The U.S. Senate Democrats pulled the plug on any comprehensive climate legislation capping greenhouse gas emissions today, Politico reports. The Senate may still pass a bill in response to the BP oil spill with other minor measures. The bill will neither cap emissions on manufacturers nor on utility companies only - a compromise that many thought may be possible before Congress' August break. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/40109.html.

Governor Ted Strickland signed into law Ohio Senate Bill 232, which eliminates Ohio's tangible personal property tax and real taxes on generation for renewable and advanced energy project facilities that begin construction before January 1, 2012, produce energy by 2013 (or 2017 for nuclear, clean coal and cogeneration projects) and create Ohio jobs. The bill allows companies that are seeking to build advanced energy generation facilities in Ohio to make an annual payment in lieu of taxes, thereby bringing Ohio's tax rates for these kinds of projects in line with surrounding states. More information on S.B. 232 is available here.

Governor Strickland and Ohio Department of Development Director Lisa Patt-McDaniel also announced the start of a new $6 million jobs program, the Energizing Careers Program, for training Ohio's workforce for green energy careers. The program--funded through a U.S. Department of Labor grant--will reimburse the cost of training up to $6,000 for full-time employees, with preferential project funding to companies located in the 44 Ohio counties impacted by the restructuring of the auto industry. A list of those counties is can be found here.

The state is now accepting requests for proposals from companies looking to train employees for green jobs. To obtain a copy of the request for proposal, visit the Governor's Workforce Policy Advisory Board website at www.ohioworkforceboard.org. The deadline for companies to submit their one-page project summaries and their proposals on the recovery.ohio.gov/opportunities/state/ website will be 4:00 p.m. on July 30, 2010.

From The Washington Post's Post Carbon blog, the Obama Administration is pushing for a slimmed-down energy and climate bill that the Senate will be more likely to pass. The report says that the White House wants Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to bring up a bill next month. The ultimate goal is to get a more modest bill through the Senate, negotiate and potentially expand its reach through the conference process with the broader House bill passed last year, and bring the full bill to a vote during this fall's lame-duck session of Congress, a timing strategy aimed at blunting the vote's political impact.

Bricker & Eckler has a batch of new material on its website regarding Ohio Senate Bill 232, enacted by the Ohio General Assembly last week, which will reform the tax code for renewable and advanced energy generators utilizing technologies such as wind, solar, co-generation and clean coal. For more information, visit: http://www.bricker.com/services/resource-details.aspx?resourceid=146.

With likely federal regulation of carbon dioxide emissions on the horizon, the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority approved grants at its May meeting of up to $3 million to study the suitability of Eastern Ohio’s geology for CO2 sequestration. OAQDA approved grants from its Ohio Coal Development Office program to Battelle Memorial Institute of up to $2.2 million, and to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources of up to $800,000.

Columbus Business First has an article detailing the Ohio General Assembly’s attempts to reconcile competing House and Senate bills that would rework the tax code for renewable energy projects. Governor Ted Strickland is pushing for a resolution before the legislature’s summer recess starts early this month.

The bills—S.B. 223 and H.B. 464—differ in several ways. S.B. 232, passed by the Senate in May, would apply the new tax treatment to advanced energy projects—such as nuclear power—as well as renewable projects, such as wind and solar. H.B. 464 applies only to wind and solar projects. Also different is the tax mechanism itself. S.B. 232 would apply a flat $7,000 per megawatt annual fee to eligible projects. H.B. 464 would apply an annual per megawatt fee starting at $6,000 based on the number of Ohio residents employed at a particular project. Additionally, S.B. 232 would give local county commissioners the right to deny, approve or change a project. H.B. 464 does not have a similar provision. The story can be found here (subscription required).

After much anticipation and a few missed deadlines, Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-DE) released details of their proposed cap-and-trade bill on May 12, 2010. Noticeably missing from the conversation was Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC), who played a large roll in crafting the legislation but has recently pulled back from its introduction over a fight with Senate Leadership on the handling of immigration issues on Capitol Hill.

The bill is substantially different from the “Waxman-Markey” bill introduced in the House of Representatives last year. The American Power Act, as Kerry and Lieberman have titled the bill, has a number of components that could affect the future of energy use and production in America if passed. Highlights include:

• Revenues from a cap-and-trade system will be dedicated to reducing the national debt and rebated to consumers.
• Manufacturers are exempted from carbon reductions until 2016 and after that period, carbon-heavy industries will receive allowances to offset compliance costs.
• A price collar will be implemented to set carbon prices at a fixed amount over inflation to help create predictability.
• Over $7 billion is dedicated to reducing dependence on foreign oil, including infrastructure investment and tax incentives for clean natural gas (CNG) vehicle conversion.

