Senate weighs clean energy

ANNAPOLIS (AP) — Several bills aimed at reducing Maryland’s energy use and moving toward renewable energy sources are making halting progress in the legislature — despite nagging concerns that the measures could increase power bills for consumers already struggling to cope with a sour economy.

The Senate changed course yesterday and revived a bill that would direct money coming to Maryland through a regional cap-and-trade pollution agreement to alternative energy sources.

That bill appeared defeated a day earlier, with senators sinking the proposal amid complaints the pollution-settlement money — expected to total $140 million — should be refunded to consumers who paid it in the first place. After the bill was amended to clarify that some of the money would go back to electricity and gas customers, it was revived yesterday and appeared headed toward final approval by the end of the week.

In the House yesterday, lawmakers acted on three proposals with similar themes. One closely resembles the Senate pollution-credit bill. The other two already have cleared the Senate — a bill to reduce statewide energy use 15 percent by 2015, and a bill to boost the amount of energy Maryland gets from renewable sources such as wind power and animal waste.

Yesterday’s developments bring the legislature closer to adopting an energy package that moves Maryland away from fossil fuels, a top priority this year for Gov. Martin O’Malley, a Democrat.

“I think it’s pretty balanced,” Sen. Thomas M. Middleton said after the Senate’s action. Mr. Middleton, Charles Democrat, said that by the time the session ends Monday, the governor likely will get three bills that accomplish his goal of reducing future energy use.

However, the last few days of the session could see plenty of wrangling over how exactly those bills would work.

First, lawmakers can’t agree on how to spend the pollution credits. Some argue that money should be invested in clean-energy technology, saying the investment would pay off for consumers in the long run because overall energy costs could go down.

But that side has run into stiff opposition from lawmakers who say the money should be used to lower existing power bills. Critics also fear the bills, which include vague language about seeking clean-energy alternatives, could lead to higher gas and electric bills in the short run.

Republicans have argued this is not the time to spend money researching fuels for the future when consumers already need help paying their bills.

“They’re hurting at the gas pumps, and they’re hurting at the checkout line, and they’re hurting on their energy bills. They’re hurting,” the House Republican leader, Delegate Anthony J. O’Donnell, Southern Maryland Republican, said about power customers.

Addressing those concerns, the House yesterday unanimously adopted an amendment clarifying that if Maryland receives pollution payments of more than $140 million, every extra penny would go to consumers. State energy analysts doubt more money will come, but the provision helped alleviate concerns that the bill could have allowed much more money to be invested in alternative energy, not rate relief.

A separate bill requiring energy suppliers to do a better job disclosing efficiency measures is headed toward approval.

The House must give final approval to all three of those energy measures, and a vote is pending in the Senate, too. Also, lawmakers continue to wrangle with a global-warming bill that aims to slash carbon emissions, a measure supporters concede could drive up energy bills for consumers if power plants have to make expensive upgrades.

The various bills mean the final days of this session should be packed with negotiations over how to address energy use without laying the tab completely on ratepayers.

“We’ve got a ways to go,” Mr. Middleton said, but he predicted agreement can be reached before Monday. “I think the three bills pass pretty easily.”

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Makeup artists are closer to being free from state licensing requirements.

The House yesterday voted unanimously to waive licensing requirements for makeup artists working in salons. Already, the majority — the ones working at department-store makeup counters — are not required to get state licenses.

The measure has cleared the Senate and could be headed to the governor’s desk by the end of the week.

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A plan to require consumer counseling before some high-risk home loans are sold cleared a legislative hurdle yesterday.

The House signed off on a preliminary version of a bill to require short counseling sessions before borrowers sign for certain loans considered most risky, such as interest-only mortgages.

The bill is one of several that lawmakers are considering as they look for ways to address a spike in foreclosures.