HB 26.15 No Subsidies for Fossil Fuels Act

[Joseph Cao]

I can sponsor.

[Joseph Cao]

I suppose I am recognized as sponsor.

Anyway, this is a good common-sense bill. Continuing to subsidize the fossil fuel industry runs counter to the government's lip service to "supporting renewable energy," and it's time we moved forward and let the free market take its course.

EDIT: Wow, that was unreadable. To the two of you who had the misfortune to read this byproduct of sleep deprivation, my apologies.

[Joseph Cao]

Oh, blast. How did I miss this?!

All of this has been seen and I'll try to have a response to these concerns when I can think more clearly.

[Joseph Cao]

Poirot's suggestion is probably workable, and if anyone wants to write up an amendment based on some form of financial help given to lower-income households or households in areas where solar panels may not be the most appropriate or efficient form of renewables to switch to, I'd welcome it.

[Joseph Cao]

In the absence of a Comptroller General, OBD's figure is probably about as reasonable as we can go policy-wise. Seems like a good two-pronged strategy for keeping the proposal economically sustainable.

I may take a stab at writing up the amendment if I have time, but feel absolutely free to write up your own.

[Joseph Cao]

Thanks for the amendment. Happy to pass it for now, and if our new Comptroller General is confirmed I'll try to drop him a line and see what he thinks of this.

24 hours to object to this amendment.

[Joseph Cao]

Ted hasn't closed the amendment vote, so: by a vote of 5-1-0-3, the amendment is adopted.

Kind of see both sides on this one. If you are interested in reducing the deficit, though, getting rid of this seems like basically the perfect place to start

Ah yeah, budgetary concerns might play a role here. If necessary, I'm willing to cut out the renewable energy subsidies and a part of the energy cost subsidies if it's needed to balance the budget, though IDK where other reps stand on this.

Generally speaking, I think that would depend quite a bit on the state of our renewable-energy sector and whether it's currently in a position to transition to providing energy for millions of Atlasians who would previously have relied solely or primarily on fossil fuels. If they need the subsidies to support this transition, I'd opt for that but phase the subsidies out after a few years.

[Joseph Cao]

Aye.

[Joseph Cao]

Two representatives did not vote.