EDITORIAL: St. Paul to Hutchinson

Minnesota’s lawmakers are considering interesting ideas at the Capitol. In our quest to bring readers updates on some of our favorite and not-so-favorite bills, here is a round-up of bills and our thoughts about each.

Renewable energy standard
Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed this bill into law after it passed the House and Senate. He called on lawmakers to pass two more environment bills. It requires Minnesota’s utilities to derive 25 percent, by 2025, of all electricity from renewable sources such as wind, hydro power, solar and methane and garbage burners from landfills.
Sen. Steve Dille, R-Dassel, voted yes and says Minnesota is already getting about 13 percent of its power from these sources. Rep. Ron Shimanski, R-Silver Lake, was one of only 13 lawmakers out of 200 in both the House and Senate to vote no because he said it puts too much pressure on the industry to produce 25 percent renewable energy at any cost, which will be passed on to consumers.
• The Leader supports the new law. It passed this year because Republicans and Democrats, along with Minnesota’s utilities, were included in its drafting. It is supported by an association of Minnesota’s 126 city-owned electric utilities, the governor and environment groups.

Freedom to Breathe Act
A statewide smoking ban is being considered in the House and Senate. It is going through many committees, and debate is great on both sides. Gov. Tim Pawlenty said he would sign a ban, but prefers exceptions for American Legion and VFW clubs.
• The Leader supports a statewide ban, but not the current language of the Freedom to Breathe Act because it does not override local bans. We’ve said before, the advantage of a statewide ban is fairness. Currently, smoking is banned on one side of Main Street in Eden Valley because it is in Meeker County. The other side of the street is in Wright County and allows smoking.