An amendment offered in the Senate Appropriations Committee by Sen. John Rafferty (R-Montgomery) Wednesday has blunted efforts to pass House Bill 2354 (Snyder-D-Fayette) which authorizes one-House of the General Assembly to veto any greenhouse gas emission reduction plan required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The amendment passed by a vote of 14 to 12.  The bill now goes to the full Senate for a final vote where a floor fight is anticipated.  If the bill is passed in its current form, it must return to the House for a concurrence vote.

Sen. Rafferty’s amendment removes 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.

Prior to submitting a final plan to EPA, DEP is required to send the plan to the General Assembly for review and DEP must respond to any comments before submitting the plan to EPA.

There is a specific provision 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 Senate has adjourned for the week and returns Tuesday and Wednesday for the last scheduled voting session days of this year.

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10/13/2014