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Wednesday, February 28th, was “crossover day” in the Legislature, meaning that all bills had to be passed out of their house of origin or they would not be considered this Session. This year’s Regular Session will end next Saturday evening at midnight with the budget session to continue through the next week.
In the Senate:
As of 4:00 p.m., Wednesday, February 29, 2012, the 50th day of the 80th Legislature’s 2nd Regular Session, 174 bills had passed the Senate and will move on to the House for further consideration.
In the House:
As of 4:00 p.m., Wednesday, February 29, 2012, the 50th day of the 80th Legislature’s 2nd Regular Session, 1,348 bills had been introduced in the House. Of those, 120 have passed the House and have moved on to the Senate for further consideration.
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Humans are strange, thrill-seeking creatures. We crave not just a thrill, but something so terrifying that we think, if only for a moment, that we might not actually survive. For those of us not ready for base jumping in wing suits, roller coasters can fulfill that excitement lust. And the amusement park fixtures may never have existed if not for something decidedly unthrilling (though important!): coal mining.
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By Hans A. von Spakovsky
A number of states have joined with industry organizations to challenge new rules from the Environmental Protection Agency on the grounds that they run contrary to the Clean Air Act. Oral arguments began on February 28 before D.C.’s Court of Appeals.
Previous cases have not gone so well. In 2007, in Massachusetts v. EPA, the Supreme Court affirmed the EPA’s authority to regulate carbon dioxide as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act. And last year, the Court unanimously threw out a lawsuit, American Electric Power Co. v. Connecticut, that was brought by eight states. In its decision, the court held that neither states nor private parties could bring a global-warming claim under the federal common-law theory of “public nuisance” because the EPA held authority over this issue. That decision leaves all such regulation solely in the hands of the EPA and threatens the right of plaintiffs even to appeal its decisions.
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As recent reports have noted, gasoline prices are on course to hit $4 a gallon by summertime — more than doubling since President Obama took office in January 2009 and marking a record high for February.
Higher prices at the gas pump hurt families and small businesses in Missouri and nationwide, delaying much-needed job creation and threatening our economic recovery.
Unfortunately, the Obama administration recently brushed off Americans’ concern over rising gas prices as a product of media hysteria that occurs every year as we head into peak driving season in the summer months. The reality is that people are feeling the consequences of the administration’s hostility to increased domestic energy production in the form of pain at the pump.
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By Joel Kotkin, for the Daily Beast
The divide between the fossil-fuel industry and the green movement is increasingly dividing the country by region, class, and culture.
With gas prices beginning their summer spike to what could be record highs, President Obama in recent days has gone out of his way to sound reassuring on energy, seeming to approve an oil pipeline to Oklahoma this week after earlier approving leases for drilling in Alaska. Yet few in the energy industry trust the administration’s commitment to expanding the nation’s conventional energy supplies given his strong ties to the powerful green movement, which opposes the fossil-fuel industry in a split that’s increasingly dividing the country by region, class, and culture.
But Republicans, other than the increasingly irrelevant Newt Gingrich, have failed to capitalize on the potent issue, instead lending the president an unwitting assist by focusing the primary fight on vague economic plans and sex-related side issues like abortion, gay marriage, and contraception. The GOP may be winning over the College of Cardinals, but it is squandering its chance of gaining a majority in the Electoral College, holding the House, and taking the Senate.
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San Diego Union-Tribune
When it comes to evaluating President Barack Obama and the continuing surge in the cost of gasoline, a fair starting point is what administration officials have said on the topic. It is a matter of record that Energy Secretary Stephen Chu used to say that “we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe” – which are about double the U.S. level. While Chu disowned his comments before taking office, his policy prescriptions didn’t change.
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By: Phil Taylor, E&E Reporter
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar today suggested he may not fully merge the Office of Surface Mining with the Bureau of Land Management, a sign the department is backtracking on plans announced in October.
"I think at the end of the day, there is going to continue [to be] a separate OSM and a separate BLM," Salazar told reporters after a budget hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
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Wednesday, February 29th, is “crossover day”, when all bills must be passed by their house of origin if they are to remain active and leading to full legislative approval.
SB 579, the “Special Reclamation Tax” bill was approved by the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday and will be on second reading in the Senate on Friday. The House counterpart bill, HB 4519, was reported out of House Judiciary on Wednesday and is in House Finance as a second reference.
SB 429, will expand the definition of Class A vehicles to include larger pickup type trucks registered at more than 8,000 pounds but no more than 10,000 pounds. This change would allow these vehicles to display special license plates, like the Friends of Coal plate, and allow sheriffs to renew these registrations in their offices. It has passed the Senate and is pending in the House Judiciary Committee.
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The Indiana Coal Council has requested, and been granted, the use of the Friends of Coal logo for the issuance of a state license plate.
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