Solar Push Heading into Primary
August 23rd, 2016 by flanewsEarly voting is in full swing and the primary is next week, but as Matt Galka tells us, voters will be deciding on more than local elections with a group of environmentalists pushing a constitutional amendment.
Florida voters have a solar choice in the August primary. On the ballot – Amendment 4 – which gives businesses a tax break for installing solar panels. And now a coalition of environmentalists called the Florida Conservation Voters want to make sure you’re casting a ballot.
“One of the things we noticed was that it’s really not that easy to find your early voting location,” said Aliki Moncrief, the Florida Conservation Voters Executive Director.
They’ve launched a website that helps voters find their closes early voting location. So why the election push? The amendment would need 60 percent of the vote to pass.
“Florida voters overwhelmingly support solar, but primaries typically have lower turnout, that is why we wanted to make it as easy as possible,” said Moncrief.
State lawmakers are responsible for the ballot measure.
“When people try to do the right thing, by installing solar panels on top of their roofs, they shouldn’t be taxed for doing the right thing,” said Sen. Jeff Brandes (R-Florida).
The environmentalist group opposes November’s other solar ballot initiative – saying it’s a utility backed measure looking to maintain the status quo on solar.
If Amendment 4 gets 60 percent of the vote during the August primary, it would require the legislature to act in the 2017 legislative session, and would go into effect in 2018.
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