Democrats Block Republican Efforts to Lower Energy Bills, Ensure Parental Rights in Education

New Jersey Senate Democrats blocked Republican efforts to advance legislation that would lower energy bills and ensure parental rights in education at the Senate session on June 20.

The first bill that Democrats blocked, S-3684, requires the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to consider energy security, diversity, and affordability when preparing the state’s Energy Master Plan (EMP) and to perform an economic and ratepayer analysis of proposed energy generation projects and the EMP in general.

“It’s disappointing that Democrats are unwilling to let energy affordability or reliability be considered as they plow ahead in blind support of Governor Murphy’s extreme green energy plan,” said Senate Republican Leader Steven Oroho (R-24), the sponsor of S-3684. “Ratepayers can’t afford green energy at any cost, and they need a reliable and diverse energy portfolio that works 100% of the time. Unfortunately, those are concerns that don’t seem to matter to the Democrats who have controlled the Legislature for the last 20 years.”

The Republican legislation was introduced in response to concerns that Governor Murphy is pursuing the full electrification of millions of New Jersey homes and businesses and of the state’s power portfolio without any concern for cost, redundancy, or reliability. A nonprofit recently estimated the cost to ratepayers to implement the governor’s green energy plan at $1.4 trillion.

The second bill that Democrats blocked, S-2483, establishes the “Parental Bill of Rights Act,” which provides parents the right to engage in and have input into their children’s education.

“The recent controversies over sex education mandates from Trenton have really opened the eyes of parents to the fact that portions of their children’s curriculum may be inappropriate and extreme,” said Senator Anthony M. Bucco (R-25), the sponsor of S-2483. “Parents are telling us they want the ability to review what their kids will be taught in school, and they want the right to opt their children out of lessons that conflict with their values or are not age appropriate. Unfortunately, Trenton Democrats don’t seem to believe that parents deserve a say in their children’s education.”

The Republican legislation addresses concerns raised by parents that the Murphy Administration is interfering with a parent’s right to know and have a say in the learning standards that schools are required to implement dealing with sexuality and gender identity. Many parents have expressed concerns that the topics may not be age appropriate and the classes are far removed from health or sex education.

As Republicans made motions to bring each bill up for a vote by the full Senate, the Democrat majority voted to table the bills and prevent their debate or consideration.