MONDAy, MARCH 2 , 2020. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE B5
relatively new plant in southwest
Virginia that has been burning
piles of coal left over from a
century of mining. Known as
“gobs,” the piles cause runoff that
pollutes waterways, and Chafin
cited statistics about how effec-
tive the plant has been at clean-
ing them up.
Saslaw countered that Domin-
ion had endorsed the plant’s
early closing date. Chafin then
held up a fact sheet that seemed
to have a Dominion logo on it.
Why, then, would Dominion
“have provided to this senator
these talking pieces,” Chafin said,
“and spent numerous hours help-
ing prepare” an amendment to
change the date?
With the utility appearing to
work both sides of the issue, the
Senate voted to delay the plant’s
closing. murray, the Dominion
executive, said later that the
utility had never favored an earli-
er closing for the plant, blaming
the date on a “quirk” in the
complicated legislation. “In our
view, that’s not good public poli-
cy,” he said.
one other bill opposed by
Dominion is clinging to life. Sub-
ramanyam’s measure, which
would let the state regulate how
the utility charges customers for
the cost of retiring old plants, is
awaiting a vote on the Senate
floor.
The fact that his bill seemed to
catch senators off guard in the
committee showed one thing,
Subramanyam said: “This is a
new General Assembly.”
[email protected]to review Dominion’s rates and
issue refunds passed the House
in february — rare success for
something opposed by the utility.
Now, its prospects are dim. A
Senate committee delayed bring-
ing the bill up for a vote. After
behind-the-scenes pressure, a
hearing is scheduled for monday.
Sen. richard L. S aslaw (D-fair-
fax), the committee chairman,
said he is skeptical of the bill, but
he wants “to hear both sides.”
His committee has killed other
bills aimed at loosening Domin-
ion’s grip, including two House-
passed proposals that were sup-
ported by a coalition of major
retailers and would have opened
up the renewable energy market
to competition from outside pro-
viders.
Saslaw said allowing big retail-
ers to buy electricity elsewhere
would leave a smaller pool of
customers for Dominion as it
made the expensive transition to
renewables.
Some lawmakers expressed
frustration with the idea that
Dominion needs to be protected
from changes in the market or
regulatory climate. “Either way,
they’re going to get paid,” said
Del. Jerrauld C. “Jay” Jones (D-
Norfolk), who co-sponsored the
bill to restore the SCC’s oversight
authority. “Dominion is going to
be fine.”
A dust-up in the Senate last
week demonstrated the utility’s
pervasive influence. Sen. A. Ben-
ton Chafin Jr. (r-russell) com-
plained that the omnibus energy
bill fast-tracks the retirement of arefunds. The General Assembly
whittled away most of that ability
over the past decade, freezing
base rates and ordering the com-
mission to find big investments
such as offshore wind to be “in
the public interest.”
many environmental groups
support those steps as necessary
to get the state weaned from
carbon-based fuels. But consum-
er advocates worry the trade-off
will be higher bills for consum-
ers.
“It is irresponsible to build an
environmental movement on the
backs of ratepayers just to enrich
a few,” said Del. Sam rasoul
(D-roanoke), the leading advo-
cate of the Green New Deal,
which he said would have done
more to protect low-income con-
sumers.
The corporation commission
last week estimated that the
omnibus energy bill could in-
crease the average customer’s
monthly electricity costs by al-
most 24 percent. Bill supporters
said the estimate failed to consid-
er how the legislation would
reduce energy use and did not
address the cost of doing noth-
ing.
“Given how far behind Virgin-
ia is on addressing climate
change,... this bill will be the
largest leap forward [the state]
has ever made,” s aid Sen. Jennifer
L. mcClellan (D-richmond), who
sponsored her chamber’s version
of the measure.
But concern about cost cuts
across party lines. A bipartisan
bill to restore the SCC’s authorityother producers, though still only
a fraction of the amount reserved
for Dominion.
Some of those items are al-
ready in place informally. Domin-
ion says it plans to be carbon-free
by 2050, in line with aspirational
targets set by Gov. ralph
Northam (D) last year. The com-
pany also helped set dates for
phasing out old power plants.
In addition, Dominion has a
massive wind energy project un-
derway off the coast at Virginia
Beach. The legislation specifies
that the new wind energy has to
be utility-owned, protecting Do-
minion’s investment.
“There’s every potential for a
really groundbreaking piece of
clean-energy legislation,” said
Dominion Senior Vice President
William murray. He defended the
utility’s role in the process, point-
ing out that the company has to
balance clean-energy goals with
the need to keep rates stable and
service flowing. “I’ve never heard
anybody advocate for power out-
ages, not once,” murray said.
