In NJ, two big Irish guys with alpha-dog personalities

For a Democratic governor with a Democratic Legislature, Murphy’s first few weeks at the helm have not been smooth sailing

NJ Senate President Steve Sweeney and Gov. Phil Murphy

Chase Brush reports
for NJ Spotlight:


For Democrats in the state, Gov. Phil Murphy’s election last year marked the beginning of a new era in New Jersey politics, one in which the party — now in control of both the Legislature and the executive branch — would be free to move forward on a range of policy initiatives, many of which had been previously kept out of reach by two-term Republican Gov. Chris Christie.


But that long-awaited unification has not come without its fair share of growing pains. Over a month into a new year and a few weeks into a new administration, relations between lawmakers and Murphy’s team have not been as bright as some would like them, with tensions evident on several pressing legislative fronts, from a collection of still-pending cabinet appointments to questions about how to handle the state’s increasing tax burden. Some reports also point to deep infighting among Murphy’s senior staff and members of the Legislature.


Together, the accounts challenge the assumption that all would be well as soon as Murphy took office.


“You would’ve thought the last governor was Democrat and vice versa,” said one Democratic source about the current culture in Trenton.


To hear some lawmakers and observers tell it, the main battle is playing out between Murphy and Senate President Steve Sweeney, two outsized personalities and almost competitors for the gubernatorial post that now find themselves wary partners at the top of state government. Despite certain similarities, both seem to be intent on exercising the full power of their respective positions — a dynamic that, at least in these early stages, has kept them somewhat at odds.


“Listen, they’re two big Irish guys with alpha-dog personalities,” said Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, acknowledging at least some stress between the leaders. “One gets to sign, and the other gets to send him legislation.”


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PSEG nuclear subsidy bill encounters more resistance

PSEG Nuclear’s Salem Creek nuclear power plant


By Frank Brill
EnviroPolitics Editor


If you wondered why New Jersey’s largest utility, Public Service Electric and Gas (PSEG), risked the criticism it received for trying to slip its big, nuclear bail-out bill through the state legislature during he waning days of the recent lame duck session, now you know. The more exposure the bill receives, the harder it is to pass.


Environmentalists and large-power users like chemical manufacturers rebelled against the legislation even before it was introduced. They knew that Senate President Steve Sweeney, the bill’s prime sponsor, would try to rush the high-cost measure through in the final days of the recently concluded session, when a glut of bills would be up for votes and attention spans would be short.   


That strategy likely would have worked had incoming Gov. Phil Murphy not started to suggest changes including concessions to environmentalists. 


The bill stalled, was re-worked for the new session–and has been changed again since its reintroduction. But the opposition continues to grow and the measure was pulled from a committee agenda yesterday.     

“Every time this nuclear subsidy bill is held or discussed in a meeting, it gets worse,” said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “Each day it gets worse and more expensive.”

Prediction: Considering the combined political power of the senate president and PSEG, the bill will be back in committee soon and eventually will end up on Gov. Murphy’s desk. 

Tom Johnson, who has been covering the story from the beginning, has the latest today in NJSpotlight: Still a work in progress, nuclear subsidy bill held in committee

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New enviro bills introduced in the NJ Senate today

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Amended nuclear subsidy bill could cost $4B over 15 years


Legislation includes money for solar and energy efficiency — and boosting carbon-free electricity — at ‘huge cost,’ says rate counsel

Tom Johnson reports for NJ Spotlight: 

bob smith

New Jersey State Senator Bob Smith
Sen. Bob Smith called it greener than Ireland – a bill that aims to bolster a thriving solar sector, enhance state efforts to cut energy use, and promote carbon-free electricity that powers more than 40 percent of New Jersey homes and businesses.
But the legislation (S-877) also may be one of the costliest measures taken up by lawmakers, a bill that when the tallying is done 15 years from now could end up costing utility customers more than $4 billion, according to an economic analysis for the New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel.
“It’s a huge cost and whatever we spend here, it means we are going to have less to spend on other things,” said Stefanie Brand, director of the division, and an opponent of the nuclear subsidy. Brand will outline the results of the economic analysis today in Trenton, where the Senate Budget Committee is scheduled to vote on the legislation.

