House Environmental Committee Reports Out Senate Clean Power Climate Plan Bill

The House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee Monday reported out Senate Bill 1195 (White-R-Indiana) further providing for the review of any plan developed by DEP to implement the EPA Clean Power Climate Plan by a vote of 21 to 4 (all Democrats).

The Senate last week passed the bill 47 to 3 after Senate Republicans and Gov. Wolf worked out amendments to the bill.

Rep. John Maher (R-Allegheny), Majority Chair of the Committee, said he anticipates a “fine-tuning wordsmithing” technical amendment on the House Floor Tuesday.

Rep. Maher said there was agreement on the bill’s provisions with the Governor’s Office which he said called them, “quite agreeable.”

Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware), Minority Chair of the Committee, said he has filed a number of floor amendments to the bill and listed a number of groups opposed to the bill.

Reaction

“For the Clean Power Plan to have maximum climate and economic benefit for Pennsylvania, the Department of Environmental Protection must retain the flexibility to develop a thoughtful plan in a timely fashion,” said Andrew Williams, Senior State Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Manager for the Environmental Defense Fund.  “Senate Bill 1195 needlessly delays and complicates this process, adding layers of legislative review to an already exhaustive regulatory process.

“Pennsylvania’s energy companies deserve to have the regulatory certainty to make prudent, near-term decisions about power sector investments under the Clean Power Plan, but SB 1195 jeopardizes this opportunity by creating planning delays that will hurt, rather than help, Pennsylvania.

“We strongly urge the House to reject this legislative red tape, and hope that Gov. Wolf will make it clear that any law that hamstrings the ability of his Administration to carry out executive functions efficiently and thoughtfully, will be vetoed. The longer the state has to wait to submit a customized plan, the less time Pennsylvania businesses have to adapt to it in a way that can best secure jobs and protect Pennsylvania’s environment.”

Rep. John Maher (R-Allegheny) serves as Majority Chair of the House Environmental Committee and can be contacted by sending email to: jmaher@pahousegop.com.  Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware) serves as Minority Chair and can be contacted by sending email to: gvitali@pahouse.net.