Main Street Hails PA Commonwealth Court’s Ruling Against RGGI Tax Hikes

November 1, 2023 Last Edit: June 5, 2025

NFIB Led Efforts to Oppose Unconstitutional Regulatory Energy Scheme

Main Street Hails PA Commonwealth Court’s Ruling Against RGGI Tax Hikes

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE HARRISBURG, PA (November 1, 2023) – Pennsylvania’s leading small business advocacy association, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), heralded the decision today by the state’s Commonwealth Court against entry into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), determining participation in RGGI “constitutes a tax that has been imposed… in violation of the Pennsylvania Constitution.” As such, the court has declared Pennsylvania’s entry into RGGI void and prohibited enforcement. “This is a huge victory for Pennsylvanians and Main Street small businesses across the Commonwealth,” said NFIB State Director Greg Moreland. “The decision by the court today will save thousands of jobs and prevent significant new energy costs for small businesses. NFIB advocacy has helped save small businesses an estimated $800 million, including efforts by members across the state who spoke out against the RGGI scheme.” In June of last year, NFIB filed an amicus brief in the case Bowfin Keycon Holdings, LLC, et al. v. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection at the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania. NFIB’s amicus brief challenged Regulation 7-559, which authorized Pennsylvania’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. NFIB’s brief argued that certain RGGI requirements represent an unconstitutional tax, the RGGI itself is an unlawful interstate compact, and joining the RGGI will have detrimental impacts for Pennsylvania’s businesses and consumers. “Joining the RGGI would have disproportionately affected small businesses at a time when owners are managing uncertain economic conditions, including persistent high inflation. Former Governor Wolf and his team of unelected bureaucrats did not have the authority to impose a tax under the constitution,” said Moreland, who noted that all states that had joined the RGGI obtained legislative approval. “The General Assembly controls the purse strings, not the executive branch. We hope and expect that Governor Shapiro will live up to his campaign promises and allow any further action on such initiatives to come properly from the legislature.” The RGGI is an initiative of New England and Mid-Atlantic states to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by capping and reducing CO2 emissions from electric power plants. The NFIB Small Business Legal Center, which coordinated with NFIB in Pennsylvania to oppose the RGGI entry, protects the rights of small business owners in the nation’s courts. NFIB is currently active in numerous cases in federal and state courts across the country.

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For 80 years, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) has been the voice of small business, advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member driven. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit www.NFIB.com.

Topics:

Taxes

State:

Pennsylvania

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