Instead of quickly fixing a typo, a legislator’s bill adds political trade-offs backed by the governor, a move that others find objectionable. By Kevin Miller, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story AUGUSTA—The political battle over the missing “and” continued Wednesday as lawmakers offered competing proposals to correct a one-word clerical error that could cost Read More
energy efficiency funding
Democrats & Republicans File Bills to Fix Efficiency ME Issue
by Don Carrigan WCSH-6 TV news story AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — There was more political squabbling in Augusta Wednesday over one word, accidentally left out of a bill passed by the Legislature two years ago. The omission of the word “and” from a critical sentence in the 2013 Omnibus Energy Bill led to a Read More
Lawmaker Unveils Plan to Fix Costly Energy Bill Typo
Omitted word cost Efficiency Maine $38 million WMTW-TV 8 news story AUGUSTA, Maine —A Republican lawmaker has unveiled his plan to fix a typo that cost a Maine energy program $38 million. State Rep. Ken Fredette, the House minority leader, was instrumental in the original passage of the energy bill. However, once that legislation made Read More
GOP: Fixing $36 Million Typo in Energy Bill is Not So Simple
By Christopher Cousins, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story AUGUSTA, Maine — Republican leaders said Monday that the case of the $36 million-a-year typo isn’t as simple as it seems, because current legislators might not agree with their predecessors who passed the original bill in 2013. “It isn’t as simple as just grabbing a Read More
Business Owners Push to Restore Efficiency Maine Funding
WCSH-6 TV news story AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — Business owners and energy experts gathered in Augusta Monday in the hopes of getting lawmakers to fix the omission of one little word that could reduce state funding to Efficiency Maine by $38 million. The bill, passed in 2013, was intended to provide money to Efficiency Read More
Mistake in Law Could Cost Mainers Millions
By Nakell Williams WABI-TV news story A typo left the word “and” out of a piece of legislation and that mistake could end up costing Mainers millions in higher energy bills. “It’s completely an accidental typographical error, but it’s now the law and so the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) made this decision based on their Read More
Mistake in Efficiency Law Will Cost Mainers $250 Million in Higher Energy Bills if Not Corrected Swiftly
Hundreds of Energy Jobs Also at Risk NRCM news release Augusta, ME —Businesses and energy experts gathered today to inform Mainers that a one-word typographical error in the omnibus energy law passed in 2013 will cost Maine energy consumers $250 million if not corrected by the Legislature or the Public Utilities Commission (PUC). The missing Read More
A Done Deal Gets Undone by PUC Efficiency Vote
The governor’s policy agenda is what drove the decision, not a missing word. By The Editorial Board Portland Press Herald editorial Let’s be clear: This is not about a missing word. When the Maine Public Utilities Commission voted 2-1 last week to slash a scheduled increase in the budget for energy-efficiency projects, the commissioners were Read More
Lawmakers Should Fix the Missing ‘And’ So Energy Efficiency Work is Not Cut Back
By The BDN Editorial Board Bangor Daily News editorial At $12 million per letter, a missing “and” in a state law has proven an expensive error now that the state Public Utilities Commission used inadvertently flawed statutory language to cut funding for Maine’s energy efficiency work by $36 million. The PUC earlier this week took Read More
