Schwarzenegger empowers air board on renewable energy

Sac Bee ^ | 9/16/09 | Susan Ferriss

[NormsRevenge]

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an executive order Tuesday moving him closer to vetoing renewable energy regulations that the Legislature approved last week.

"It is terrible legislation," he said at a ceremony held at a Sacramento Municipal Utility District solar-energy farm in Rancho Cordova.

Schwarzenegger said he's "more than happy to sit down with legislators any time" to continue to talk about California's ambitious plans to cut use of fossil fuels.

The governor's order assigns the California State Air Resources Board – rather than legislators – the task of charting how utilities arrive at using at least 33 percent renewable energy by 2020 to generate electricity.

The governor hasn't received the legislators' bills yet. But he has vowed to veto them, describing them as a "job killer" and "protectionism at the highest level."

One of his objections is the 25 percent to 30 percent limit the bills set on renewable energy "credits" California utilities can purchase from out-of-state sources to comply with their renewable goal.

"Why can we get our water from the Colorado River, but we can't get renewable energy from outside the state?" the governor said.

[Carry_Okie]

"It is terrible legislation," he said at a ceremony held at a Sacramento Municipal Utility District solar-energy farm in Rancho Cordova.

Um, Arnold, you can veto it or sign it, because you are an executive. Substituting your own EO is ILLEGAL, because you are an executive. Got it?

[eyeamok]

Maybe it’s time for a Constitutional Amendment:

All monies an individual spends on Rent, Mortgage, utilities, Vehicles, Insurance, Food and Clothing, Shall be 100% deductible for Income Tax Purposes