Energy cost concerns loom as legislators look at policy changes

By Greg Bishop | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Illinois legislators are set to begin the fall veto session Tuesday with some worried electric rate increases are on the horizon.

Both chambers are set to be in session Tuesday afternoon.

The transit fiscal cliff is still looming, though not as significant as what had previously been reported. There continues to be opposition to increasing taxes across the state to fund a cliff that’s ranged from $770 million to around $200 million.

Also on the docket is energy policy. A measure focused on more wind, solar and battery projects has had several hearings in both chambers.

Republican state Rep. Brad Halbrook recently told a House committee the rationale for the energy policy that could come up for consideration is not cutting it when it comes to high energy prices.

“We’ve seen this movie before,” Halbrook told a committee earlier this month. “We’ve heard these lines before that this is going to make it better, but yet every time legislation is passed, everybody’s energy bill goes up. And so, that’s why I’m a bit skeptical here about all of this stuff.”

Tuesday morning, the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules meets. That’s the legislative body that meets monthly to discuss state agency rule making. Last month, the bipartisan panel discussed Illinois Department of Corrections policies around scanning mail for prisoners.

IDOC Chief Operating Officer Justin Hammers said they’re working to prohibit illicit substances getting into prisoners’ hands.

“From the information we got from other states, you know, they did see a decrease in drugs in synthetics and things like that,” Hammers told JCAR members in September.

That issue is still on the body’s emergency rulemaking agenda.

Also meeting Tuesday morning is the monthly bipartisan Legislative Audit Commission where members have audits of two state agencies, Central Management Services and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, and Governors State University.

For the six scheduled days over three weeks, there are a slew of news conferences planned with several slated Tuesday ranging from advocates of alternative energy subsidies and abortion access, and a group of labor unions, community groups and others pushing for what they call “sustained and equitable revenue” for public services.