PROVIDENCE – Legislation that ups the ante for the state to cut greenhouse gas emissions has won approval in both chambers of the R.I. General Assembly.
The House passed the Act on Climate bill by a 53-22 vote on Tuesday after more than four hours of debate, including a flurry of failed amendments, mostly from Republican lawmakers, seeking to strike or weaken certain parts of the bill or limit its impact on residents and business owners.
Among the sources of contention is a provision that makes the new emissions targets court enforceable. Opponents feared it could penalize business owners, even indirectly, and increase costs for the state to a “floodgate” of lawsuits. Supporters, however, noted that the language only permits lawsuits against the state, not business owners or residents, and only in specific circumstances if the state fails to meet incremental targets for greenhouse gas emissions, the first of which happens in 2030.
Also at issue is the indirect cost to property owners who may be forced to upgrade heating systems to accommodate electric heat, which reports suggest would be critical to decarbonizing the economy. One manufacturer, Craig Pickell of Bullard Abrasives, Inc, told Providence Business News last week he would consider relocating outside the state if the bill was enacted because of cost concerns.
The bill updates greenhouse gas emissions targets, with the ultimate goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. It also calls for the R.I. Executive Climate Change Coordinating Council – established in 2014 – to offer an updated plan every five years outlining “strategies, programs and actions” on how to meet incremental reductions in emissions targets, with opportunity for public comment.
Supporters lauded the bill as a long-awaited update based on the latest climate science and one that offers additional public input and transparency. But business leaders questioned whether these updated targets are even possible.
Independent nonprofit ISO New England Inc. is aiming to answer this question through a study that has not yet been completed.
Debate Tuesday also struck an ideological tone over whether the executive branch, through the climate change council and state agencies, should be the group in charge of these regulations, versus elected lawmakers. An amendment introduced by Minority Leader Blake Filippi, R-New Shoreham, that would have made any plan detailing how to reach emissions targets advisory until the General Assembly passed a law to enact it failed by a 15-51 vote.
The legislation heads back to the Senate, which already passed a companion bill by a 33-4 vote on March 16, leaving the final decision to Gov. Daniel J. McKee. Andrea Palagi, a spokeswoman for McKee, in an email Tuesday said that the governor “looks forward to reviewing the legislation.”
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Lavin@PBN.com.
