Reaction continues to come in concerning the decision of Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court that the state’s entry into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative was unconstitutional.
State Senator Joe Pittman said that Governor Wolf’s move to unilaterally put Pennsylvania into the multi-state compact in 2019 was unconstitutional as it would put an emissions tax on power plants in Pennsylvania and was also done without the involvement of the legislative branch. He called it an important victory, and that this should also act as a reset for discussions on energy policy.
State representative Jim Struzzi applauded the ruling on Indiana in the Morning this morning, saying that he has been saying the actions were unconstitutional since it quote, “introduced a tax with no ceiling.”
In a written statement, Struzzi said that Pennsylvanians should have been allowed to decide its fate like the 11 other states in the compact did. He also said that while RGGI is dead in the court system, the appeals process and Governor Josh Shapiro are the only lifeline left for the measure. He said “the Governor has two choices: continue to chase a bad idea in the court of appeals, or work with the General Assembly to craft a commonsense energy policy for Pennsylvania’s future.”
In its own statement, the PA Coal Alliance said that state residents had a lot to cheer about with the ruling, saying that the ruling makes sure “Pennsylvanians will not be burdened by a multi-billion dollar compliance scheme that had no meaningful reduction in CO2 emissions.”
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