TALLAHASSEE -- As Gov. Charlie Crist savored one victory Tuesday in his goal of revamping Florida's energy policy, he also suffered a major defeat.

In the Senate, the Environmental Preservation Committee unanimously passed a bill to require Florida cars to meet tougher greenhouse gas emission standards beginning in 2011, steamrolling a lineup of opponents from the state's business and automobile lobbyists in the process.

But the bill's sponsor acknowledged that the governor's success may have reached the end of the line. The measure has six more stops in the Senate and it has not gotten a single hearing in the House. ''This committee sent a clear message,'' said Sen. Lee Constantine, R-Altamonte Springs, the committee's chairman and sponsor of the bill. ``I can't say that anybody else will.''

Members of the auto industry warn the new emissions standardswill cost consumers money and reduce their options. ''The Obama administration is moving at what I call federal warp speed to have the first set of standards,'' said Wade Hopping of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers.

He said lawmakers should wait until there is a national standard because until there is, the state must rely on California's greenhouse gas emission standards. ``You shouldn't give away your authority to another state.''

Environmental Preservation Secretary Mike Sole said that while there may be added cost to car buyers for the environmentally cleaner cars -- about $100 to $700 over the life of a car -- the bill ultimately saves money with higher fuel efficiency. The estimated savings over the life of a car is $2,300, he said.

Meanwhile in the House, a plan to take up a bill to impose minimum standards for utility companies to use renewable energy was indefinitely halted when the committee's chairman, Rep. Paige Kreegel, a Punta Gorda Republican, said he would not move forward with the bill despite numerous workshops.

The decision enraged lobbyists for environmental groups and solar companies who have been urging lawmakers to set the standards and open Florida's door to investment in new technologies. 'These guys want to put a `closed for business' sign on renewable energy,'' said Jerry Karnas, of the group Environmental Defense.

Mary Ellen Klas can be reached at meklas@MiamiHerald.com

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@