The Koch Brothers’ Dirty War on Solar Power
A seven-hour drive from Miami, four hours from Tampa and another three from Jacksonville, Tallahassee sits at a far remove from the watchful eyes of voters in Florida‘s biggest cities. The business of the state transacts in a tiny three-block district in the shadow of Florida’s modern Capitol building, a white 22-story tower flanked by a pair of low-slung domes that look – how to put this – happy to see you.
Florida is served by a part-time legislature. Lawmakers make less than $30,000 a year and are subject to strict term limits. The paltry pay and constant turnover combine to fill the capital with baby-faced lawmakers who run point on policy matters in which they have little expertise. Even Republicans say the model enhances the power of special interests. “Out in eight years?” says one GOP state representative, referring to term limits. “You’re giving more power to lobbyists.” Florida’s pay-to-play energy politics outrage honest conservatives. Nancy Argenziano is a 61-year-old firecracker of a politician with short dark hair and piercing eyes. She served as a GOP state legislator for more than 10 years. Until 2010, she chaired the state’s Public Service Commission (PSC) – the arm of the legislature that regulates Florida’s power companies. Argenziano is unsparing in her assessment: “The legislature is owned by the utilities. To me, it’s extremely corrupt. The legislature takes millions from utilities, who make billions from [the decisions of] the PSC. They get what they pay for.”
The utilities’ political reach even extends to the governor’s mansion, a stately brick building graced by a classical portico that – only in Florida – sits a 10th of a mile from a pawnshop where you can turn your gun into cash. Republican Gov. Rick Scott’s narrow 2014 re-election was financed by more than $1.1 million in contributions from the IOUs.
The governor did not respond to interview requests. But Scott has earned ridicule for allegedly banning state officials from using the terms “global warming” and “climate change.” Shortly after his re-election, he filled an open slot on the PSC with Jimmy Patronis, then-Florida state chair of ALEC, which fights renewable-energy mandates and climate regulations.
Bowing to the businesses the PSC is supposed to regulate, the commission recently scaled down Florida’s energy-efficiency mandates and terminated a modest rebate program for the private purchase of solar panels. “I don’t want to give handmaidens a bad name,” says state Rep. Dudley, “but they’re servants of the utility industry.”
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