Rep. Derek Skees, R-Kalispell, speaks during a meeting of the Joint Rules Committee on Dec. 7, 2020 on the floor of the home of the Montana State Capitol.
Cooling towers in a nuclear power plant.
Governor Greg Gianforte signed House Bill 273 on Friday, which pulls the plug on a 43-year-old referendum where decisions about building new nuclear power plants were put to public vote and those decisions are now instead passed to lawmakers.
Montana voters passed the Montana Empowering Voters in 1978 to approve the proposed nuclear facility initiative, also known as I-80, which will put the proposed nuclear facilities up for public vote.
HB 273 was sponsored by Rep. Derek Skees, R-Kalispell, who said during this year’s legislature that the legislation still leaves the decision in the hands of Montana citizens, but through elected officials. He said lawmakers could have more targeted and targeted discussions.
Some lawmakers who spoke out against HB 273 said it was excessive and against the will of the people. It happened House 68-32 on February 16 and Senate 30-20 on April 15.
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HB 273 somewhat supplemented Joint Senate Resolution 3, sponsored by Senator Terry Gauthier, R-Helena, to have a committee for the interim study on small advanced nuclear reactors at Colstrip.
According to SJ-3, the shutdown of coal-fired power plants will have a negative impact on the Colstrip community and coal boilers could be replaced with an advanced nuclear reactor that provides clean, well-paying jobs.
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