M E M O R A N D U M
To: Honorable Members of the Town Council
From: Mayor Peggy R. Bell
Date: October 19, 2016
Re: Opposing and Urging Residents to Vote "No" on Amendment 1, "Rights of Electricity Consumers Regarding Solar Energy Choice" Scheduled for the November 8, 2016 General Election
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A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF CUTLER BAY, FLORIDA, OPPOSING AND URGING RESIDENTS TO VOTE "NO" ON AMENDMENT 1, "RIGHTS OF ELECTRICITY CONSUMERS REGARDING SOLAR ENERGY CHOICE," SCHEDULED FOR THE NOVEMBER 8, 2016 GENERAL ELECTION; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
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BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
Amendment 1, titled "Rights of Electricity Consumers Regarding Solar Energy Choice," will be presented to Florida's voters at the November 8, 2016 General Election and purports to provide a new "choice" for solar power in its title. Instead, Amendment 1 will place critical restrictions on existing solar rights in the Florida Constitution.
Amendment 1 will establish a constitutional right and then give the government discretion to limit that right by later defining the meaning of the word "subsidy". It will insert in the Florida Constitution an unsupported, misleading, and inaccurate presumption that solar rooftop customers are "subsidized" by solar customers.
Amendment 1 implies that solar customers are not paying their fair share of the cost of the grid and that electric companies will be forced to charge the non-solar customer to pay for the cost not being paid by the solar customers. The Amendment can also be used to weaken or eliminate the state's net metering policy.
If passed, Amendment 1 would be detrimental to the Town's support for efforts to increase solar energy generation and other forms of renewable energy in the State of Florida and Town. That is why I am urging residents to vote "No" on Amendment 1 at the November 8, 2016 General Election.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended by the Town Council that residents of Cutle...
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