Vetoed by Governor Tom Wolf

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that requires the Department of Environmental Protection to conduct a public comment process on and submit to the General Assembly a measure or action if such measure or action is intended to abate, control, or limit carbon dioxide emissions by imposing a revenue generating tax or fee on carbon dioxide.

Highlights:

• Prohibits the department from adopting a measure or taking any other action that is designed to abate, control, or limit carbon dioxide emissions, including an action to join or participate in a state or regional greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program, including the RGGI, and from establishing a greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program, unless the General Assembly specifically authorizes such a measure or action by statute (Sec. 4).

• Requires the department, before submitting a proposed measure or other proposed action to the General Assembly pursuant to the previous highlight, to (Sec. 5):

• Submit to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin the proposed measure or other proposed action that is in the form of draft legislation, with a public comment period of no less than 180 days;

• Conduct a minimum of 4 public hearings on the proposed measure or other proposed action during the public comment period, and conduct the hearings in geographically dispersed locations in the state, including locations in which regulated sources of carbon dioxide emissions would be directly economically affected by the proposal; and

• Following the public comment period, compile a report to be submitted to both standing committees following the public comment period that must include:

• A list of all individual facilities, by county, that would be subject to the proposed measure or other proposed action;

• A summary of the impacts on all industries whose public testimony or comments were received by the department during the public comment period;

• An estimate of the net carbon dioxide emission reductions that the proposed measure or other proposed action would engender within the PJM Interconnection region, taking into account the electricity generation in neighboring states where there is not a regulation or tax on carbon dioxide emissions;

• A summary and justification of any provisions in the proposed measure or other proposed action that would address leakage; 

• A description of the economic and fiscal impacts that would result from the proposed measure or other proposed action; and

• Whether a less costly or less intrusive alternative method of achieving the goal of the proposed measure or other proposed action has been considered for an employer or facility that would otherwise be subject to the proposed measure or proposed action.

• Requires the department, following the submission of the report to the committees, to submit the measure in legislative form to the standing committees and request that a member of the standing committees introduce the legislation (Sec. 5).

• Defines “RGGI” as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which is a multistate compact that establishes or calls for the compacting states to establish a regional, multistate cap on the amount of greenhouse gases released by electric generation plants (Sec. 3).

• Specifies that the “department” is in reference to the Department of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth (Sec. 3).

• Specifies that the “standing committee” is in reference to the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee of the Senate and the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee of the House of Representatives (Sec. 3).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that requires the Department of Environmental Protection to conduct a public comment process on and submit to the General Assembly a measure or action if such measure or action is intended to abate, control, or limit carbon dioxide emissions by imposing a revenue generating tax or fee on carbon dioxide.

Highlights:

• Prohibits the department from adopting a measure or taking any other action that is designed to abate, control, or limit carbon dioxide emissions, including an action to join or participate in a state or regional greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program, including the RGGI, and from establishing a greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program, unless the General Assembly specifically authorizes such a measure or action by statute (Sec. 4).

• Requires the department, before submitting a proposed measure or other proposed action to the General Assembly pursuant to the previous highlight, to (Sec. 5):

• Submit to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin the proposed measure or other proposed action that is in the form of draft legislation, with a public comment period of no less than 180 days;

• Conduct a minimum of 4 public hearings on the proposed measure or other proposed action during the public comment period, and conduct the hearings in geographically dispersed locations in the state, including locations in which regulated sources of carbon dioxide emissions would be directly economically affected by the proposal; and

• Following the public comment period, compile a report to be submitted to both standing committees following the public comment period that must include:

• A list of all individual facilities, by county, that would be subject to the proposed measure or other proposed action;

• A summary of the impacts on all industries whose public testimony or comments were received by the department during the public comment period;

• An estimate of the net carbon dioxide emission reductions that the proposed measure or other proposed action would engender within the PJM Interconnection region, taking into account the electricity generation in neighboring states where there is not a regulation or tax on carbon dioxide emissions;

• A summary and justification of any provisions in the proposed measure or other proposed action that would address leakage; 

• A description of the economic and fiscal impacts that would result from the proposed measure or other proposed action; and

• Whether a less costly or less intrusive alternative method of achieving the goal of the proposed measure or other proposed action has been considered for an employer or facility that would otherwise be subject to the proposed measure or proposed action.

• Requires the department, following the submission of the report to the committees, to submit the measure in legislative form to the standing committees and request that a member of the standing committees introduce the legislation (Sec. 5).

• Defines “RGGI” as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which is a multistate compact that establishes or calls for the compacting states to establish a regional, multistate cap on the amount of greenhouse gases released by electric generation plants (Sec. 3).

• Specifies that the “department” is in reference to the Department of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth (Sec. 3).

• Specifies that the “standing committee” is in reference to the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee of the Senate and the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee of the House of Representatives (Sec. 3).

Full Bill Text