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Today, the Pa. House is voting on a bill to prevent Gov. Tom Wold from unilaterally entering RGGI, a regional cap-and-trade program to reduce Pennsylvania's greenhouse gas emissions.
This will pass. Blue Dog Democrats and Republicans will vote for it. The question is more -- can opponents get the votes to override Wolf on this go?
An override would come on the back of trade unions, who support this bill and garner hefty Democratic support. https://www.penncapital-star.com/blog/trade-unions-join-the-fight-against-wolfs-interstate-initiative-to-limit-carbon-emissions/
See the debate over e-verify in Pa. https://www.penncapital-star.com/blog/immigrant-advocates-to-wolf-veto-bill-that-expands-e-verify-to-all-pa-construction-workers/
Debates has started. Bill sponsor Rep. Jim Struzzi, R-Indiana, says the proposal is about "standing up for Pennsylvania job." His district includes two big coal fired power plants.
Rep. Greg Vitali, D-Delaware, and the House's loudest environmental voice: “We have been an irresponsible body more concerned with keeping our friends in this industry or that industry happy...then our children’s future."
There's a lot of q's about RGGI's effectiveness. I've perused some research. A Duke study found that RGGI reduces carbon. A peer reviewed study from the Analysis Group found economic benefits from RGGI.
But a Congressional study from last year concluded that RGGI's "contribution to directly reducing the global accumulation of GHG emissions in the atmosphere is arguably negligible.”
The compact may instead "stimulate action in other states or at the federal level. When business and industry
have confronted a growing patchwork of state requirements, these sectors have historically
preferred a national policy."
have confronted a growing patchwork of state requirements, these sectors have historically
preferred a national policy."
The GOP argument on this bill is going to focus on process, not climate. For example, Rep. John Lawrence, R-Chester, is running down the legal distinctions of interstate compacts.
"Executive implementation is a roll of the dice," Lawrence says. This is a fairly good point. Environmentalists have pointed out that the next governor could easily pull Pennsylvania out of RGGI in 2022, if they wished.
"Doesn't it makes sense for the General Assembly would want to weight in on this?" Lawrence says. Unsaid — the Wolf admin has put out olive branches to lawmakers asking for input on how to spend RGGI revenue. Spending the $$ will require legislation.
There have been, AFAIK, no talks on how to implement RGGI. Just this push to stop Wolf.
Rep. Ed Neilson, a trade union-allied Philly Democrat who plans to vote yes, told me that just advancing this bill will force a conversation. And with new GOP leadership in the House, he hopes talks around RGGI will be more productive.
Rep. Eric Nelson, R-Westmoreland, says just the threat of RGGI has led union trade workers to look for work in other states. I heard this anecdotally on a trip out west in the before time.
"We should be working together, environmentalists and capitalists, so everybody wins," Nelson says, referencing plastic production.
Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Greene, one of the last of the Blue Dogs, will be a yes, she says. She was a yes in committee, and her district has the biggest coal mine in the country, she says.
Snyder points out that the economic assumptions of RGGI were from a pre-COVID-19 era. And she says Wolf has not reached out to impacted workers to chat about what a transition would look like.
Rep. Maureen Madden, D-Monroe, says she stands to disagree that labor and the environment have to be opposed. On renewable jobs, "why do we always have to be last in the most important things in the commonwealth?," Madden says.
NEWS: The Pennsylvania House approved a bill 130-71 to block Gov. Tom Wolf from entering a regional cap-and-trade program, but fell five votes shy of a veto override.
Here's the vote breakdown for anyone interested. https://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS/Legis/RC/Public/rc_view_action2.cfm?sess_yr=2019&sess_ind=0&rc_body=H&rc_nbr=1507
Here's a map of the vote on RGGI and any future carbon pricing.
Dark Blue: R yes
Light Blue: D yes
Dark Orange: D No
Light Orange: R No
Dark Blue: R yes
Light Blue: D yes
Dark Orange: D No
Light Orange: R No
Notice the cluster of D yeses in Northeast Philly and around PGH, showing the trade union support. Also, the lone center state R no from Lancaster suburbs.
Also, any opinions on color scheme?
And, another vote note: Shockingly view NEPA defections versus SWPA and NWPA. Sometimes the whole NEPA Dem delegation will break with Wolf. https://twitter.com/StephenJ_Caruso/status/1280945418654924800?s=20
In case you want this thread condensed or — er...concentrated might be the better word — into one story, here ya go. https://www.penncapital-star.com/energy-environment/in-bipartisan-vote-house-blocks-wolf-from-entering-regional-climate-initiative-senate-vote-awaits/
