PA Supreme Court Must Strike Down Shapiro’s Energy Tax

Originally published by RealClearPennsylvania.

Tomorrow, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will begin oral arguments about an energy tax looming over utility bills in the commonwealth: the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Pennsylvanians are already paying some of the highest electricity costs nationally and face economic uncertainty with this new massive energy tax—unless the courts stop it.

RGGI, a multistate cap-and-trade program, functions more like a backdoor carbon tax. By imposing added costs on carbon-emitting power plants, RGGI jacks up electricity costs, resulting in economy-wide price hikes for already-burdened ratepayers.

Pennsylvania’s entry into RGGI was legally dubious from the start. In 2005, Gov. Tom Wolf forced Pennsylvania into RGGI via an unconstitutional executive order, bypassing the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The Commonwealth Court ruled that Wolf’s action enacted an unconstitutional tax without legislative approval. Gov. Josh Shapiro appealed the decision, bringing us to this moment.

Read more at RealClearPennsylvania.