~ Submitted by State Rep. Jeff Roy and State Sen. Mike Barrett
State Rep. Jeff Roy and State Senator Mike Barrett, chairs for their respective branches of a conference committee appointed to resolve differences between House and Senate versions of a new climate bill, announced today that a compromise has been reached.
An Act Driving Clean Energy and Offshore Wind preserves the central ideas of bills that each branch had passed separately. The compromise is expected to be filed Wednesday evening (July 20) and to come before each legislative branch for final approval as soon as Thursday, after which it will go to the Governor for his consideration.
The chairs issued the following joint statement:
“Massachusetts needs to open up huge new sources of green electric power if it’s to stay on course for reducing emissions. Today’s compromise aims to ramp up clean power, especially offshore wind but also solar, storage, and networked geothermal, and run it through cars, trucks, buses, and buildings, the biggest sources of emissions in the state.
“We thank President Biden for issuing a call to action to the entire country today,” the two continued. “Massachusetts legislators hear him, and we’re going all out.”