The Senate Appropriations Committee agreed Thursday to put a clean energy amendment on the ballot, increasing the likelihood voters will be scratching their heads when they go the polls later this year.

Republican Jeff Brandes of St. Petersburg wants to use tax breaks to promote solar and geothermal power, and environmentalists are giving qualified support.

First came the environmentalists and T-Party activists with their ballot initiative. Floridians for Solar Choice want to make it legal for small-scale solar generators to sell electricity.

Then came the monopoly utilities and their similar sounding Consumers for Smart Solar. Other than provide a vehicle to attack the environmentalists, their amendment does little.

On Thursday, Brandes stepped to the plate with the latest version of a constitutional amendment. It’s hardly bumper sticker friendly.

“First it provides flexibility for the Legislature to establish the conditions, limitations, and definitions that would be applicable to the tax exemption proposed by this ballot initiative.”

Floridians for Solar Choice, the first group, won’t make the November ballot. Backers hope to raise enough signatures for 2018.

Consumers for Smart Solar has more than enough signatures for November, but it’s waiting for the Florida Supreme Court to give its Okay.

Environmentalists hope the Florida justices strike down the utility backed amendment. But Susan Glickman, a lobbyist for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, supports the Brandes proposal because it provides tax breaks that would encourage the use of more solar energy.

“If we build all of the new natural gas plants that the big major monopoly utilities have in their 10-year site plans, we will be up to 89 percent reliant on gas. So not only will the solar save people money, it will also help us diversify our energy mix in Florida, which is critical.”

Brandes’ amendment would give businesses the same property tax breaks that homeowners get for installing solar. It would also lift intangible taxes on the equipment, and that’s an important step.

Intangibles taxes has kept large companies like Solar City out of the Florida market. Experts say they add up to five cents per kilowatt hour for solar energy, making it not impractical. In a recent interview, Brandes said he’s been working with the industry.

“This is exactly what they told us they need. They say, look we need, we need, to be able to lease these products without this additional tax burden on top of us. “

But environmentalists are upset by two last-minute changes to the legislative proposal. One moves the amendment from the November general election to the August primary, when far fewer voters go to the polls.

Sierra Club lobbyist David Cullen says the second change could put off the benefits of the amendment indefinitely.

“The other issue is that they have reduced the bill’s impact from requiring that there not be real estate taxes on solar and renewable energy source devices to allowing it and making it permissive, conditioned on laws passed by the Legislature.”

Leaving it up to the Legislature to implement the amendment hasn’t always worked out well for solar incentives, Cullen points out. Voters approved property tax relief for homeowners who install solar in 2008.

The Legislature implemented them five years later.

“So for a Legislature that’s very big on promoting things for industry, it’s perhaps a tad inconsistent.”

Brandes’ proposal is headed next for the Senate floor. A House companion is also lined up for a floor debate. Since they are joint resolutions, Governor Rick Scott doeesn’t get a say.

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