Democratic lawmakers in the state House and Senate today introduced a 100-percent clean energy bill for Minnesota. Senator Nick Frentz of North Mankato said at a news conference this afternoon that “the people of this state and this country are going to ask very soon, what did we do about climate change and the question is no longer how can we do this and than, but how can we not?”The bill aims to move the state away from power sources relying on fossil fuels in favor of renewable sources like wind and solar. Frentz said to fellow residents in Greater Minnesota, “this bill is good for us. we will put solar and wind on southern Minnesota farms, we will have northern Minnesota opportunities to build local electric generation and local energy efficiency, we will create jobs across the state. But Republican Representative Chris Swedzinski of Ghent says he’s “very concerned” about what the measure “means for the future of our ability to compete for jobs and industry in southwest Minnesota and across our state.” Supporters of the bill say in addition to providing environmental and health benefits, a move toward clean energy would also boost the economy and lessen the state’s spending up to $13 billion each year on fossil fuel energy from other others states. A companion bill in the House is authored by Representative Jamie Long of Minneapolis.