The Senate voted late Tuesday night 29 to 20 to revert to the prior language in House Bill 2354 (Snyder-D-Fayette) which authorizes a one-House of the General Assembly to veto any greenhouse gas emission reduction plan required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The vote eliminates an amendment offered by Sen. John Rafferty (R-Montgomery) in Senate Appropriations Committee last week which eliminated the one-House veto provision and instead provides for an “enhanced review” of any greenhouse gas emission reduction plan proposed by DEP and provide any comments on the plan to DEP.
The vote also removed a specific provision added by Sen. Rafferty authorizing DEP to submit a greenhouse gas emission reduction plan to EPA in compliance with federal requirements, notwithstanding any other provision of the bill.
The bill still faces a final vote in the Senate Wednesday, the last scheduled session day of the year. If the bill is passed by the Senate and remains unchanged, it goes to the Governor for his action.