Gov. Phil Murphy is making an end-of-term push to turn his 100 percent clean energy pledge into law before he leaves office early next year, and a leading environmental ally has a new plan to help sell it.
It’s been two years since state Sen. Bob Smith, the Middlesex County Democrat who leads the Senate’s environment and energy committee, began circulating such a bill that, at least on paper, would allow the state to claim it gets all of its power from zero-carbon sources by 2035. A new version has been floating around in recent weeks and the term-limited Democratic governor is pushing to get over the finish line in the year-end lame duck legislative session.
“We feel this is the right moment in history for this legislation,” Murphy’s top climate adviser, Eric Miller, said in an interview.
The governor held a big stakeholder meeting with key lawmakers and labor and environmental groups and is continuing to seek input.
