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Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro appeals court’s blockage of carbon-pricing standards

Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro appeals court’s blockage of carbon-pricing standards

Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration said Tuesday that it is appealing a court ruling that blocked a state regulation to make Pennsylvania’s power plant owners pay for their planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, even as the Democrat warned lawmakers to get to work on a better alternative. In a statement, Shapiro didn’t pledge to enforce the regulation, should his administration win the appeal at the Democratic-majority state Supreme Court. His appeal revolves around the need to preserve executive authority, his administration said. But he also urged lawmakers to come up with an alternative plan. PA GOV. SHAPIRO PUSHES FOR SCHOOL VOUCHERS, MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE AND GUN VIOLENCE LEGISLATION “Now is the time for action,” Shapiro’s office said. “Inaction is not an acceptable alternative.” Action seemed unlikely, however, as Republicans who control the state Senate criticized Shapiro’s decision to appeal and said it would hamper any meaningful discussion of energy and environmental policy. Environmental advocacy groups applauded the appeal. The case revolves around the centerpiece of former Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to fight global warming and make Pennsylvania the first major fossil fuel-producing state to adopt a carbon-pricing program. In a Nov. 1 decision, a 4-1 Commonwealth Court majority agreed with Republican lawmakers and coal-related interests that argued that Wolf’s carbon-pricing plan amounted to a tax, and therefore required legislative approval. Wolf, a Democrat, had sought to get around legislative opposition by unconstitutionally imposing the requirement through a regulation, opponents said. The regulation had authorized Pennsylvania to join the multistate Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which imposes a price and declining cap on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. Shapiro has criticized it, but also has not said definitively whether he would enforce it, should he prevail in court. Shapiro’s message to lawmakers Tuesday also did not describe the need to fight climate change. Rather, he couched the matter in different terms, calling it “commonsense energy policy” and said he would sign another carbon-pricing plan, should it win legislative approval. “Should legislative leaders choose to engage in constructive dialogue, the governor is confident we can agree on a stronger alternative to RGGI,” Shapiro’s office said in the statement. “If they take their ball and go home, they will be making a choice not to advance commonsense energy policy that protects jobs, the environment and consumers in Pennsylvania.” Such a plan continues to have no chance of passing the state Legislature, where the Republican-controlled Senate has been protective of hometown coal and natural gas industries in the nation’s No. 2 gas state. Republican lawmakers had hailed the court’s decision to block the regulation and had urged Shapiro not to appeal it. Rather, Republicans have pushed to open greater opportunities for energy production in the state and warned that the regulation will raise electricity bills, hurt in-state energy producers and drive new power generation to other states while doing little to fight climate change. In a statement, Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman, a Republican from Indiana County, called the appeal “misguided.” “Gov. Shapiro’s action further places family sustaining jobs at risk and stymies the ability for any meaningful conversations on energy and environmental policy in the Pennsylvania legislature,” Pittman said. “The governor should be standing with working families who are struggling with inflationary costs and pressures from higher electric bills.” PA GOV. SHAPIRO SIGNS OFF ON BILL EXPANDING DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR STATE-FUNDED UNIVERSITIES In the House, where Democrats hold a one-seat majority, neither a carbon-pricing plan, nor Shapiro’s most well-defined clean-energy goal — a pledge to ensure that Pennsylvania uses 30% of its electricity from renewable power sources by 2030 — have come up for a vote. Backers of the regulation included environmental advocates as well as solar, wind and nuclear power producers. They have called it the biggest step ever taken in Pennsylvania to fight climate change and said it would have generated hundreds of millions of dollars a year to promote climate-friendly energy sources and cut electricity bills through energy conservation programs. Opponents included natural gas-related interests, industrial and commercial power users and labor unions whose members build and maintain pipelines, power plants and refineries.

Pro-Trump candidate faces off with moderate Dem as Utah voters head to polls for special election

Pro-Trump candidate faces off with moderate Dem as Utah voters head to polls for special election

Voters in Utah are heading to the polls Tuesday for a special election to determine which party will fill the last remaining open seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. The election, to be held in Utah’s 2nd Congressional District, was triggered by the resignation of former Republican Rep. Chris Stewart, who left Congress in September due to his wife’s unspecified illness. Republican Celeste Maloy, who served as Stewart’s chief legal counsel in Congress, won a three-way primary election that month, and is facing off against Democrat state Sen. Kathleen Riebe, a self-described moderate. BIDEN USES TRUMP’S OWN WORDS AGAINST HIM IN BID TO RECAPTURE THIS MAJOR VOTING BLOCK FOR DEMS IN 2024 As a candidate, Maloy has touted her roots growing up in rural southern Utah, of which the district covers a vast portion, and has leaned into her support of former President Donald Trump, arguing the numerous ongoing prosecutions against him are politically motivated. “It’s exciting that we’re going to have somebody come out of this primary that represents rural and southern Utah. I think it’s time for that, and everybody’s ready for it,” Maloy said following her primary win. However, Riebe has argued the race is a pickup opportunity for Democrats, and has leaned on her experience as a school teacher while making the case that people in the district “are ready for a change.” TRUMP TO REMAIN ON COLORADO BALLOT AFTER JUDGE REJECTS 14TH AMENDMENT CHALLENGE TO ELIGIBILITY In an interview with Deseret News in August, Riebe expressed concern over the nation’s rising debt, and vowed to join the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition if elected. “Coming to a very rational decision and having very moderate ideas, I think that is what serves us best,” she told the outlet. Maloy is currently the heavy favorite to win the special election given Stewart’s double-digit margin of victory in the six elections he was the Republican nominee for the district, going back to 2012. A Democrat win would weaken Republicans’ already slim majority, while a win for the GOP would provide some extra cushion for close votes. Polls close at 8:00 p.m. local time, and 10:00 p.m. ET. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.