Bill Schuette, Mike Cox and Conrad Mallett join forces to speak out against renewable energy proposal

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11/20/12 8:11 PM

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Bill Schuette, Mike Cox and Conrad Mallett join forces to speak out against renewable energy proposal
(http://connect.mlive.com/user/MelissaAnders/index.html) By Melissa Anders | manders@mlive.com (http://connect.mlive.com/user/MelissaAnders/posts.html) Email () | Print on September 20, 2012 at 2:22 PM, updated October 07, 2012 at 9:45 AM

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, former Attorney General Mike Cox and former Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Conrad Mallett Jr. urged voters to reject a constitutional amendment to increase the states renewable energy mandate. Schuette and Cox, both Republicans, joined Democrat Mallett in criticizing the ballot proposal, arguing energy policy shouldnt be locked into the constitution.

Courtesy photo | Nailah Ali

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, former Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Conrad Mallett Jr. and former Attorney General Mike Cox speak out against the 25 by 25 proposal at an event in Detroit on Thursday.

Theyre ignoring the legislative process; theyre skipping open, honest debate and instead are trying to airlift it into the constitution, Schuette said. Proposal 3 would amend the constitution to require Michigan electric utilities to derive at least 25 percent of their energy from clean renewable sources by 2025. It also calls for providers to limit rate increases to 1 percent per year to meet the standard. It would supersede a 2008 law that requires 10 percent of Michigans energy to come from renewable sources by 2015. Other states have used ballot initiatives to set renewable energy mandates, though none have amended the state constitution.
http://www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/09/schuette_cox_and_former_michig.html# Page 1 of 5

POST-ELECTION 2012

Bill Schuette, Mike Cox and Conrad Mallett join forces to speak out against renewable energy proposal | MLive.com

11/20/12 8:11 PM

Proposal backers Michigan Energy Michigan Jobs argues an increased renewable energy mandate would not pass the state legislature due to the clout and influence of the states big utility companies. "It looks like DTE and Consumers Energy (http://www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/07/consumers_energy_dte_energy_ea.html) have found their three stooges willing to protect the status quo and utility company profits at all costs," said group spokesman Mark Fisk, adding that they make the case for why the people should have a vote. What's next for Michigan? Schuette and Cox said it's nonsense, that a renewable standard couldn't pass the legislature because of utility companies, pointing to the success of the 10 percent mandate. Many people originally thought that bill wouldnt pass, Cox said. But there was lot of debate Cox said he and then-House Speaker Andy Dillon got into a public fight over it and through those legislative hearings they were able to arrive at a solid compromise. Mallett said he and others are concerned about the cost of meeting the mandate and where the infrastructure will be located. You cant make energy policy up on the back of an envelope, you cant shrink it down to a paragraph, he said. Michigan Energy Michigan Jobs says the proposal would create jobs and result in $10.3 billion in renewable energy investments. It would be up to the legislature to determine the details of how the mandate would be implemented.

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Bill Schuette, Mike Cox and Conrad Mallett join forces to speak out against renewable energy proposal | MLive.com

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Bill Schuette, Mike Cox and Conrad Mallett join forces to speak out against renewable energy proposal | MLive.com

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Bill Schuette, Mike Cox and Conrad Mallett join forces to speak out against renewable energy proposal | MLive.com

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