The 2021 Legislative Session Is Fixated On Protecting Coal At Any Cost

From Tax Forgiveness to Outright Subsidies, Legislators Are Going ALL-IN on Coal

Every legislative session has its own themes, and it shifts year by year.

This session, it appears that two main themes are emerging: propping up the coal industry, and finding new/creative ways to spend the Legacy Fund. In this article, we will focus on the efforts to prop-up, bail-out, and otherwise protect the coal industry.

There are several bills that are designed to help create a soft-landing or manage the decline of the coal-fired electrical power industry. While it is perfectly understandable as to why there is a desire to slow the obsolescence of legacy energy technologies, it is important to remember that not only is North Dakota fighting the federal government’s incentive programs regarding alternative energy sources, but that the free market itself is pushing away from fossil fuels.

HB 1452

House Bill 1452 was heard in late January in the Hou…