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Republicans' New ROFR Bill Lacks Support
There doesn’t appear to be much support for the latest version of Wisconsin’s proposed utility construction overhaul.
Assembly Republican leaders on Tuesday announced a new plan to replace the Right of First Refusal. It’s called the Wisconsin Energy Reform Act.
Rep. Jerry O’Connor, R- Fond du Lac, is the lead sponsor.
“This is the most comprehensive energy reform package brought forward in Wisconsin in decades,” O’Connor said.
O'Connor added that the WERA plan adds extra steps for competitiveness that critics said the ROFR plan lacked, including new competitive bidding requirements for some of the billions-of-dollars worth of electric transmission and green energy projects coming to Wisconsin over the next several years.
“By instituting actual competitive bidding standards, we are poised to be a national leader in utility transmission practices," O'Connor said.
The changes are enough to win over at least one skeptic, Rep. Travis Tranel, R-Cuba City, said he's happy with farmland protections in the new plan.
But many other conservative Republicans are not.
"WERA is just ROFR with extra steps in that it takes that government-knows-best approach even further—imposing a maze of new regulations on energy developers, mandating farmland easements, and expanding state control over how and where we build, while removing any sort of sunset provision. It’s central planning in a different wrapper," Rep. Nate Gustafson, R-Fox Crossing, said Wednesday. "Those who support local control in any way should oppose both bills! Real reform means getting government out of the way—not writing more rules, carving out special deals, or micromanaging the energy sector from Madison."
There’s also opposition in the Wisconsin Senate. Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitwater, last week warned that ROFR didn’t have the votes. He also warned against cutting deals with Democrats.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said on Tuesday that he plans to bring the WERA for a vote by the end of the month.
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