A Minnesota lawmaker said Wednesday he will introduce a bill in the now-Republican-led Legislature next week to lift the state’s 2007 moratorium on the construction of new coal-fired power plants. ”The bill is being drafted” and should be filed on January 10, Republican State Representative Mike Beard said. Although Beard expects opposition from some legislators and environmental groups such as the Sierra Club, he predicted the measure has a “nearly 100 percent” chance of passing both the House of Representatives and Senate. Thanks to the November election, the GOP controls both legislative houses for the first time in more than 40 years, although the state’s governor, Mark Dayton, is a Democrat.
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