Rep. Cutler urges Supreme Court to block RGGI

Pennsylvania Rep. Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster) urged the state Supreme Court to follow the law and delay Pennsylvania’s entry into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative while the agreements legal merits are argued.

The Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in a case that will partially determine whether the state enters into RGGI. RGGI is a 13-state effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Already 11 states in New England and some of the mid-Atlantic participate in the initiative. If Pennsylvania joins, it would be the first major fossil fuel-producing state to participate.

“Democrats at all levels of government, and now across two administrations, have conspired to ignore Pennsylvania law and put Pennsylvania into this multi-state compact that will do nothing but raise energy prices on Pennsylvania’s families and crush family-sustaining energy sector jobs,” Cutler said.

In 2019, Republican legislators blocked efforts to join the RGGI, but in 2021, Gov. Tom Wolf approved joining the program without legislative approval through action under the Department of Environmental Protection.

Republican lawmakers and energy production groups filed suit and in July 2022, the Commonwealth Court issued an order to block the state from enacting RGGI regulations until courts could rule on the constitutionality of how Wolf’s administration chose to join the coalition.

The main issue before the Supreme Court is whether Wolf had the authority to join the program due to the costs. Republicans argue that the plan will raise taxes on Pennsylvanians and damage the state’s growing energy economy. Wolf’s administration argued the proceeds from carbon auctions, estimated at about $663 million per year, were administrative fees placed on energy producers.

“Pennsylvania Republicans absolutely believe we need to move Pennsylvania forward with a thriving economy and more affordable living, both of which require us to invest in the growth of our home-grown energy industry,” Cutler stated. “Democrat-driven policies like RGGI that destroy jobs and increase costs on Pennsylvanians will only set the Commonwealth back in our competitive advantage as we continue to lose out on opportunities being offered to other states.”