The bill that prompted the wind industry to predict lawsuits against the state of Oklahoma won approval Wednesday in the state House of Representatives.
Senate Bill 888, which calls for a cap on tax credits to wind farm operations was approved on a vote of 51 to 46. Officially, the bill, if passed by the Senate and signed into law by the governor will end the ability of tax credits generated by the zero-emission facilities electricity production tax credit to be refundable at 85 percent of the value on or after January 1, 2019.
Mark Yates, Oklahoma Director of the Wind Coalition had claimed it would lead to lawsuits filed by wind farm operators because the state had reneged on deals and promises it made to attract them to Oklahoma. He had also predicted if the measure were to become law, it might lead to some wind operations failing in the state and thus harming school districts that had become reliant on the ad valorem tax revenue from the wind farms.
Yates and some school districts in the more than two dozen counties where wind farms are located joined forces earlier in the legislative session to fight SB888. He and some education leaders noted that several school districts moved forward with school bond issues based on the increased tax revenue from the wind farms.
Some political observers contend the anti-wind bill was pushed by legislators in response to threats from oil and gas groups to cut their campaign spending because the state’s gross production tax was increased this session. The strong push to end the refundability for wind farm operations came as legislators reportedly were attempting to soothe bumpy relations with the oil and gas groups.
Who voted for the measure in the House and who voted against it?
Here is a list from the House of Representatives website:
YEAS: 51
Bennett (J) Frix McDugle Sears
Calvey Gann Moore Strohm
Casey Hall Mulready Taylor
Cleveland Henke Murphey Teague
Coody Hilbert Nollan Thomsen
Derby Humphrey O’Donnell Wallace
Downing Kannady Ortega Watson
Dunlap Kerbs Osburn (M) West (J)
Echols Lawson Ownbey West (K)
Enns Lepak Ritze West (R)
Faught Martinez Roberts (D) West (T)
Ford (Roger) McBride Roberts (S) Mr.Speaker
Ford (Ross) McDaniel Rogers
NAYS: 46
Babinec Fourkiller Meredith Sanders
Baker Gaddis Montgomery Stone
Bennett (F) Goodwin Munson Tadlock
Blancett Griffith Newton Vaughan
Boles Hardin Nichols Virgin
Bush Hoskin Osborn (L) Walke
Cannaday Inman Park Williams
Cockroft Kouplen Pfeiffer Worthen
Condit Loring Proctor Wright
Dollens Lowe Renegar Young
Dunnington McEachin Rosecrants
Fetgatter McEntire Russ
EXCUSED: 2
Caldwell Perryman
CONSTITUTIONAL PRIVILEGE: 1
Jordan