While many lawmakers sup-
port the goals, some note that the
framework preserves Dominion’s
ability to pass costs along to
consumers. As a state-regulated
monopoly, Dominion has a guar-
anteed rate of return on capital
projects; it makes money on a gas
pipeline or offshore wind farm no
matter the cost.
Historically, the utility’s rates
were reviewed by the State Cor-
poration Commission. If commis-
sioners found customers were
overcharged, they could ordertentatively supporting the omni-
bus.
The ambitious package,
known as the Virginia Clean
Economy Act, originated last
year when members of the Ad-
vanced Energy Economy indus-
try group began contacting legis-
lators. AEE is supported by com-
panies that have a stake in new
energy technologies — Lockheed
martin, microsoft, Apple and In-
gersoll rand, along with dozens
of smaller businesses. The group
reached out to industry associa-
tions and environmental groups
and, in consultation with several
lawmakers, proposed a complex
bill that would recast the state’s
energy future.
Different versions have passed
the House and Senate, but in
essence, the legislation would:
l mandate that 100 percent of
electricity in Dominion’s service
area comes from renewable
sources by 2045, and by 2050 for
Appalachian Power, which serves
the far Southwest. The House and
Senate are haggling over those
dates.
l Set deadlines for closing coal-
and gas-fired power plants.
l Enter the state into a carbon
cap-and-trade market called the
regional Greenhouse Gas Initia-
tive.
l require Dominion to develop
5,200 megawatts of offshore wind
capacity by 2034.
l Set mandatory yearly targets
for increasing energy efficiency.
l require the utilities to accept
more rooftop solar and other
renewable energy generated bylation to open part of the market
to competition.
While groups advocating gun
control made headlines with big
donations in last year’s l egislative
elections, environmental and an-
ti-Dominion interests actually
gave more money, according to
the nonpartisan Virginia Public
Access Project.
many Democrats, meanwhile,
ran on a pledge to reject all
Dominion donations. But a pro-
posal to prohibit such contribu-
tions failed early in this year’s
General Assembly session.
A Virginia version of a Green
New Deal, with aggressive envi-
ronmental goals, also failed.
Instead, Democrats and a
handful of republicans have co-
alesced around the omnibus en-
vironmental bills that have
passed both the Senate and the
House of Delegates and are head-
ed for a conference committee.
Supporters argue that the legisla-
tion is so far-reaching, it could
only have been achieved with
Dominion’s cooperation. few
lawmakers have expertise in the
complicated topic, and this year’s
session has been nearly over-
whelmed with a record number
of bills.
Even some hard-line environ-
mentalists have come to value a
pragmatic approach. “If you want
to keep the conversation going,
you can’t do it with a dead bill,”
said Del. Danica A. roem (D-
Prince William), who co-spon-
sored the Green New Deal but is
energy from B1
Va. Democrats push environmental change — but still in concert with Dominion
Sen. Barbara A. favola (D-
Arlington).
She noted t hat passage o f a bill
to increase t he minimum wage
would have a disproportionate
impact on w omen, because it’s
estimated t hat more than two-
thirds o f minimum-wage w orkers
are female.
Del. Kenneth r. P lum (D-
fairfax) said of the new gender
diversity: “on equal rights, it
brings a perspective that m en
can’t s peak for.” P lum, w ho has
served 40 years i n the l egislature,
added, “In my e xperience, I can’t
remember a time when so much
consequential legislation passed.”
Del. Danica A. roem (D-Prince
William) described t he benefit of
testifying before a five-person
subcommittee that included f our
women, when she advocated for
bills t o ensure students who owe
school l unch debt would still get
full, hot meals.
“It was so refreshing to present
those in front of women who just
get it,” r oem s aid. “When you’ve
got a lot of moms running the
show in richmond, it’s n ot that
hard to explain [ the need].”
Longtime richmond political
observer Bob Holsworth noted
that Sen. Jennifer L. mcLellan ( D-
richmond) sponsored a bill to bar
health insurers from r equiring
prior a uthorization before
transferring a newborn
experiencing a life-threateningon issues o f importance to
women, has been striking.
This year’s G eneral Assembly
has a record 41 f emale legislators
— 3 0 delegates and 11 senators.
filler-Corn and House Clerk
Suzette Denslow aren’t t he only
two breaking the g lass c eiling.
House majority L eader Charniele
L. Herring ( D-Alexandria) and
Senate President Pro Te mpore L.
