Please keep RGGI out of the budget

SB 30

If accepted, Item 4-5.12 #1g would overturn the 2020 Clean Energy and Community Flood Preparedness Act, and require state agencies to immediately pull Virginia out of RGGI and dismantle the underlying regulatory program. The amendments would even put the Governor in charge of any remaining revenues generated from Virginia's participation in RGGI.

As part of this repeal effort, Item 4-14.00 #3g attempts to shift costs incurred by monopoly utilities prior to the repeal into base rates. The amendment takes the highly unusual step of placing a massive section of code–critical to utility-ratemaking–into the budget. The proposal would be a significant change to a complicated policy decision with many unknown effects. We can and should be mindful of ratepayer costs, but rushed budget amendments with unknown consequences are not the way to ensure positive change.

SB29 and SB 30