First, many legislators are openly questioning why Fletcher has chosen the July 6th date. Several dozen lawmakers are scheduled to attend the Southern Legislative Conference which begins July 14th in Williamsburg, Pa. If the legislature's work isn't done and they have to send the special session into recess, they'd keep getting paid for the time they're in recess. At a cost of $60,000/day, lawmakers are wondering why Fletcher would risk calling a special session that would have to wrap up in 7 days, or Fletcher would take the heat for failing to have agreement on all issues and blowing the taxpayers money on lawmakers who aren't even working in Frankfort. Some folks close to Fletcher are confident the governor can prod House Democrats into passing funding for projects and an energy bill in 7 days and Fletcher has been personally calling lawmakers. But it is a risk.

Now here's the C-J's story about the Kentucky Resources Council's discovery that the Fletcher administration has already inked some energy incentive deals with coal companies:

UPDATED: 3:08 PM
State has committed millions to coal projects

By Stephenie Steitzer
ssteitzer@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Even before Gov. Ernie Fletcher asked the General Assembly to approve incentives to attract coal-conversion plants to Kentucky, his administration had quietly committed at least $2.4 million to two such projects.

Without a public announcement, the state awarded a contract in May to Peabody Energy for $400,000 to conduct a feasibility study on a $3 billion coal-to-liquid fuel plant near Sturgis, in Union County.

And it committed $2 million in February to help a company called EnviRes LLC develop technology in the Ashland area to gasify coal, biomass and other carbon-bearing materials.

Fletcher has said repeatedly that Kentucky would not be considered for such projects without tax incentives that he is proposing for a special legislative session, tentatively scheduled to begin next week.

Democratic leaders in the House have taken the position that the issue can be dealt with during next year’s regular session and that a special session is unnecessary.

And, in fact, the Peabody feasibility study isn’t even expected to be completed until April 2008, when next year’s session would be ending.

The two contracts clearly indicate that the state is willing to make a financial commitment to attract such projects.

But they do not indicate that either project is a done deal. For example, the Peabody contract stipulates: “Results from the feasibility phase will determine whether or not the Kentucky project will proceed.”

At the same time, nothing in the contract states that the project would be contingent on tax incentives, and in fact it maps out the company’s tentative timeline, with construction to begin in 2010.

Representatives from Peabody and the governor’s office could not be reached for comment today.

The $400,000 Peabody grant, from the Governor’s Office of Energy Policy, is to be used to pay a portion of the $1.4 million cost of conducting studies of engineering, labor and product marketing studies, according to the contract.

Representatives of House Speaker Jody Richards’ office and Majority Leader Rocky Adkins’ office said they were not aware of the contract and declined to comment further.

EnviRes officials could not be reached for comment.