Senate rejects bill that would have given Burrillville voters veto power over power plant

PROVIDENCE – Contrary to the wishes of many Burrillville residents and some state lawmakers, a bill that would have given town voters the authority to decide on tax agreements between Town Council and a power plant died in the Senate on Wednesday.
The legislation, proposed in the Senate by Sen. Paul W. Fogarty, D-Glocester, was voted down in the Senate Judiciary Committee 7-2.
“I am very disappointed that the residents of Burrillville will be unable to vote on the tax treaty being secretly negotiated by the Burrillville Town Council,” Fogarty said in a statement following the vote. “This treaty, involving a future power plant, has the potential to tremendously alter the environment, economy and quality of life of the town. It’s my firm belief that the voters should have the final say in such a critical issue for the future of the town.”
The proposed legislation would have directly affected Invenergy Thermal Development LLC, a Chicago-based company, which is seeking state approval to build a new co-generation, natural-gas, 1,000-megawatt power plant in Burrillville. The company has called the legislation a “thinly veiled attack,” and warned against the precedents it represented for the town.
The House last week approved a companion bill, sponsored by Rep. Cale P. Keable, D-Burrillville, which evoked an outcry from the Burrillville Town Council. The council members called the bill “Ill-conceived” and revealed they had already been working on an agreement with Invenergy that would guarantee between $92 million and $180 million in tax payments to the town. Gov. Gina M. Raimondo later told Providence Business News through a spokeswoman she had “concerns about the signal this legislation sends about doing businesses in Rhode Island by modifying the rules in the middle of the Siting Board review process.”
Invenergy submitted its proposal for the power plant earlier this year, which is currently under consideration by the R.I. Energy Facility Siting Board. A decision is expected later this fall.
“I am profoundly disappointed the Senate Judiciary Committee voted down my legislation, which would give Burrillville self-determination and the right to vote on a tax treaty for a proposed gas-fracked power plant,” said Keable in a statement. “The Burrillville Town Council and the town manager continue to ignore the will of the people and play games with our town’s future. My legislation would have given Burrillville residents the opportunity to openly review and democratically decide whether or not to accept a power plant tax treaty. Instead the tax treaty will be negotiated and approved by a Republican Town Council who has already demonstrated that they don’t care about what the people think. This is a sad, sad day for democracy.”

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