Pennsylvania state Rep. Joshua Kail (Beaver/Washington) said an energy tax included in budget proposals from Gov. Josh Shapiro and House Democrats would cripple Pennsylvania families.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Kail, the House Republican Policy Committee chairman, said the effects of Pennsylvania joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is reflected in a $663 million energy tax in Gov. Josh Shapiro’s Fiscal Year 2023-2024 proposed budget that would be passed down to consumers. The Democrat-led House approved its budget that also included the energy tax and it is currently under consideration in the Republican-controlled Senate.
The House Republican Policy Committee will hold two hearings next week on how an energy tax as part of the state entering into RGGI would hurt the energy industry and state economy. The committee will hold a hearing on Monday entitled, “The Negative Impacts of the Energy Tax,” followed on Friday by a hearing about “Electrifying Our World: Impacts on Grid Integrity & Reliability.”
“During a time when families struggle to pay for basic necessities, Democrats want to take more of your hard-earned dollars,” said Kail. “Simply put: More taxes aren’t the solution, and they create a significant obstacle to opportunity.”
The RGGI is a cooperative effort between 11 states to cap and reduce CO2 emissions. Former Gov. Tom Wolf entered into the agreement through action by the Department of Environmental Protection in 2022. The Shapiro administration has argued that the provisions of the RGGI program fall under the state’s Clean Air Fund, and that the money raised from RGGI is not a tax and can only be used to reduce air pollution. Republicans have argued that Pennsylvania’s participation in RGGI essentially equates to a carbon tax and that Wolf’s actions to enter the compact by Executive Order through regulation bypassed the normal legislative process. The question of whether the state can join the initiative has been the subject of ongoing court cases.
The budget proposal estimates the state will raise $663 million through RGGI enforcement.
Kail said according to the Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) the energy tax would nearly quadruple electricity rates. Additionally, his office said, a 2022 report by FOX 56 in Wilkes-Barre found that auction clearing prices – the amount energy producers pay to buy carbon emission “credits” to offset their emissions – were $3.24 per short ton. Those prices are expected to exceed $13 per short ton, the legislator said.
“Governor Josh Shapiro is playing political games while workers are losing their jobs,” Kail said. “If we want transformational change in our Commonwealth, we must end the political games, end the tax and spend status quo and provide hope for future Pennsylvanians to come.”