**Editor’s Note: The bill was pulled from the Senate Budget Committee’s agenda prior to the start of today’s meeting**


Totaling up the subsidies

The analysis projects the exposure to ratepayers, offering a scenario estimating the $3.4 billion cost of the nuclear subsidy over a 10-year period, as well as the added $958 million costs ratepayers could assume by expanding subsidies for the solar sector from 2018 until 2033 under other provisions in the bill.
The $3.4 billion factors in the direct costs associated with the nuclear subsidy paid by ratepayers of all the electric utilities in the state and indirect costs associated with money customers will not have to spend because of less disposable income, according to Brand.
The nuclear subsidies are not guaranteed, but must be approved after going through a review process by the state Board of Public Utilities.
In the meantime, the debate over the bill hinges on policymakers trying to juggle and understand the vagaries of the competitive energy markets, a world New Jersey entered back in 1990 when it broke up its energy monopolies
Perhaps more than anything else, however, the controversy revolving around the bill centers on whether the three nuclear units expected to benefit from the measure are in such dire straits ratepayers may pay $300 million a year to keep them open.

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Marijuana’s sober cousin — hemp — gets a boost in N.J.


Susan K. Livio reports for NJ.com:


The hardy Hemp plant for centuries was used to make clothing, rope, bath products and paper — until the federal government strictly regulated it 71 years ago, then banned it in 1970 along with its genetic relative, marijuana.
It was a bad rap for hemp because consuming it will not get anyone high, state Assemblyman Reed Gusciora D-Mercer told the Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee Thursday. Hemp contains only trace amounts of weed’s psychoactive compound, tetrahydrocannabinol.
“To allay anyone’s fears, (hemp) is the cousin of marijuana, but it absolutely has no psychotropic value,” Gusciora said.
The committee approved Gusciora’s bill (A1330), which would give the Attorney General’s Office and the Department of Agriculture the authority to license hemp farmers. New Jersey would join the 15 states that already permit licensed hemp cultivation, he said. 
Gusciora first sponsored a hemp farming bill in 2012, but it withered and died. Gusciora said Democratic leaders knew then-Gov. Chris Christie would never sign it into law because of his antipathy toward marijuana legalization. 
Although pot has hurt hemp’s reputation historically, Gusciora said he hopes Gov. Phil Murphy‘s desire to legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older finally will give hemp a chance. 
“Giving New Jersey farmers the right to compete this industry — which is worth about half a billion dollars in the United States — starts with this common-sense legislation. New Jersey has lagged behind on providing economic opportunity to our robust farming industry,” Gusciora, one of the prime sponsor of a marijuana legalization bill, said following the committee hearing.
“The growth of hemp will ignite manufacturing opportunity of numerous products within our state, providing well-paying jobs and new opportunities for businesses to expand and develop.”

Hemp also could provide a “parallel” opportunity for farmers should the state legalize marijuana, Gusciora said. Agricultural schools could capitalize on research opportunities, he added.

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Oyster Creek nuke plant in NJ to close a year earlier


Wayne Parry reports for the Associated Press:


The oldest nuclear power plant in the United States will shut down in October, more than a year ahead of schedule.


Chicago-based Exelon Generation says the Oyster Creek plant in Lacey Township, New Jersey, will close this fall. It had a deadline of Dec. 31, 2019, under an agreement with state authorities.


The company says it is becoming too costly to operate the plant amid low power prices. In a release announcing the early shutdown, Exelon said the new timetable will help it “better manage resources as fuel and maintenance costs continue to rise amid historically low power prices.”


Bryan Hanson, Exelon’s president and chief nuclear officer, said the company will offer jobs to all 500 Oyster Creek workers elsewhere in the company.


“I want to thank the thousands of men and women who helped operate Oyster Creek Generating Station safely for the past half-century, providing generations of New Jersey families and businesses with clean, reliable electricity,” he said. “We thank our neighbors for the privilege of allowing us to serve New Jersey for almost 50 years.”


Oyster Creek went online Dec. 1, 1969, the same day as the Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating Station near Oswego, New York.


But Oyster Creek’s original license was granted first, making it the oldest of the nation’s commercial nuclear reactors that are still operating.


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