PARSIPPANY — BettyLou DeCroce said she will oppose any legislation the Governor puts forth on his revised clean energy plan that he introduced Thursday, calling the plan a “fantasy.”
DeCroce, who served nine years in the assembly and is running this year to return to the state legislature, said the Governor’s Clean Energy II edict will saddle businesses and homeowners with enormous costs while providing little environmental benefit. The Governor said he will need legislation to enact some of the dictates of his plan.
“The governor’s Green Energy II plan is a “no energy plan,” said DeCroce. “It is the stuff that liberal dreams are made of. New Jersey needs a realistic energy plan – not one that the left is trying to push down the throats of hard-working people.”
DeCroce said if she returns to the Assembly, she will oppose most, if not all, of the governor’s proposed legislation that sets arbitrary goals, such as outlawing gasoline-powered cars by 2035 and forcing the retrofitting of heating and cooling systems for hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses.
“My job as a legislator is to do what is best for the people in District 26, not to help the governor polish his liberal credentials so he can run for president in 2024,” said DeCroce.
DeCroce said the governor’s “fantasy energy plan” has no cost projections. “What is the governor’s blueprint going cost residents? The governor isn’t saying. Where’s the BPU (Board of Public Utilities)? Where is their estimate of the financial burden the plan will force on homeowners, business owners, and car owners?” asked DeCroce. “The Governor is asking for a blind emotional buy-in to his plan. Where are the costs estimates; what is the real environmental benefit, and what are the risks associated with this plan?”
“I care about climate change as much as anyone. I want my grandchildren to inherit a healthy environment. But I also want them to live in a state with reliable, full-time energy for a reasonable cost. I want them to have heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer. I want them to have transportation that works when they need it. The Governor’s plan will not provide them with any of those things,” added DeCroce.
