Colorado has Become a Pro-Nuclear State

Passing HB25-1040 is more than the actual legislative change of the bill

As I was listening to the testimony in the Senate hearing on HB25-1040 two things struck me about the testimony. First the anti-nuclear groups have brought their big guns to this discussion. Second, their arguments were not specifically about the bill, they were focused 100% on nuclear energy.

This bill symbolizes Colorado’s stance on bringing nuclear power to the state. And based on the votes so far, that stance is welcoming nuclear. Passing this bill is a strong statement that a majority of the legislature has come to understand that zero carbon requires nuclear.

Nuclear Power in Coloradu

Return the Respect

I first want to speak to respect. Every member of the Senate Transportation & Energy Committee was there for the entire hearing. They spent it listening to everyone who testified to them. They were very respectful toward all of us testifying.

That respect deserves the respect of us testifying in return. Mostly those testifying were respectful. But I want to call out the two situations where they were not given respect in return.

First, everyone is given 2 minutes. There’s a timer right in front of you. Those who continued talking past the buzzer - that is disrespectful toward the committee and toward every other individual testifying who abided by the limit.

When the time beeps, stop talking. Don’t finish the sentence, just stop. And no need to add in “please vote against the bill,”¹ they know you’re opposed to it. It’s in your own interest to immediately STFU, continuing to talk the main thing they’ll remember from your testimony is you were rude.

Second, show up. Now Colorado is a big state and if you’re in Grand Junction, or stuck in an airport with a delayed flight, by all means Zoom in. But there were union official from Pueblo and they had the respect to drive that distance to present their 2 minutes in person.

Takeaways

So what did I takeaway from the hearing? First, nuclear is back baby. It passed 6:3. And based on some of the questions I think they do see it as necessary to get us to zero carbon.

Second, Senator Winter ran the committee beautifully. Low key and welcoming and kept the whole thing on track. All of the Senators were focused on the testimony and every question was to learn more. It sounds corny but this is a beautiful part of democracy.

Third, a large number of the anti-nuclear people brought up all the valid arguments against SMRs. Who knows when we’ll see them, what will they cost, etc. I’m with them on that. Granted, my response to that is to build the AP1000 now, not to forego nuclear.

Fourth, shutting down coal with no equivalent replacement power source has a major deleterious impact on the workers, community, and city governments in the area. Shutting down Comanche with no replacement nuclear plant means the loss of hundreds of really good paying union jobs. It means that the community is poorer both in the citizens have less and some will move out. And it reduces the tax base for Pueblo, not just directly but the sales tax revenue when workers spend their pay.

Fifth, a large number of groups, both for and against, claimed to talk for 100% of the people in their demographic. Yuh, no. Saying so looks foolish to individuals who are elected to office and understand how bloody hard it is to get even 50%+1 votes.

Sixth, props to Senator Catlin who asked me for a short answer last night. He would have received a 2 sentence answer from me even without the request for “short.” With that said, I can understand why he asked it - most people testifying take 2 - 4 minutes to answer even the simplest questions. The legislators should add the qualifier “short” to all their questions.

Seventh, a large thank you to our elected legislators. We had to sit there for one day for several hours. They do this day after day after day. And they’re focused and thoughtful and listening. I don’t always agree with them, but I do respect them.

Finally a plea to the legislature. The committee hearing was on Zoom. Save those recordings and make them available on the web.

1. I don’t think a single supporter of the bill kept talking.