Thank you for having me.  We're still working hard, and held an energy work group meeting yesterday that had about 150 people at it as we try to finalize some new energy legislation here in the State.  Energy is very important right now, but is not gaining a lot of attention outside of Lansing because it is being eclipsed by our poor economy.  As people realize how the two issues are intertwined it will get a lot more attention.

There are TWO big issues I was hoping to pick your brain about, one on that issue in particular.

There is a big alternative energy discussion going on around the Capitol these days.  It looks like the Governor had an epiphany and decided now, in 2008, six years after she was first elected that alternative energy is important.  I guess, first things first, why is it important?

Alternative energy is critically important for many reasons.  We just have to make sure we do it right.  It's about more than just cost and pollution.  You can't look at alternative energy without also looking at energy independence and energy security.

Nationally, we can't continue to rely on foreign oil.  We have to become more self reliant.  This means more oil and natural gas here at home, which we have to do to try to keep energy costs down and readily available in case our sources in South America or the middle east become more unstable.  But it also means branching out more into wind, solar, hydrogen and biomass as well.  The more we can diversify the better.  And we have to take greater advantage of net metering, so that business and people can save money an dmake themselves more energy reliant on their own.

Here in Michigan, we have to also recognize that since we're a peninsula we are also somewhat of a bottleneck when it comes to the grid.  We therefore can't continue to just import energy created in other states without exposing ourselves to a lot of risk and pricing uncertainty.  We have an opportunity to lead the Country again in an area, and we will create more jobs in Michigan as a result of alternative energy.  But we also of course have to do it right and look for areas of synergy and competitive advantage.  

Right now I am trying to remove barriers that are keeping an IGCC energy plant out of Michigan that would not only create energy in a cleaner manner but that would ultimately also help to recover much of Michigan's stranded oil reserves.  This would combine meeting our energy needs with many of the goals of conservation and energy independence at the same time.

The last batch of legislation the House Democrats were pushing included a monopolization of the energy industry and an $8 billion tax hike over the next 20 years but you're a key negotiator for the Republican side of things.  So where do we stand right now?

Right now I am on the energy efficiency subgroup, but that has been tie-barred to renewable energy standards and potential changes to PA 141.  PA 141 determines how much competition the utilities have in the State, and overlapping that issue, we have reports saying we will need more energy in the near future.  Given the lag time of constructing these plants, many feel we need to start that process now.  We are hearing two sides to this story.  One is the financers who say they are reluctant to help finance new power plants that the utilities are proposing without Michigan somehow first changing PA 141 to help guarantee a return on investment by assuring that the utilities can sell all their additional power.  

On the other hand, we have other power companies who seem to be willing to step into the current environment and start building new plants today, but they won't be able to do that if the utilities are returned to a stronger monopoly status through changes to PA 141.  And there are enough customers who have benefited from these independent power companies from an energy price standpoint that want to be able to continue to use other energy sources and not use the utilities.

I understand both positions, but at the end of the day you can't turn to a business or a school or a family and say that you are taking that choice away.  Nationally it looks like the market is determining that the cost of energy is going to go up no matter what we do, but in my opinion we can make it much worse by taking away choices and locking into only a few producers.

Another big issue for you in the last few weeks was the "sunshine" legislation.  Can you tell us about those bills, what they are, and why they're important?

There have been federal law changes requiring that more fiscal data be made available to taxpayers on the web, and we can emulate that at a State level.  There are some areas where we are doing a very good job with e-government in Michigan, but if you look at taxspending data and how they are making that available in other states such as Missouri, you can see that we can still do a lot more.  People want to see where their tax dollars are being spent, and I think this is a good way to make it easier for people to find data, data they might otherwise not even know existed.

Everybody has time to surf the next, but not everyone has the time to send in FOIA requests on issues they know little about.

And those efforts got closer to becoming law last week, right?

They did get closer, and got added on as amendments that passed in the House.  I wouldn't characterize them as being completely out of the woods yet, however.  But I think we can get them there.

Do you expect the Governor to sign the bills they're attached to?  And if she does, how soon before we see something up and running?

That is not a question I have asked her, but I do see this as bi-partisan.  Representative Hoogendyk and I were talking about this issue a few weeks back and he pointed out that when he, Ralph Nader and Mike Cox can agree on something it is usually good government.  I think both the right and left will come together on this issue, maybe even for different reasons, but the end result will be the same.

I know I said there were two things I wanted to cover but I'd be remiss if I didn't grab your opinion on one more topic here... We just heard from Representative Elsenheimer that he's not going to be seeking reelection and with Minority Leader DeRoche termed out there's suddenly a wide open race for the caucus leadership position next term.

Do you have any early insights into the field of candidates?  The favorites?  The dark horses?  Your preference?  And what might be important in a potential caucus leader?

Well, this was certainly sudden and unexpected news.  I know personally I was looking forward to Representative Elsenheimer in a strong caucus leadership position next year.  I am sure there will be a lot of rumors going around about peoples' choices but one area of strong agreement I have had in talking to people is that we as a caucus don't want this to become a distraction as we concentrate on moving our agenda to turn the economy around and winning back seats this fall.  We will have a lot of good choices to choose from, people who I think will be skilled in being able to avoid gridlock without compromising principles or the needs of the people of the State.

Is there anything else YOU would like to cover before I let you go?

That's the type of open ended question that could leave us here for more than a few hours.  Between the problems with property taxes, the job market and peoples' confidence in government, Michigan is really at a crossroads.  I think the biggest challenge comes in addressing these major issues, but also not letting other issues fall through the cracks.  I feel very strongly that addressing the economy is issue number one by a mile, but if we don't keep our vigilance up on other things we are not doing our jobs as legislators.  We are a full time legislature and we have to stop procrastinating.  And we have to be able to walk, talk and chew gum at the same time.

This is especially true when it comes to safeguarding the Constitution and the God given rights we have here in the United States.  We can't afford to become complacent, or to become victims of our past success.  

As a free country there are many issues dealing with both our national and state sovereignty that other states are taking a real lead on, and we are somewhat standing on the sidelines.  We need to help create an environment here in Michigan where the economy and jobs can thrive, but we have to look at many of the issues that Presidential candidates brought up during the campaign, that look at where we are headed as a Country.  Otherwise we're going to emerge from our economic doldrums here in Michigan and ask ourselves "what happened?"

This is the greatest Country on Earth, and we're not allowed too many "do overs."  We can't afford to have the United Nations, international courts or the SPP making internal domestic decisions for us.

Representative, thanks again for the time.

Thank you.