Indiana County lawmakers are taking the lead in pushing legislation to stop Governor Tom Wolf from forcing Pennsylvania to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the controversial nine-member coalition of states that could potentially cost our area thousands of jobs.
At a capitol news conference with colleagues from both the House and Senate, Senator Joe Pittman and Representative Jim Struzzi yesterday officially introduced twin bills that would require legislative authorization for the state to join RGGI.
Struzzi pointed out that the state is already ahead of Wolf’s carbon dioxide reduction goals, and said joining RGGI would “have serious ramifications on Pennsylvania businesses, jobs, energy prices, and future economic opportunities.”
Leading off the news conference, Pittman said Wolf’s proposal to join RGGI flies directly in the face of his stated desire to work cooperatively with the legislature. He said the new legislation stops the governor from cutting the legislature out of the process.
Pittman said he and Struzzi have invited Wolf to visit Armstrong and Indiana counties and speak with the people at the power plants, whose jobs would disappear if the plants close.
Lawmakers said yesterday that the RGGI regulations require coal-fired power plants to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes. Struzzi asked, “Why would we want to jeopardize thousands of Pennsylvania jobs and trigger significantly higher electricity rate increases when the existing competitive market has already achieved (Wolf’s) goals?”
