FAYETTEVILLE — City Council members could take a stance next week on a federal proposal aimed at combating climate change.
A resolution sponsored by Sarah Marsh, Ward 1 alderwoman, would voice the council’s support for a U.S. Senate bill called the Climate Protection Act of 2013.
At A Glance
Council Agenda
Fayetteville’s City Council will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The agenda includes:
• Approve buying seven Chevrolet Tahoes for the Police Department from George Nunnally Chevrolet of Bentonville.
• A $1.4 million contract with Boulder Construction of Fayetteville for a half-mile extension to the Frisco Trail. The Walton Family Foundation has committed nearly 90 percent of the money for construction as part of the Razorback Regional Greenway.
Source: Staff Report
The bill, introduced in February by Sens. Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., would impose a fee on companies manufacturing or importing products using fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas or petroleum. The idea has been dubbed a “cap and dividend” system.
Some of the money collected by the federal government would be distributed to citizens based on their energy consumption. Money would also go toward research; subsidies for solar, wind and geothermal energy projects; weatherization assistance for low-income residents; and renewable energy training for fossil fuel industry employees.
The bill would force hydraulic fracturing companies to disclose chemicals used to extract natural gas from the earth. It would also set a national target for reducing greenhouse emissions by 80 percent by 2050.
Opponents of the bill have criticized its potential for increasing consumers’ utility bills and the cost of doing business for companies relying on fossil fuels. Political analysts have said the bill won’t clear Congress.
“It has pretty much zero chance of passing in the Senate and negative chance of passing in the House,” Lisa Hymas, senior editor at Grist.org, an environmental news and commentary website, said in a Feb. 15 article published the day after the bill was introduced.
The bill was referred Feb. 14 to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. No action has been taken in the five months since.
President Barack Obama said at Georgetown University last month he intends to use his executive power to introduce a series of policies aimed at combating climate change if Congress doesn’t act, but it’s unclear whether a cap and dividend system would be one of those policies.
Marsh acknowledged after Tuesday’s council meeting the Senate bill is unlikely to become law, but, she added, “All we can do as citizens is raise our voices and hope we can be heard.”
She said she sponsored the resolution after being approached by members of the Omni Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology and the Fayetteville chapter of the Citizens Climate Lobby.
The proposal isn’t the first time City Council members have considered a stance on a national issue over which they have no control. The council in 2001 discussed — but didn’t approve — a resolution opposing oil drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Aldermen last year officially opposed a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that broadened corporations’, unions’ and nonprofit groups’ ability to contribute to political campaigns.
City Attorney Kit Williams said the cap and dividend resolution, if approved, will likely be sent to members of Congress whose House and Senate districts include Fayetteville.
Williams emphasized the resolution wouldn’t carry the weight of law. “It’s the elected representatives of the city expressing themselves to our (congressional) delegation,” he explained.
Williams said he doubted City Council action would have an impact in Washington, but, he added, it could have some effect if other cities support the bill.
The Eureka Springs City Council approved a similar resolution in May.