Little-Noticed Provision In Walker's Bill Could Reap Huge Gains For Koch Industries [View All]

Source: The Huffington Post


Today 10:43 AM Little-Noticed Provision In Walker's Bill Could Reap Huge Gains For Koch Industries
The Huffington Post's Amanda Terkel reports:

While there has been significant attention devoted to the fact that Walker's 144-page budget repair bill would strip away collective bargaining rights for public employees, the site "Rortybomb" points out a less noticed provision that would allow the state to sell or contract out any state-owned energy asset in no-bid deals with private corporations. From the legislation (emphasis added):

16.896 Sale or contractual operation of state−owned heating, cooling, and power plants. (1) Notwithstanding ss. 13.48 (14) (am) and 16.705 (1), the department may sell any state−owned heating, cooling, and power plant or may contract with a private entity for the operation of any such plant, with or without solicitation of bids, for any amount that the department determines to be in the best interest of the state. Notwithstanding ss. 196.49 and 196.80, no approval or certification of the public service commission is necessary for a public utility to purchase, or contract for the operation of, such a plant, and any such purchase is considered to be in the public interest and to comply with the criteria for certification of a project under s. 196.49 (3) (b).
It's unclear what "the best interest of the state" is.

But if this deal goes through, one of the companies that could stand to benefit significantly is Koch Industries. Koch already has several companies in the state, including a coal subsidiary, timber plants and a large network of pipelines.



The Koch-funded group Americans for Prosperity has also been standing with Walker throughout his budget battles, busing in Tea Party activists and launching the site, Stand With Walker. After the election, Walker and other Republican governors received guidance from the American Legislative Exchange Council, a group that is also funded by Koch dollars and has pushed anti-union measures.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/21/scott-walker-wisconsin-budget-protests_n_826021.html#113_littlenoticed-provision-in-walkers-bill-could-reap-huge-gains-for-koch-industries

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It is becoming clearer everyday that Scott Walker is not serving the people of Wisconsin, but the the Koch corporation....