Dive Brief:
- Republicans in the Kansas House of Representatives may have picked up enough seats to end the state's renewable portfolio standard, the Wichita Eagle reports, and now advocates on both sides of the issue are gearing up for a fight in the new legislative session.
- Lawmakers in the state have tried to repeal the standard's before, voting twice this year and narrowly losing a vote to roll back the standard, which climbs to 15% in 2015 and 20% in 2020.
- House Republicans picked up five seats in the Kansas House, through election wins and Rep. Janice Pauls' decision to switch parties earlier this year.
Dive Insight:
Attempts to repeal Kansas' renewable portfolio standard failed in the state's House of Representatives twice this year, but the final tally was extremely close and the midterm election results may have given conservatives the votes they need.
In March the House rejected 44-77 a bill that the Senate had approved to repeal the RPS. Then a similar measure, to roll back the RPS one year later, failed to pass by only three votes. Supporters say the renewable portfolio standard encourages investment in clean energy in the state.
The Wichita Eagle reported the conservative Koch Brothers are behind the attempts at rolling back renewable standards in the state, and are continuing to pump money into the fight.
“Koch Industries was a member of a broad coalition opposed to the state’s RPS,” Mark Nichols, vice president of government and public affairs for Koch Companies Public Sector, told the newspaper.
