Author Topic: Carbon taxes face growing state battle  (Read 199 times)

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Offline libertybele

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Carbon taxes face growing state battle
« on: January 09, 2022, 09:01:48 pm »
Carbon taxes face growing state battle

While President Joe Biden continues to pursue anti-energy initiatives at the national level, those same policies appear to be unraveling at the state level.

The proposed restrictions on oil and gas use that sit at the heart of Biden’s "Build Back Better" agenda would only further accelerate rising consumer costs. The House version of the bill, for instance, is overloaded with new fees and taxes that would greatly increase the cost of domestic energy production. What will this mean for people who need to heat their homes, buy groceries, fill their tanks, and pay utility bills?

The answer comes in the form of a multistate climate change agreement that reflects in microcosm what Team Biden is attempting to do nationally. Recent developments in key states suggest the agreement may be in the early stages of collapse for the same reasons Build Back Better has stalled federally.

In Virginia, Republican Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin has made it clear that he intends to pull his state out of the  Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative , a " cap and trade " regulatory scheme widely known as RGGI. Youngkin aptly described the initiative as a "carbon tax" that will raise energy costs during his remarks before the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce in December. Dominion Energy, the state’s largest electric utility, is poised to nearly  double  the carbon surcharge it passes along to consumers for participating in RGGI.  Government figures  show this charge will boost the average residential customer’s monthly bill by $4.37 beginning in September. The surcharge is estimated  to be $2.39 a month.

There are 11 RGGI states in the New England and mid-Atlantic regions that require power plants to purchase carbon allowances at quarterly auctions whenever those plants exceed the cap on emissions established under the climate change compact. Emissions prices for credits hit a record high of  $13 per ton  in the most recent auction, which will translate into more carbon taxes for consumers. This would help to explain why new member states have been holding out.

In Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, had planned on having his state join RGGI this week. But he is running into opposition from lawmakers in both parties. Wolf had issued an  executive order  in 2019 directing his Department of Environmental Protection to develop regulations limiting carbon dioxide emissions in anticipation of joining the initiative. But in December, the Pennsylvania House passed a  concurrent resolution  disapproving of Wolf’s carbon dioxide budget trading program, which means the regulations cannot be published in the state registry. The state Senate passed the resolution in October.

Assuming Wolf exercises his veto, the resolution will return to the Pennsylvania Senate, which will then have 10 legislative days or 30 calendar days to override the veto. If that effort is successful, the resolution will then go back to the House, which also needs to muster a two-thirds vote. That seems a tall order, but Wolf is drawing opposition from some of his own Democrats, putting a veto override within reach. Rep. Pam Snyder, who represents Greene, Fayette, and Washington counties, is among the Democrats who voted in favor of the resolution.  ............

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/faith-freedom-self-reliance/carbon-taxes-face-growing-state-battle
I Believe in the United States of America as a Government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; a democracy in a republic; a sovereign nation of many sovereign states; a perfect union one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes.  I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to love it; to support its Constitution; to obey its laws to respect its flag; and to defend it against all enemies.

Offline IsailedawayfromFR

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Re: Carbon taxes face growing state battle
« Reply #1 on: January 11, 2022, 01:57:50 am »
This is why we need to keep our Republic strong by keeping the states strong and the federal government weak.

State governments are much more accountable than DC bureaucrats and out-of-touch Congress.
No punishment, in my opinion, is too great, for the man who can build his greatness upon his country's ruin~  George Washington