Republicans On House Committee Report Out Resolution To Kill Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Regulation

On November 8, Republicans on the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee voted to report out Senate Concurrent Resolution #1 disapproving of the final regulation limiting carbon emissions from power plants consistent with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

The resolution now goes to the full House for consideration and then, if passed, on to Gov. Wolf for his action.  Gov. Wolf said he would veto the resolution.

The Committee took the action even though the deadline for the House to act on a resolution like this under the Regulatory Review Act expired in October.  The House had 30 calendar days or 10 legislative days from September 2 [Read more here] to consider a resolution under the Act.

There is no provision in the Regulatory Review Act for a second, third or more time period sto act on the resolution.

The law says, “If either committee reports a concurrent resolution before the expiration of the 14-day period, the Senate and the House of Representatives shall each have 30 calendar days or ten legislative days, whichever is longer, from the date on which the concurrent resolution has been reported, to adopt the concurrent resolution.”

This is not even debatable, but this Senate and House do what they want.

On October 27, the Senate voted 32 to 18, just short of a veto-proof margin, to adopt the concurrent resolution to block the regulations, within its time period for action.

Legislation

Separately, the Senate passed legislation in June-- Senate Bill 119 (Pittman-R-Indiana)-- that would also block the regulations from going into effect.  The bill has been in the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee since that time.

In September, the House Environmental Committee reported out its own version of the bill-- House Bill 637 (Struzzi-R-Indiana)-- which is now Tabled in the House.

Both the Senate and House bills are like legislation Gov. Wolf vetoed in September of 2020.  Read more here.

Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler) serves as Majority Chair of the House Environmental Committee and can be contacted by calling 717-783-1707 or sending email to: dmetcalf@pahousegop.com. Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware) serves as Minority Chair and can be contacted by calling 717-787-7647 or sending email to: gvitali@pahouse.net. 

Related Articles:

-- Senate Passes Resolution To Block Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Regulations; Now Goes To House

-- How Did We Get Here: Background On The Final EQB Regulation Reducing Carbon Pollution From Power Plants [RGGI] 

[Posted: November 8, 2021]  PA Environment Digest