HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Senate approved bipartisan legislation on Tuesday to repeal the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) electricity tax enacted through executive order by the Wolf Administration in 2019, according to Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R-41).
RGGI, a multi-state compact, would increase electricity rates for consumers, cut energy and has placed a halt on expansion of numerous manufacturing jobs. No new investments in baseload generation have come to Pennsylvania in the six years since the Wolf Administration attempted to enter the state into RGGI.
In 2023, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruled Pennsylvania’s entrance into RGGI may only be achieved through legislation duly enacted by the General Assembly, not merely through rulemaking promulgated by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Environmental Quality Board (EQB).
Senate Bill 186 formally repeals Pennsylvania’s participation in RGGI, ensuring that any decision to impose electricity taxes or emissions programs must go through the legislative process rather than being enacted unilaterally by the executive branch.
“For nearly six years, we have been taking actions to stop the RGGI Electricity Tax,” Pittman said. “Even though the Commonwealth Court has ruled RGGI is unconstitutional, Gov. Shapiro has continued his push with the Supreme Court. If the RGGI Electricity Tax would go into effect, it would mean hundreds of millions of dollars of increases on electric bills, impacting every electricity consumer in this commonwealth. We must help families feeling the strain of inflation – not put more pressure on their household budgets.”
Despite continuous, bipartisan objections from the General Assembly, Gov. Josh Shapiro has been unwilling to accept the Commonwealth Court ruling and has instead chosen to continue wasting taxpayer dollars with his years long appeal of the RGGI decision to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
The bill now moves to the House of Representatives.
Media Contact: Kate Flessner