This week marks the final week of the Missouri legislative session for 2020. With a six-week hiatus in the middle of their normal work period due to COVID-19, both chambers returned to Jefferson City expecting to pass the budget, maybe some high-priority pieces of legislation, and little else. However, that is not the case. The state budget was passed on time and now sits on Gov. Mike Parson’s desk. Leadership and committee chairs have attempted to pull together many omnibus pieces of legislation with “noncontroversial” provisions to get through the process before the final gavel drops on Friday, May 15 at 6 p.m.

Two items of interest to Missouri Corn include a measure to rein in eminent domain and a separate provision to require higher blends of biodiesel to be included in diesel fuel sold in the state. Rep. Mike Haffner (R-Pleasant Hill) worked diligently with Rep. Don Rone (R-Portageville) to attach the biodiesel legislation on the House floor to Senate Bill 618, which is now in conference committee. SB 618 also contains the provisions related to eminent domain, which Missouri Corn also supports.

Sen. Justin Brown (R-Rolla) and Rep. Jim Hansen (R-Frankford) are the champions for the eminent domain legislation.

There was a debate on this provision on the Senate floor last week when Sen. Brown attempted to amend it on a bill. Much to MCGA’s frustration, several Republican and Democrat senators stood up to block the provision. This important legislation is also still attached to Senate Bill 662; however, this bill has not yet been assigned a conference committee. In addition to supporting these pieces, MCGA staff is working hard to safeguard against detrimental provisions during a time when tracking legislation and interacting with elected officials is challenging to say the least.

The caucus includes Sens. Eigel, Hoskins, Cindy O’Laughlin, Andrew Koenig, Bob Onder, and Eric Burlison.

Hillary Clinton spoke Tuesday about meeting with "a big group of clean renewable energy businesses," without noting that these companies' leaders gave financial support to her campaign and received taxpayer subsidies through the stimulus program.
"I met yesterday in Chicago with a big group of clean renewable energy businesses and they're just ready to go," Clinton said on the campaign trail in Iowa. "But they need some help from the government.
The meeting was in fact a $2,700-a-head fundraiser at the home of Tonya and Michael Polsky, the CEO and president of Invenergy, and hosted by four others whose companies received "help from the government" in the form of $2.2 billion in taxpayer-funded cash grants to boost wind, solar and hydroelectric-based projects.

Polsky, who also threw a fundraiser attended by President Obama ahead of the GOP midterm victory in 2014, received over $662 million in funding to boost wind and solar projects by the firm — with various partnerships throughout the country receiving the funds.

Outside of Polsky, Clinton fundraiser hosts Gabriel Alonzo, Mike Garland and Jim Spencer received nearly $1.6 billion combined for projects to push forward renewable and wind-based energy production.

Overall, Clinton has been a backer of alternative energy, with an emphasis on solar, during the seven months of her campaign. In July, Clinton pledged to put the U.S. down a path to creating enough renewable energy to power every U.S. home by 2027. The former secretary of state also vowed to have installed over 500 million solar panels across the country by the end of her first term in office.

Clinton called Tuesday for extending the tax credits that make these projects "worthy of investment," arguing that many jobs will be created as a result.

Also Tuesday, a joint committee of representatives and senators decided that eminent domain restrictions that would prevent the Grain Belt Express energy transmission project from becoming a reality will remain in an omnibus utilities bill.

The Grain Belt Express, an energy transmission project that would extend from Kansas to Indiana, would run across Missouri through eight counties, according to the project’s website. As planned, it would deliver 500-megawatts of wind-generated power to Missouri’s electric grid — with some going to Columbia.

Senate Bill 618 would hinder the project because of a provision that restricts the use of eminent domain, which refers to the government’s ability to acquire private land when it is needed for public use as long as compensation is provided.

The bill says, “no entity shall have the power of eminent domain under the provisions of this section for the purpose of constructing above-ground merchant lines.”

Lawmakers said that the House was not willing to compromise or consider removing the eminent domain restrictions.

During the conference committee, Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, asked if there was a reason the eminent domain issue was included as part of the overarching utilities bill.  She said that she and others “may like the underlying bill” but wanted to do something different on the eminent domain question.

Rep. Jim Hansen, R-Frankfort, referenced the Missouri Supreme Court’s 2020 decision in favor of the Grain Belt Express project but emphasized that the court had not ruled on the issue of eminent domain. The Supreme Court “did not rule on whether or not they had the right to eminent domain,” Hansen said of the individuals pushing the Grain Belt Express project. “I think it’s our job to make eminent domain laws dealing with a project that this state has never seen before by a private company.”
He added: “Pass it. Let’s go to the Supreme Court.”

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Land agents were also deployed in Missouri to discuss survey access with landowners for certain parcels identified as priorities by Project environmental and engineering teams, with surveys expected to be conducted later in the year.

To demonstrate its commitment to invest in Grain Belt and in communities and landowners along the route, in Q3 2019 Invenergy made easement payments on all easement agreements that had been signed by the Project’s previous owner, Clean Line, and were still active when Invenergy signed the MIPA.

This decision sends a strong signal to the state legislature that the project has the constitutional basis to proceed with a wind energy transmission line through Missouri,” according to Kincheloe.

“We would also hope that this helps convince legislators that we will prevail in the courts if they attempt to block the project. Clearly precedent is on our side on this one and this Supreme Court decision demonstrates it,” Petty said.

