Million Solar Roofs Bill Dies

California’s Million Solar Roofs bill, which would have led to the addition of 3,000 megawatts of solar panels on one million roofs, including half of all new homes, died in assembly in September 2005. The bill would have made California the world’s third largest solar energy producer, behind Japan and Germany. After passing the Senate by a bipartisan vote of 30-5, the bill was slowed by the Assembly Appropriations Committee, which added three amendments in response to labor-union lobbying. The bill failed to receive a floor vote. “The derailment of one of the most popular and commonsense bills of the year is the new poster child for short-sighted partisan politics,” said Bernadette Del Chiaro of the nonprofit Environment California. Aids to Governor Schwarzenegger say he will ask the State Public Utilities Commission to establish parts of the derailed program, but the Commission lacks the authority to implement the entire plan.