The nuclear plant moratorium repeal bill (SF 4) passed the Senate this afternoon on a vote of 50 to 14. Five amendments were offered by opponents of the bill but none were adopted. The author of the bill is Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch.
The mood in the Senate today was dramatically different than when the original nuclear plant moratorium law passed in 1994. At that time, loud protests echoed throughout the Capitol and in the Senate galleries as opponents of nuclear power expressed their opposition to a bill allowing Xcel Energy, then Northern States Power, to store nuclear waste in dry casks at its Prairie Island nuclear generating plant. Today, the bill to repeal the 1994 moratorium passed after only about one hour of debate.
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