Separation of powers is a doctrine of constitutional law under which the three branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial) are kept separate. This is also known as the system of checks and balances, because each branch is given certain powers so as to check and balance the other branches.

“Quite honestly, I’ve been focusing on keeping the power on in the wake of the coronavirus crisis,” said Petty. “I’m not sure where things are in the Senate. Hopefully, this Supreme Court ruling will be something they use as guidance.

Earlier this year, the Missouri House of Representatives passed by a 118-42 a bill sponsored by Rep. Jim Hansen, R-Frankfort. His bill will prohibit developers of the 4,000-megawatt high-level transmission project from forcing landowners to sell property.

“This bill protects the rights of landowners in Missouri,” Hansen has insisted in sponsoring the bill.

The Senate also is expected to support the bill along party lines. Petty has urged Kirkwood residents to contact legislators and express their concern over the statehouse blocking the new green energy source.

An Invenergy official said the contacts ended last week and included communicating with the landowners.

"Members of our team held meetings, upon approval from landowners, to discuss conducting these surveys later this spring,” said Beth Conley, Invenergy spokeswoman. “These meetings were halted when CDC guidance limited the ability to have in-person meetings.”

Since the state commission approved the Grain Belt Express, a number of “development activities” must take place before the beginning of construction, which is expected in late 2021, Conley said.

For example, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services and the Missouri Department of Conservation require Invenergy to conduct bat surveys so the line can avoid rare populations of the species, she said.

Corona Virus Worries:  Landowner Groups Ask Invenergy to Suspend Land Agent Visits
 
March 19 – Two landowner groups have requested that Invenergy temporarily suspend its practice of making uninvited personal visits to individual homes by company land agents seeking rights-of-way and survey permissions for the Grain Belt Express electric transmission project (GBE).  The Missouri Landowners Alliance and the Eastern Missouri Landowners Alliance have requested the practice cease until such time as federal and state officials determine there is no longer any need for "social distancing" as a means of slowing the spread of the Corona virus.
 
The landowner groups have received several reports from individual landowners of GBE representatives showing up at their homes along the route unannounced and asking for their signature on a notice form to allow the entry of other unnamed individuals to perform numerous studies and tests at their properties.   Other landowners have found information packets from Grain Belt Express left on their doorsteps.
 
“It is my understanding that no one can guarantee that keeping a distance of 3-6 feet from someone carrying the virus will necessarily prevent its transmission.  And of course there is no guarantee that this distance would be maintained during the course of any conversations between the land agents and the property owner.  For example, handing a business card or any other document to the landowner would bring the two individuals in close proximity, if not actual physical contact.  Therefore, rather than take any chance at all of Grain Belt's agents inadvertently transmitting the virus to property owners, the most reasonable course of action at this time clearly would be to temporarily suspend all such in-person contacts,” said landowner attorney Paul Agathen in his request to Invenergy’s attorneys.
 
Landowners have reported that the visitors have presented themselves as real estate agents from other states working on behalf of Grain Belt Express, or agents of Contract Land Staff based in Texas.  None of the visits have been made by people with local contact information, leading the landowners to worry about transmission of the virus from other areas.
 
“I’m not sure what the rush is here,” said Representative Jim Hansen (R-40th District).  “Grain Belt Express isn’t approved in all states and has no designated connection point for its transmission project in Missouri at this time.  There’s no need to sacrifice social distancing health recommendations in order to rush this project through.”
 
The landowner groups’ request stated that Grain Belt's desire to move the project forward cannot possibly justify even the slightest possibility of transmitting the virus from Invenergy agents to even one of the property owners.  Some of the landowners are in the age category which would make them even more vulnerable to serious health problems if they should become infected.  Landowners also worry about person-to-person transmission in their own communities via Grain Belt Express land agents, as well as the possibility of transmitting the virus from a property owner to one of those agents.
 
“A person traveling door-to-door across rural areas is unlikely to be able wash their hands between calls,” said landowner Jim Daniels of Wright City.
 
Landowners note that Grain Belt Express may still try to contact them via phone or mail in the meantime, but vehemently object to the current practice of spontaneous in-person visits that may spread the virus from person-to-person.
 
“We’ve been told to stay at home and isolate ourselves from others to stop the spread of the virus,” said Dr. Dennis Smith, Assistant Professor, Clinical Emergency Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia.  “It defeats the purpose of social distancing to have strangers pulling up in the yard and trying to hand us business cards or permission forms.  We don’t know where they’ve been, and we don’t know where they’re heading next.  A time of national emergency to prevent the spread of a highly contagious virus is the wrong time to be going door-to-door.”

Dear Ms. Mann,
I want you to know that in my opinion Invenergy's policy of continuing to have person to person contact with residents along the proposed route to be reckless and dangerous.
How do you explain bringing a person from New York through Texas then send her to the Ralls County Courthouse to come in direct contact with many people that work there. Or bringing an outsider from Kansas City to visit the Amish community. There are many such contacts by Invenergy personal.
I would appreciate an answer to why Mr. Polsky feels that during our National Emergency this type of perilous actions are needed by him.
If you can assure me that none of your employees or contract worker have not been exposed to the COVID-19 I will withdraw my objections.
Awaiting your reply,
Wiley Hibbard
Presiding Commissioner
Ralls County, Missouri