There’s No Good Reason I Can See to Vote Against Del. Rasoul’s “Dominion Bill” Substitute Monday

The following is from Del. Sam Rasoul (D-Roanoke). Check that out, and please explain to me how there is a good reason for anyone in the House of Delegates to vote against this.

Note that I bolded the word “good,” as I’m not interested in Dominion’s reasons or other BAD reasons to vote against Del. Rasoul’s substitute on the Dominion bill. I mean, just on the item dealing with Dominion’s ability to manipulate its expense accounting (to its own benefit, of course!), it seems clear to me that everyone should vote for Del. Rasoul’s substitute. Also, there’s no good reason (although there are a few really bad ones) not to restore State Corporation Commission (SCC) authority over Dominion, nor is there any good reason not to have the SCC decide on the amount of money Dominion must refund for past overcharges. And finally, there REALLY is no good reason (although there are some really bad ones, like caring what Dominion execs like Bob Blue et al want) to be focused on anything other than getting the best deal for ratepayers, for Virginia, for the environment, etc.

In sum, I urge the House of Delegates to reject the committee substitute tomorrow and to accept Del. Rasoul’s floor substitute. Then, we’ll really have to keep an eye on the conference committee, as I’m sure it will be stacked with Dominion-friendly lawmakers like Frank Wagner and Dick Saslaw. But first things first…tomorrow.

Today, I introduced a Floor Substitute to SB 966 (The Dominion Rate Freeze Bill). My substitute keeps all of the good parts of the bill, but restores the SCC authority to properly protect rate payers. The vote is up tomorrow! Let’s pass the FLOOR version and regulate the utility companies the right way!

P.S. I’ve heard the argument made that if the committee substitute is rejected, we’d lose all the “good stuff” in there. Except that Del. Rasoul’s substitute has all the “good stuff,” while getting rid of “bad stuff” and adding more “good stuff.” So why not vote for something better than what we have now? Got me.