The bill also addresses nuclear power, CNG production, clean coal, and off-shore drilling. Increased production and encouraging innovation of these fuel sources are matched with increased safeguards and requirements.

According to Kerry and Lieberman, the bill will only affect the largest polluters (7,500 factories and power plants) – those who produce 25,000 tons of carbon or more annually. To find out what this bill could mean for your business or for more information, contact Greg Lestini, Bricker & Eckler LLP, 614-227-4893 or glestini@bricker.com.

In 2010, federal appellate courts will continue to engage in a lively debate about whether tort claims are a proper vehicle for bringing global warming and climate change within the jurisdiction of the federal courts.

Read more of this article on Bricker & Eckler's website

Despite private closed-door meetings between President Barack Obama, several U.S. Senators leaders in the private-sector, new climate bill language is not expected to be released until the week of April 19.  Billed as the Kerry-Graham-Lieberman bill, named for the three Senators from the Democratic, Republican, and Independent ideologies driving the discussion, the legislation is expected to include incentives for both sides of the isle.  Details are few and far between, but it is widely rumored that the language will include:

• A modified cap-and-trade-and-dividend hybrid that will incorporate ideas from both the trade and dividend models.
• Provisions for domestic off-shore drilling.
• Nuclear power incentives.
• Carbon tariffs on imports.

One of the meetings that was held included a Whitehouse meeting where Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown was asked to act as a liaison between the bill drafters and the manufacturing community.  Brown has been advocating for the manufacturer-friendly provisions from his "IMPACT" (http://brown.senate.gov/newsroom/press_releases/release/?id=A4FDD958-38EC-4AD0-BEE2-A5B346B97CBB) bill included in any climate legislation that is introduced.

As the United States Senate prepares to formally consider the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 next month, The Economist considers both the promise and concerns associated with the legislation for Ohio and the Midwest in an article today called Greening the Rustbelt http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14214855

After intense debate and many, many amendments, the American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454) cleared the House of Representatives on June 26, 2009. The biggest change came when the House Agriculture committee successfully negotiated a shift in lead regulatory control from the Environmental Protection Agency to the USDA. Click here to read the full bill (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:h2454:) 

(Source: New York Times - http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/06/24/24climatewire-house-dems-improve-climate-bills-chances-for-17335.html)

A breakdown of how Ohio's congressional delegation voted:
Aye OH-1 Driehaus, Steve [D] 
No OH-2 Schmidt, Jean [R] 
No OH-3 Turner, Michael [R] 
No OH-4 Jordan, Jim [R] 
No OH-5 Latta, Robert [R] 
No OH-6 Wilson, Charles [D] 
No OH-7 Austria, Steve [R] 
No OH-8 Boehner, John [R] 
Aye OH-9 Kaptur, Marcy [D] 
No OH-10 Kucinich, Dennis [D] 
Aye OH-11 Fudge, Marcia [D] 
No OH-12 Tiberi, Patrick [R] 
Aye OH-13 Sutton, Betty [D] 
No OH-14 LaTourette, Steven [R] 
Aye OH-15 Kilroy, Mary Jo [D] 
Aye OH-16 Boccieri, John [D] 
Aye OH-17 Ryan, Timothy [D] 
Aye OH-18 Space, Zachary [D] 

(Source: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=h2009-477)

The debate over Waxman-Markey this week focused on agricultural concerns and the voices of many Midwest congress people took center stage. The House Committee on Agriculture is still hearing the bill even though the Energy and Commerce Committee has already reported their version of the bill. The Majority Democrats on Agriculture expressed concerns about the influence the USEPA and are looking for the agency's removal from the bill. They asked for greater control by the USDA, but Director Vilsack was hesitant to support a wholesale change in regulatory authority, angering Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minnesota).

Meanwhile, Congressperson Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), expressed her concerns over the potential spike in energy costs. The Congressperson hails from First Energy's service territory where consumers pay some of the highest utility rates in the Country. Calling for "regional equity" Ms. Kaptur asked that a federal authority be created in Ohio similar to the Tennessee Valley Authority or the Bonneville Authority.

Talks continue in the House as Chairman Waxman pushes to meet his July 4th deadline.

Read more at E&E Publishing