Inside Climate News : “State legislatures in coal-dependent parts of the country are taking action to delay complying with the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan.”  

“Since the 2015 legislative session convened last month, at least a dozen states have introduced bills that effectively increase bureaucratic red tape and stall states from submitting compliance plans to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). And, in some cases, the bills grant legislatures the power to veto their states’ carbon emission reduction plans.”  

“The maneuvering has quickly spread well beyond the borders of coal-rich states. In Nebraska, Arizona and South Dakota, lawmakers are trying to require that their states’ environmental agencies prepare a preliminary report detailing the plans’ impact on the economy.”  

“‘The overall strategy is to find ways to choke the state plan with red tape one way or the other,’ said Aliya Haq, a director in the climate-and-clear-air program at the Natural Resources Defense Council. ‘These bills are all misguided in that they ironically limit the state’s options,’ she said.”