The House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to advance House Bill 2025, which would require legislative authorization before Pennsylvania could enter into any multi-state program, such as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), that would impose a carbon tax.
The overarching goal of the legislation would also require legislative authorization before Pennsylvania could impose such a tax on employers engaged in electric generation, manufacturing or other industries operating in the Commonwealth.
State Rep. Jim Struzzi (R-Indiana), prime sponsor of House Bill 2025, said the legislation “gives a voice back to the people” on a carbon tax issue that will ultimately be paid for by Pennsylvania residents and businesses.
“Given Pennsylvania is already ahead of the carbon dioxide reduction goals established under the governor’s Climate Action Plan, why would we want to jeopardize thousands of Pennsylvania jobs and trigger significantly higher electricity rate increases when the existing competitive market has already achieved these gains?” Struzzi said. “The action to enter RGGI would have serious ramifications on Pennsylvania businesses, jobs, energy prices and future economic opportunities that are not being considered by the governor.”
On Oct. 3, 2019, Gov. Tom Wolf issued an executive order directing the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to commence RGGI regulations. Specifically, RGGI would establish a regional cap on the amount of carbon dioxide pollution that power plants can emit by establishing a trading system between power plants in RGGI member states as well as setting a carbon tax on fossil fuel users.
While Struzzi has always been opposed to Wolf’s push to enter Pennsylvania into RGGI, he noted that now is certainly not the time.
“During these unprecedented times, when Pennsylvania’s economy has been severely hindered by the COVID-19 pandemic, this is not the time to enact policies that would cost us jobs,” Struzzi said. “I am standing in firm opposition to any sort of carbon tax being placed on our energy producers, especially if that decision is made without legislative approval.”
Members of the Power PA Jobs Alliance applauded the House passage of the bill.
“If RGGI is implemented in Pennsylvania, it would eliminate affordable, reliable and resilient electricity production in Pennsylvania, directly impacting thousands of jobs that provide the electricity and the necessary fuel for that production,” Power PA Jobs Alliance said in a statement. “It would also force an unnecessary financial burden onto consumers through higher electricity prices, all with no overall environmental benefits.”
The Alliance also disputed an analysis released Wednesday by the DEP, stating that economic modeling showed that Pennsylvania’s participation in RGGI will lead to a net increase of more than 27,000 jobs and add $1.9 billion to the Gross State Product.
“The DEP’s own modeling shows no decrease in carbon dioxide emissions in our transmission organization as a result of Pennsylvania joining RGGI, but rather a shift in generation, and therefore jobs, to our neighboring states that do not tax,” the Alliance stated.
House Bill 2025, which passed by a bipartisan majority of 130-71, has been sent to the Senate for consideration. Wolf has already stated that he plans to veto the bill.