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Saturday, March 15, 2008
Sebelius energy veto looms
By JOHN HANNA
Associated Press Writer
TOPEKA (AP) -- Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and a top Republican legislator continue to squabble publicly about a bill allowing two coal-fired power plants as her expected veto draws near.
Sebelius said Friday that supporters of the bill, who also want to reduce the power of the state's top environmental regulator, are ''playing 'Let's Make a Deal''' in trying to build support for overriding a veto. She also accused them of holding legislation on other issues hostage.
House Speaker Melvin Neufeld, an Ingalls Republican, denied there's any trading and accused the governor of applying pressure herself to sustain a veto, something she denied.
Sebelius has until March 22 to decide whether to veto the bill, sign it or let it become law without her signature. She said she'll act next week and, ''I'm still looking for good features.''
''I know that there are folks traveling throughout the Capitol right now, going to individual legislators, saying, 'What do you need to change your vote?''' Sebelius said during a news conference. ''Tying up everything ends up being a way to play, 'Let's Make a Deal.'''
Neufeld himself fueled speculation last week about vote trading. After the House passed the energy bill, he told reporters that opponents would ''let me know what they want.''
He said some had budget issues, while others were seeking to have bills debated or blocked, and he concluded, ''That's how this place works.''
But he later said those remarks were misinterpreted, and on Friday, he said he's not doing any trading because, ''That's not what I do.''
''As far as trading votes, I have not told anybody that their bridge wouldn't be built. I have not told people that I'll work against them in the next election,'' Neufeld said, repeating allegations about Sebelius.
He added: ''there's nothing wrong with trading votes, but this issue is important enough we need to stay on the issue.''
Sebelius said she doesn't have many specifics about the pressure being applied by the bill's supporters. But she said others have confirmed ''legislator-to-legislator conversations.''
''I know that it has been suggested that I've been trading with legislators, and I just want to clarify that absolutely is not true,'' she said.
The bill is a response to a decision in October by Sebelius' health and environment secretary to deny an air-quality permit sought by Sunflower Electric Power Corp. The Hays-based utility wants to build the two coal-fired power plants outside Holcomb in Finney County.
The $3.6 billion project enjoys bipartisan legislative support, because many lawmakers see it as economic development and vital to meeting the state's future power needs.
But in rejecting the permit, Sebelius' secretary cited the plants' potential CO2 emissions and the scientists' concerns those greenhouse gases contribute to climate change.
The bill not only would allow Sunflower to build the plants but would limit the secretary's power to deny air-quality permits.
It also would prevent him from imposing new air-pollution rules stricter than the federal government's standards without legislative approval. That would prevent him from enacting limits on CO2, which many lawmakers oppose.
Supporters had more than the two-thirds majority to override a veto in the Senate, but they appeared to be short in the House.
When the session began, Sebelius and some allies worried legislation on the budget, health care and other issues would be held up to build pressure on the energy bill. Neufeld and other Republicans denied they had such plans.
''While there was discussion at the beginning of the session that things wouldn't be tied up to try to leverage votes on coal, that seems to be exactly what's happening,'' Sebelius said.
Neufeld replied that the House's debate calendar is ''clean'' and that committees have produced budget, immigration and health care bills.
''We've run everything that's come out of committee. We've not told the committees to hold anything up,'' he said. ''There's nothing being held up.''
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