As expected, Governor Tom Wolf yesterday vetoed Representative Jim Struzzi’s House Bill 2025, which would have given the legislature a say in Wolf’s effort to have Pennsylvania join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (also known as “RGGI”). The veto drew a quick response from Struzzi and Senator Joe Pittman, who both vowed to continue the fight.
Struzzi said joining RGGI would “crush our local communities and families.” He said Wolf’s allegiance lies with his own power and his own agenda, and said the governor has no interest in learning how RGGI would impact jobs, exports, and energy prices.
Pittman said Wolf “has signed the economic death warrant” for the communities within the 41st District, and promised to “continue to explore all avenues, legislative and legal, to prevent the governor from unilaterally increasing the bills of electricity consumers by $300 million while exporting thousands of good-paying family-sustaining jobs to other states.”
Pennsylvania would be the only major energy producing state to join RGGI, a nine-state compact which taxes carbon emissions and would potentially cause Indiana County’s coal-fired power plants to close.
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