorado energy their cooperatives — including Intermountain Rural Energy Association — to double their for existing requirements for renewable enerbe gy from 10 percent of all energy used to 20 g or percent prior to 2020. n IREA currently obtains its renewable enBlvd. ergy through a long-term purchase agreement with Xcel Energy, and according to a statement on its website cannot unilaterally increase the amount it requires from Xcel, which creates an issue. IREA says on the site that it is a supporter of renewable energy, but it was opposed to the bill because it believes “the arbitrary imposition of a renewable requirement without regard to existing infrastructure and contracts will only lead to costly waste.” IREA serves customers in, among other areas, Elbert and Douglas counties. Hickenlooper stated the bill was “imperfect,” but in an executive order accompanying the signing of it, said an advisory committee was being assembled that will work to address concerns such as the timetable for implementing the new requirements as well as protecting consumers impacted by the legislation. He said that if issues are not resolved through stakeholder engagement, there is an agreement in place that changes will be made to the legislation in the next session. “This legislation will expand economic opportunities across Colorado through the development of wind, solar, and other innovative energy resources,” he stated in the order. “Rural areas, in particular, will benefit economically from the expansion of re-
WHat tHe reneWable enerGy bill does • Increases renewable energy standards for cooperative electric associations serving more than 100,000 meters from its current 10 percent by 2020 to 20 percent. • Provides extra credit for new renewable resources acquired through 2015. • Allows both methane capture and pyrolysis of solid waste to count toward the renewable energy standard, as long as the production is greenhouse gas-neutral. • Ensures that no utility bill will increase by more than 2 percent as a result of bill. newable resources because the vast majority of renewable resources are located outside of the state’s urban centers.” Some of the jobs Hickenlooper said would be created included construction, manufacturing and mining, as well as new waste-to-energy positions. Republicans had a different view of the bill, however, and state party Chairman Ryan Call was one of many to issue a statement, blasting the signing. “It is clear that Gov. Hickenlooper and Sen. (John) Morse (the Democratic Senate president from Colorado Springs) are more concerned about appeasing radical environmentalists and the fringe of their party than doing what’s right for Colorado,” Call stated. “The law will raise the price of energy on everyone.” The governor said he considered vetoing the bill, and would have done so if the rate increase, which is capped at 2 percent, was not compounded. The assertion that this legislation will levy billions in costs to rural consumers is not borne out by the facts, he said. “For society to move forward, its people must look forward,” said Morse. “This bill will help stabilize the cost of electricity in the long run, create jobs and economic activity, and limit greenhouse gas emissions. These are all good things, and I am incredibly pleased to know we have taken another step toward national leadership in the clean energy field.” Attempts to reach representatives of IREA for comment were unsuccessful.
Illegal immigrants get access to licenses Three Democrats broke with party to oppose plan By Vic Vela
vvela@ourcoloradonews.com Undocumented immigrants living in Colorado will soon be able to obtain driver’s licenses under a bill that was recently signed into law by Gov. John Hickenlooper. Senate Bill 251 allows immigrants to apply for “separate category” types of stateissued IDs that can only be used for driving purposes. The licenses will indicate that the user is a non-citizen, and they will not be able to use the IDs to obtain benefits, board planes or register to vote. Hickenlooper and other supporters of the legislation, which was sponsored by Democrats Sen. Jessie Ulibarri of Commerce City and Rep. Jovan Melton of Aurora, argue that people who are here illegally are driving anyway, and that it’s in everyone’s best interest that they can do so lawfully. During the legislative process, bill supporters cited data from other states that
have similar laws, such as Utah and New Mexico. Statistics from those states indicate that the numbers of insured motorists rose substantially after the laws were enacted. “You’re gonna have to have a driver’s license that allows people to drive to get to work … to make sure they have insurance, make sure they can testify in an automobile accident (court hearing), but at same time identifies that they aren’t full citizens,” Hickenlooper told reporters on June 5, the day he signed the legislation. The law, which takes effect in August, requires those applying for these types of licenses to show certain forms of legal documentation, such as an ID from their native countries, and proof that they have filed state and federal income taxes. That’s in addition to standard driving tests. The bill did not garner a single Republican vote in the General Assembly. And three Democrats voted against the bill in the House of Representatives. Sen. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, said during an April 10 Senate committee hearing that he didn’t think the bill would make roads safer, and worried that more people would come to Colorado illegally for the driving privilege.
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