POUGHKEEPSIE – Dutchess County legislators are going to vote on whether they should back federal legislation to close the so-called Enron loophole.

The measure, proposed by County Legislature Environment Committee Chairman Joel Tyner would request that Congress pass the bill to increase transparency and oversight for over-the-county trading of energy commodities like heating oil, crude oil, coal, natural gas, propane, diesel fuel and electricity.

“People are saying $20 or $30 out of every barrel of oil at $101, $105, whatever it is; that has an impact – the price of gasoline, the price of fuel, the price of heating oil – that has a very definite impact on people’s county property taxes, and sales taxes, and town taxes and school taxes,” he said.

The Environment Committee also set a public hearing on a proposal for stores to accept plastic bags for recycling, and to memorialize the state legislation to protect the Environmental Protection Fund from being raided by the state with that money being used for other budget bailout purposes.