RINO..
Via WOHIO:
Ohio Gov. John Kasich on Tuesday vetoed a controversial bill that would have made renewable energy benchmarks voluntary instead of mandatory for the next two years, saying the change would mark a step backward for the state.
The governor said in his veto message that a wide range of energy options makes Ohio attractive to businesses and helps businesses and residents reduce their utility bills.
“Ohio workers cannot afford to take a step backward from the economic gains that we have made in recent years, however, and arbitrarily limiting Ohio’s energy generation options amounts to self-inflicted damage to both our state’s near and long-term economic competitiveness,” he said.
The veto drew immediate applause from the National Wildlife Federation, the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel, National Audubon Society, Sierra Club and others. The benchmarks, set by legislation passed in 2008, require electric companies to gradually acquire more energy from renewable sources.
The veto drew a rebuke from state Sen. Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati, who opposes the energy mandates. Seitz promised to strive for a full repeal of the mandates next legislative session.
“It is apparent that Gov. Kasich cares more about appeasing his coastal elite friends in the renewable energy business than he does about the millions of Ohioans who decisively rejected this ideology when they voted for President-elect Trump,” Seitz said in a written release. “We can only hope that President Trump and his amazing cabinet of free market capitalists will save us from this regulatory overreach of Al Gore-style policies that take unnecessary money out of ratepayers’ pockets.”