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Committee advances transmission‑line permitting bill after debate over routes, local impacts and federal preemption
Summary
The Economic Matters Committee voted to move House Bill 829 as amended; members debated whether the bill requires meaningful consideration of alternative routes, impacts to historic and agricultural lands, and the limits of state authority where FERC and PJM have jurisdiction.
The Economic Matters Committee voted to move House Bill 829, as amended, after an extended debate over how the state should require applicants for certificates of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) to disclose alternatives, advanced technologies and potential impacts of proposed overhead transmission lines.
Supporters said the amended bill will force greater transparency in applicants’ planning by requiring evidence that alternatives were considered and by expanding items applicants must disclose, including advanced transmission technologies and whether technologies could delay or avoid future transmission or generation upgrades. “This forces transparency for the applicant to have to disclose the PJM process that led to the approval and all of the alternatives that were considered at PJM,” a committee member said during the hearing.
The debate centered on how prescriptive the statute should be and whether listing particular land‑use categories—historic resources, agricultural easements or…
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