DeSantis seeks energy-saving rebates in apparent change of heart - Orlando Sentinel

DeSantis seeks energy-saving rebates in apparent change of heart - Orlando Sentinel

TALLAHASSEE — In an apparent about-face, Gov. Ron DeSantis is trying to reclaim some of the $346 million in federal funds he rejected six months ago when he vetoed $30 million for the state to administer a home energy rebate program.

At the same time, a group of Florida congressional Democrats has introduced a bill that would allow city and county governments to run the home energy rebate program so that low-income Floridians can upgrade appliances and lower their energy bills.

“Governor DeSantis’ harmful decision to block hundreds of millions of federal dollars to help Florida families adopt clean energy makes it clear we cannot count on our state leadership to help us fight the climate crisis, but we won’t take no for an answer,” said Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost, D-Orlando.

The bill introduced last week by Frost, U.S. Reps. Darren Soto, D-Orlando, Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, Lois Frankel, D-West Palm Beach, and Jennifer González Colón of Puerto Rico would create the Reforming Energy-Efficient Buildings and Appliances Tax Exemptions Act.

It would amend the Inflation Reduction Act to allow cities and counties to receive federal funds directly for high-efficiency electric home rebate programs, providing tax incentives to Florida families looking to update their appliances for more energy-efficient ones, Soto said.

“We passed the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act — both bipartisan measures – to benefit working families and improve our nation for future generations,” Soto said. “In Florida, we refuse to let politically motivated vetoes get in the way of access to these programs.”

With a stroke of the pen on June 15, DeSantis vetoed from the state budget $30 million in seed money for Florida to get $346 million from Washington for the program.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Office of Energy was forced to withdraw its application for the rebate programs, part of the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

At the time, DeSantis spokesman Jeremy Redfern said DeSantis had reviewed “every bill and appropriation that comes across his desk and uses his authority under the Florida Constitution to veto bills that he believes are bad public policy.”

Redfern had no comment on the governor’s change of mind.

DeSantis opposed the measure because a large component of the Inflation Reduction Act targeted climate change, his budget director said.

“We liked the home rebate program part but not the climate (part),” Chris Spencer, the governor’s budget chief, told reporters last week after the governor’s proposed state budget was unveiled.

The governor’s budget would earmark $1.73 million in federal trust fund grants for the Florida Department of Commerce to administer Home Energy Rebate Programs. His proposal gives the agency the authority to request more money as needed for rebates.

Neither Redfern nor Spencer said how much federal matching dollars would be available under that proposal.

It’s not the only time the DeSantis administration has killed legislation or funding aimed at energy savings or climate change.

DeSantis vetoed a popular bipartisan bill that could have saved state taxpayers $277 million by adding electric vehicles to state and local government fleets.

One Democratic critic said he was putting the concerns of Iowa farmers above those of Florida residents since more EVs on the road would mean less consumption of gasoline containing ethanol, made mostly with Iowa corn.

And in November, DeSantis’ Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue turned down $320 million in federal funds to reduce tailpipe emissions. The money is part of the Carbon Reduction Program, a five-year, $6.4 billion effort to reduce emissions that contribute to global warming.

“Rather than support the continued politicization of our roadways, FDOT’s time, money, and resources will be focused on building roads and bridges — not reducing carbon emissions,” Perdue said in a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

News Service of Florida contributed to this report.