Three Republican legislators proposed ideas for new legislation Monday to repeal the state’s ban on construction of new nuclear power plants.

Rep. Michael Huebsch, R-West Salem, Rep. Phil Montgomery, R-Green Bay, and Sen. Joe Liebham, R-Sheboygan, said in a statement Monday they are crafting the bill as a way to prevent energy shortages, unsustainable price increases and utility taxes.

The statement also said the findings and recommendations of Gov. Jim Doyle’s Task Force on Global Warming are not complete because plans to reduce emissions are not coupled with new baseload energy generators.

Huebsch said if the state is going to be serious about lessoning the dependence on oil and coal, the only option is nuclear power.

“Nuclear is the only baseload source that is carbon free,” Huebsch said. “I don’t intend to exclude wind power and biomass, but they can only supplement a greater energy source.”

He added the bill will be introduced in the next couple of weeks, and he hopes after many previously unsuccessful attempts it will pass through the Legislature.

When asked about the dangers and problems of nuclear waste containment and disposal, Huebsch said the same could be said about fossil fuels.

“There is no good waste disposal plan for oil and coal,” Huebsch said. “Any-one who has researched nuclear power plants knows the new designs actually produce less waste, so it can be stored on site.”

According to Kevin Brady, spokesperson for Senate Committee on Commerce, Utilities, Energy and Rail Chair Jeffrey Plale, D-South Milwaukee, supports the recommendations of Doyle’s task force on the whole.

“[Plale] was a member of governor’s task force on global warming and supported the recommendations of the task force, which included lifting the ban,” Brady said.

Brady added Plale is working with other legislators to draft an outline and expects to see a full and active debate on the legislation.

According to Assembly Committee on Natural Resources Chair Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, however, the state has no ban on new nuclear power plants.

“Wisconsin law has no ban on nuclear power plants but two criteria it needs to make,” Black said. “One is a place to dispose of waste, and two, it has be economical compared to alternatives.”

Black said he thinks the current criteria make sense because nuclear waste stays highly poisonous for 10,000 years, so it needs to be kept in a safe place and the state should concentrate producing electricity through the most economically reasonable method.

“I don’t think this (bill) has much of a chance in the Legislature,” Black said. “Many similar bills have been proposed and have failed.”

Black also said removing the criteria for nuclear energy plants was not part of the Global Warming Task Force’s recommendations. He added he is part of the group that is drafting legislation based on those recommendations called the Clean Energy Jobs Act and said their proposals will be introduced next month.