Hartford Business Journal
by Brad Kane
While Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the Connecticut General Assembly fulfilled their promise not to raise taxes on businesses this legislative session, many clean energy firms felt blindsided by an attempted raid of the funds dedicated to helping their industry grow.
In the waning days of the legislative session last week, Malloy and key legislative leaders put forth their latest two-year, $38 billion state budget proposal that transferred $35.4 million from the Clean Energy Finance & Investment Authority and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative account to the general fund. This budget proposal was approved quickly by both legislative chambers.
“It is absurd, and it is a gimmick to divert electric customer funds to solve the state’s budgetary problems,” said Paul Michaud, executive director of the Hartford trade group Renewable Energy & Efficiency Business Association. “It is essentially a tax on electronic ratepayers.”
And in the waning hours of the session, the screams were heard. Read more …