Louise Lucas ( D-Portsmouth) a re
the f irst females and first African
Americans t o hold their positions.
Women chair seven of 14
committees i n the House a nd four
out o f 11 in the S enate. S en. Janet
D. Howell (D-fairfax) leads her
chamber’s most powerful
committee, the appropriations
and finance panel.
Legislators and analysts of
both sexes said the expanded
female presence affected t he
kinds of bills that were proposed
and passed, as well as
transforming the p icture that t he
General Assembly p resented t o
the p ublic. A t the start of the
session, the House revised
language in its rules t o refer to
people in t he feminine g ender —
“she” i nstead of “he,” a nd “ her”
instead o f “him.”
“Because we have increased
numbers of female l awmakers, w e
have been getting a lot of family-
oriented bills, b ills t hat would
support w omen i n the workforce,
and they’re getting through,” s aidhave brought to the l egislature.
But d on’t m istake a courteous
habit for any lack of effectiveness.
In t he session scheduled to end
Saturday, filler-Corn (D-fairfax)
and her sister lawmakers have
helped d rive p assage of the most
ambitious, far-reaching package
of liberal legislation of any
session in memory.
I n many ways, 2020 has been
the Year of the Woman in
richmond. The legislature
approved the federal Equal
rights Amendment. I t rolled back
restrictions on a bortion. It p assed
bills t o combat sex discrimination
and harassment in t he workplace,
to protect pregnant w omen a nd
newborns, and to require schools
to provide tampons or pads for
menstruating girls.
The tidal wave o f progressive
measures includes legislation on
other topics as well. With
Democrats controlling b oth the
House and Senate for the f irst
time in a generation, there have
been enough groundbreaking
bills t o proclaim 2020 the year of
gun control, o f transportation, of
immigrants’ r ights or labor. The
session also saw major advances
in the role of African Americans
in the legislature.
Still, the dramatic increase in
the n umber o f women in
authority, a s well as a new f ocus
regIonAl memo from B1 emergency condition from one
hospital to another.
“ What man would h ave
thought of this one?” Holsworth
said.
filler-Corn and others s aid
there’s b een much d iscussion of
the c hange in having a woman
presiding over the House f or the
first time, and interacting with
the f irst female c lerk.
“I’ve h eard f rom countless
people, looking up on t he dais, it
looks and feels so d ifferent,”
filler-Corn said.
She said she doesn’t think
about it every day, b ut is aware of
the n eed to set a good example as
the f irst woman in the j ob.
“on one hand, it’s k ind of
shocking that it’s t aken 400
years,” f iller-Corn said. “It’s
certainly a huge responsibility in
the s ense that you’re really setting
the s tage for many young women
and girls moving forward.”
filler-Corn, elected to the
legislature in 2010, served less
time as a lawmaker than p revious
speakers before winning the t op
job. But s he had experience in
politics and administration,
having served as director of
intergovernmental affairs for two
past Democratic governors: mark
Warner and Tim Kaine.
At the s tart of the session,
House minority Leader Todd
Gilbert (Shenandoah) and other
republicans appeared to try to
REGIONAL MEMO
Va.’s Year of the Woman yields historic legislation
of the World War II-style,
pyramid authority structure.”
But f iller-Corn has not
hesitated t o impose her will. She
steamrolled republicans when
she didn’t w ant to prolong debate.
She sided w ith African Americans
and the p rogressive wing o f her
caucus, r eversing t he D emocrats’
previous p osition, by e ffectively
killing a House p roposal for a
constitutional a mendment to
create a bipartisan redistricting
committee.
While she and others made
history this year, one g lass c eiling
remains intact. Virginia is o ne of
20 states, including maryland,
that have never had a female
governor.
[email protected]intimidate h er w ith numerous
complaints and parliamentary
objections. They a bandoned that
effort when it didn’t f aze the
Democrat.
“I think they realized I wasn’t
flappable,” f iller-Corn said. “They
realized that, based o n my
reactions and moving f orward,
that I was a quick study, and
Suzette and I were on t op of
things.”
Gilbert’s office did not r espond
to emails requesting comment.
“What I really like about E ileen
and Charniele and the committee
chairs is a far m ore inclusive
approach,” D el. V ivian E. Watts
(D-fairfax) said. “Women tend to
be peer-oriented consensus
builders. men tend to have moreSTEVE HELBER/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sen. mamie e. locke, left, confers with House Speaker eileen
Filler-Corn, right, and House Clerk Suzette Denslow during a joint
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