Government & Politics  April 27, 2007

NCLA asks Ritter for input on energy policy

Gov. Bill Ritter’s “New Energy Economy” agenda is charging through the state legislature, with a flurry of bills offered and some passed as the session draws to a close on May 9.

But an alliance of Northern Colorado chambers of commerce and economic development organizations is concerned that the region’s economy could end up being adversely affected by the frenetic pace. And the chairman of the Northern Colorado Legislative Alliance’s board of directors says he wants to make sure the region’s business interests aren’t left behind when the dust settles.

“What we’re looking for is a comprehensive strategy that takes into consideration the overall impacts (of the legislation) on the economy,´ said Doug Hill, who is also chief operations officer for McWhinney Enterprises in Loveland.

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“I think, much like the blue-ribbon panels for transportation funding and health care, a commission that has a good balance and can take a long-term view would be a good direction,´ said Hill, who expressed that sentiment in a letter to Ritter dated March 28.

The letter expresses support for some of the legislative proposals introduced during the session but adds a note of caution: “We are concerned about the potential for adverse impacts to our economy by passing numerous pieces of legislation without carefully examining the cumulative impact,” Hill wrote. “We are asking that a comprehensive energy strategy be developed with the input of stakeholders like us to ensure these measures become law as part of an overall plan.”

The NCLA is the joint public policy advocacy effort of the Fort Collins, Loveland and Greeley chambers of commerce and the Northern Colorado Economic Development Corp. and Upstate Colorado Economic Development.

Hill said the NCLA’s main concern is that a coherent energy policy emerges from the current legislative session. “As our letter indicates, it would be our preference that there was a comprehensive strategy developed instead of on a piecemeal basis.”

While he could not point to specific bills of concern, Hill said several measures target changes in the regulation of the oil and gas industry, which is a major economic contributor in Northern Colorado, especially Weld County.

Asked if he felt Ritter was ignoring business interests in his New Energy Economy, Hill said he had not yet seen any indication of that. “I think Gov. Ritter has tried very hard to be inclusive in his efforts,” he said.

Cause for concern

Denver-based Capitol Solutions acts as lobbyist for NCLA in the Colorado legislature. Founder Sandra Hagen Solin said the NCLA letter was intended to show Ritter its concern over so many bills coming through the Democrat-controlled legislative session.

“Individually, they’re not a concern,” she said. “It’s the aggregation of bills that gives us cause for concern.”

Solin said the NCLA, along with similar groups across Colorado, would like to join in a discussion that seeks a common direction on energy policy. “What we’re suggesting is that some sort of panel, commission or process is established to have a conversation about what Colorado’s policy is for energy development.

“We want to be a partner with the governor in carrying that out,” she said.

Solin acknowledges that it’s too late to organize a panel to have any impact on the current legislative session. But she said forming such a panel after the session ends could still have a positive impact on the state’s future.

“A post-session conversation that looks forward in terms of vision and backwards to see how those (adopted) bills fit into that vision is something we’d like to see happen,” she said.

Like Hill, Solin could not point to one particular bill that was viewed as adverse in its impact on Northern Colorado’s economy. However, she did mention House Bill 1341, which would change the makeup of the membership of the state’s oil and gas commission to give it a wider representation for all stakeholders, including agricultural and environmental interests. The bill was passed by the House on March 23 and sent to the Senate on March 29.

Regulatory overreach?

Solin called the change in commission membership “healthy” but noted that it’s the type of bill that makes the oil and gas industry nervous. “There has been concern expressed for the potential of regulatory overreach in terms of environmental impacts versus oil and gas development, which is so important to our region,” she said.

Solin said she doesn’t think Ritter’s new energy agenda is painting him as an environmental extremist or anti-business. “I think he’s sincere in seeing this as a new energy cluster for the state and a new economic engine,” she said. “We just want to be sure that we’re part of that (new energy) conversation.”

Tom Plant, newly appointed director of the Governor’s Energy Office, said he had not seen the NCLA letter – which was sent directly to Ritter – but noted that Ritter has consistently expressed an interest in promoting the state’s traditional and new energy resources, such as solar, wind, geothermal and biofuels.

“We’ve been very clear, every time he’s spoken about the energy economy, that we’re not 100 percent this way or that,” Plant said. “But we want alternative energy resources to be part of the overall mix.”

Plant said the governor has always tried to include business interests in all of his energy and economic policy initiatives. “One of the things the governor’s made a hallmark of his administration is having a diverse group of people to talk about the issue and getting a consensus upfront about what our vision will be,” he said.

Plant said he believes Ritter would be open to the possibility of setting up a panel to help plan future state energy policy and direction.

“Everything’s on the table,” he said. “I would say what will happen is when we get to that point there will be a very inclusive effort, which is the habit of this governor.”

Another topic for discussion will be climate change, Plant noted. “A big part of looking at an overall energy plan is how we can add climate change within our overall energy structure,” he said.

Gov. Bill Ritter’s “New Energy Economy” agenda is charging through the state legislature, with a flurry of bills offered and some passed as the session draws to a close on May 9.

But an alliance of Northern Colorado chambers of commerce and economic development organizations is concerned that the region’s economy could end up being adversely affected by the frenetic pace. And the chairman of the Northern Colorado Legislative Alliance’s board of directors says he wants to make sure the region’s business interests aren’t left behind when the dust settles.

“What we’re looking for is a comprehensive strategy that takes into consideration…

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