Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan for the state to enter the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) suffered a setback this week when the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania stopped the final regulation from being published.
In a one-sentence order on Tuesday, the court said, “Processing of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Regulation for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin is stayed pending further order of the Court.”
The publication of the regulatory rulemaking that was scheduled for Saturday would have entered Pennsylvania into RGGI, a multi-state carbon tax agreement, through the regulatory process instead of through legislative approval. The regulation would have required fossil fuel-fired power plants to pay a per ton price for their carbon dioxide emissions.
Republicans in the state legislature had passed a measure preventing the state from joining RGGI, but Wolf vetoed the legislation. On Monday, the state Senate failed to override the veto. Republicans had previously requested an injunction preventing the regulation from being published while the issue works its way through the courts.
A hearing on that litigation is scheduled for May 4. The court’s new order bars the Wolf administration from publishing the final regulation until the litigation is resolved.
Republican leaders praised the court for its decision, saying all the other states in RGGI entered with the approval of their legislatures and that a bipartisan majority of Pennsylvania’s legislators have consistently voted against the issue.
Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman (R-Bellefonte), Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward (R-Westmoreland), Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Pat Browne (R-Lehigh) and Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee Chair Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming) applauded the court’s decision.
“Governor Wolf’s approach on this issue runs contrary to the Constitution by attempting to usurp powers that are vested in the General Assembly,” the senators wrote in a joint statement. “We cannot allow him to change the rules just because he may not like the outcome. We appreciate the court putting the brakes on this troubled policy until all of the legal issues can be considered on their merits.”
The senators said the regulation will increase power costs for the state’s residents.
“The governor’s attempt to unilaterally enter Pennsylvania into RGGI would put even more financial pressure on Pennsylvania families with increased electric bills at a time when they are already struggling due to inflation and the anti-energy policies of Governor Wolf and President Biden,” the senators wrote. “We need an energy strategy that makes the best use of our natural resources and unleashes the full potential to our economy – not cripple it for the sake of political ideology.”