How ALEC plans to reshape U.S. energy policy in 2014

[kristopher]

How ALEC plans to reshape U.S. energy policy in 2014
By Ethan Howland
JANUARY 10, 2014

Who is ALEC?

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a corporate-funded conservative group that drafts model bills and policies for its legislative members to take back to their home states.

ALEC boasts nearly 2,000 state lawmakers as members, according to the group. Typically, ALEC lawmaker members introduce the group's model legislation and resolutions in their home legislatures. Identical ALEC bills sometimes pop up in different states around the country.

ALEC has turned its attention to electric utility issues in recent years. “The ever-increasing governmental control over energy supply, distribution, and use is threatening not only the nation’s prosperity but also individual liberty,” according to ALEC's 2014 Natural Resource Reserve, which lays out the group's model policies on energy, the environment and agriculture for this year....

More at: http://www.utilitydive.com/news/how-alec-plans-to-reshape-us-energy-policy-in-2014/213358/



ALEC documents linked in article:
Model policies on energy, environment, and agriculture
http://s3.amazonaws.com/dive_static/diveimages/ALEC_Natural-Resource-Reserve.pdf

2014 Proposed Model Bills
http://s3.amazonaws.com/dive_static/diveimages/ALEC_EEA_2013_SNPS_35_Day.pdf

[pscot]

1. The finest legislation money can buy.

Although ALEC model policies are templates for any state to use, each state is unique. Often times, ALEC model policies will need to be slightly modified to specifically address your state’s needs.

The ALEC staff has always proven to be a great resource for state legislators. Use them as your own staff and work with them to brainstorm new model policies. ALEC staff can also help you make sure that a particular ALEC model policy fits your state’s needs. They are passionate and motivated experts on public policy that can aid you in your difficult, yet rewarding, positions as state lawmakers.

[kristopher]

2. "Energy is one of the most important public policy topics in the country."

Energy is one of the most important public policy topics in the country. Energy is an input to everything we produce, consume, transport, and enjoy in society. Energy is embedded in every step along the way, from the extraction of a natural resource until the time a citizen enjoys the end product. When someone disposes of a product, they again use energy in the waste disposal and recycling processes. This means public policies that affect extraction, transportation, and use of energy affect every aspect of American life and are intricately tied to the standard of living of state citizens. The ever-increasing governmental control over energy supply, distribution, and use is threatening not only the nation’s prosperity but also individual liberty.
This section provides ALEC’s principles on energy policy and model policies that address electricity generation, resource use, federal-state relations, oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear, renewables, energy efficiency, and transportation fuels.

Their preamble from climate change sounds familiar, doesn't it?

Global Climate Change is Inevitable. Climate change is a historical phenomenon and the debate will continue on the significance of natural and anthropogenic contributions. ALEC will continue to monitor the issue and support the use of sound science to guide policy, but ALEC will also incorporate economic and political realism. Unilateral efforts by the United States or regions within the United States will not significantly decrease carbon emissions globally, and international efforts to decrease emissions have proven politically infeasible and unenforceable. Policy makers in most cases are not willing to inflict economic harm on their citizens with no real benefit. ALEC discourages impractical visionary goals that ignore economic reality, and that will not be met without serious consequences for worldwide standard of living.

Of course, by impractical visionary goals they mean renewables - fossil and nuclear are just fine. So I suppose that's why they're devoting so much energy to trying to kill off those pesky renewables - they are worried about climate change.

Both snips from: Model policies on energy, environment, and agriculture
http://s3.amazonaws.com/dive_static/diveimages/ALEC_Natural-Resource-Reserve.pdf