House passes bill to rename community solar program in Hortman’s honor

The late Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman was an avid advocate for “green energy.” She regarded her work promoting the increased use of renewable resources to be among her most important accomplishments during her 21 years in the House.

So it’s appropriate that so many of her colleagues wore varying shades of green as they honored her legacy Thursday, from dresses to jackets to ties, buttons and ribbons.

They spoke of her vision and leadership in spearheading the state’s community solar garden program. And they concluded the conversation by lighting up the vote board entirely in green, voting 133-0 to pass HF3556, a bill sponsored by Rep. Patty Acomb (DFL-Minnetonka), that would rename that program after Hortman.

The bill is now on its way to the Senate.

“She traveled the country and the world sharing about the benefits of this program and it’s held up as a model for other states to emulate,” Acomb said. “Naming it in her honor is the least we can do to ensure her passion and commitment to distributed renewable energy is not forgotten.”

Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman takes the oath of office as speaker in 2019. (House Photography file photo)

Since Hortman was assassinated in June, former colleagues have often taken opportunities to honor her, their tributes sometimes tinged with tears. And Thursday was no exception, perhaps the saddest moment coming in words from Rep. Larry Kraft (DFL-St. Louis Park) about Hortman receiving a lifetime achievement award from the Minnesota Solar Energy Industries Association in 2023.

“At the time, she said, ‘What should I do now? Should I retire now?’,” Kraft recounted. “But she quickly reassured them that she still had a lot of work to do. And she did and still does, and I think that falls now onto all of us.”

The program that may soon bear her name was created when Hortman was chair of the energy committee in 2013. It allows subscribers to participate in a solar energy system along with other subscribers, their share of the electricity generated by the project credited on their electric utility bill.

“It reflects a bold and practical idea that clean energy should not just be limited to those who can afford rooftop panels or own their own home,” Acomb said.

Rep. Athena Hollins (DFL-St. Paul) noted that the solar industry in Minnesota has grown from 814 jobs when the legislation was passed in 2013 to almost 5,000 employees today.

“At the time, solar energy was a small part of our energy mix,” said House DFL Floor Leader Jamie Long (DFL-Mpls). “Speaker Hortman was seeing the future. She authored the solar energy standard requiring investor-owned utilities to provide 1.5% of their power from solar by 2020, with a goal of 10% by 2030. And that helped kick-start sustained investment in solar from our state’s utilities.”

Praise for Hortman came from both sides of the aisle.

“She really understood something fundamental about this chamber and our job,” said House Republican Floor Leader Harry Niska (R-Ramsey). “She carried herself with a deep respect for the seriousness of the work that we do.”