What is the deal that legislative leaders have promised to Peabody Energy?
On July 25, 2007 Governor Fletcher, House Speaker Jody Richards and Senate President David Williams struck a deal with Peabody Energy – the world’s largest coal company. The company agreed to recommend that its investors approve a plan to build a new coal-to-natural-gas plant in Kentucky if the legislature will hold a special session this summer to pass a package of new tax incentives worth $300 million for Peabody. The actual legislation may not be made public until hours before the legislature meets. However, it is expected to look an awful lot like Senate Bill 1, a piece of legislation passed by the Kentucky Senate in early July. That bill contained four new subsidies for any company seeking to build a coal-to-liquid or coal-to-gas plant in the state, including: • An income tax rebate worth 80% of the income taxes collected from employees who work at the facility, including construction-related employment, for 25 years. (This means that 80% of the personal income taxes paid by emplo
