A grassroots initiative to put a solar power amendment on the November ballot in Florida failed to gather enough signatures. In the mean time, Koch brothers, Ralph Reed, and big utility, with the help from state legislature, put an alternative — Amendment 1— on the ballot. It is disguised as “Consumers for Smart Solar” but it is anything but:
Consumers for Smart Solar is a front group for organizations that have an interest in fossil fuels. If you take a look at the organization's campaign-finance filings, that's not such a far-fetched notion. The most recent reports indicate that nearly $300,000 of the $799,045 Consumers for Smart Solar has raised has come straight from some of the state's biggest utility companies: Duke Energy, Florida Power and Light, Gulf Power Company and Tampa Electric.
Another $125,000 came from disgraced lobbyist Ralph Reed's Florida Faith and Freedom Coalition. Reed, you may recall, helped mobilize Christians to assist another disgraced lobbyist, Jack Abramoff, who was sentenced in 2006 to six years in federal prison for mail fraud, tax evasion and attempting to bribe politicians. Another $100,000 was provided by the 60 Plus Association, which receives support and funding from the Koch brothers.
It barely survived a legal challenge. If it passes, then solar power customers may pay as much as twice the rate of other customers. Now the only chance to defeat it is via the ballot box.
according to a legal brief filed by the environmental group Earthjustice:
If passed by the voters, the utility-sponsored amendment would be a constitutional endorsement of the idea that rooftop solar users should pay higher utility bills than other customers. Solar users could end up paying twice as much as other customers pay to buy power from the utilities. This utility-sponsored amendment pretends to be pro-solar but is actually a disguised attempt to derail rooftop solar in Florida.
Environmental groups may try again to put a real solar initiative on the ballot in the next election. But before that happens, we need to make sure that the solar at least has a level playing field. We need to vote “No” on Amendment 1.