Birmingham, Alabama (Platts)--22Aug2011/150 pm EDT/1750 GMT
The chairman of the New Jersey Assembly's environment committee said he will attempt to secure enough votes in the state legislature to override Governor Chris Christie's Friday veto of a bill that would have required New Jersey to remain a member of a multi-state group designed to cut CO2 emissions. Christie, a Republican, in May said New Jersey would pull out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a 10-state cap-and-trade program, by the end of the year. After the announcement, state lawmakers passed bills that found the governor's decision violated the intent of the legislature and would have required New Jersey to remain a member of RGGI. Christie vetoed the bill late Friday calling it a "political response" to his decision to withdraw from RGGI. While Christie said he does not argue with the science of global warming, he does not believe RGGI is an effective mechanism for addressing the problem. Article continues below... Request a free trial of: Electric Power Daily Electric Power Daily delivers a complete account of North American power industry news. It features federal and state policy, regulation, crucial environmental issues, generation and transmission projects, mergers and acquisitions, and much more.
The chairman of the New Jersey Assembly's environment committee said he will attempt to secure enough votes in the state legislature to override Governor Chris Christie's Friday veto of a bill that would have required New Jersey to remain a member of a multi-state group designed to cut CO2 emissions. Christie, a Republican, in May said New Jersey would pull out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a 10-state cap-and-trade program, by the end of the year. After the announcement, state lawmakers passed bills that found the governor's decision violated the intent of the legislature and would have required New Jersey to remain a member of RGGI. Christie vetoed the bill late Friday calling it a "political response" to his decision to withdraw from RGGI. While Christie said he does not argue with the science of global warming, he does not believe RGGI is an effective mechanism for addressing the problem.
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Electric Power Daily delivers a complete account of North American power industry news. It features federal and state policy, regulation, crucial environmental issues, generation and transmission projects, mergers and acquisitions, and much more.
Assemblyman John McKeon, a Democrat and chairman of the Environment and Solid Waste Committee, on Saturday said he would work with members of the legislature from both parties to gather the votes to override the veto. "We are at the apex of progress. We must stand up and fight to protect our environmental and clean energy economy from the shortsighted decision by Governor Christie to pull New Jersey out of RGGI," McKeon said in a statement. Although Democrats control the New Jersey Assembly and Senate, they would need some Republican support to have enough votes to override a veto. --Mary Powers, newsdesk@platts.com