Assemblyman Christopher S. Friend (R,C,I-Big Flats) is urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to not emulate the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a cap and trade program agreed upon by the New England states. The program is a tax that never received the approval of the legislature, which Friend says violates the State Constitution.

“Ironically, as President Obama seeks to circumvent the Constitution and Congress by asserting his climate agenda on states through the EPA, the EPA is looking to expand the RGGI program nationally. Our involvement in this is a violation of our State Constitution,” Friend said. “RGGI is a tax, and according to the State Constitution’s 16th clause, the authority to tax and raise revenue lies exclusive with the legislature. To date, $760 million has been collected under the guise of this program, but only $14.5 million has gone to offset carbon emissions. This program exists solely for the collection of additional tax revenue.”

In a recent City and State article on the subject, the viability of the program is called into question as well. Former Commissioner of the State Department of Environmental Conservation, John Cahill, said, “Raids on the program make it harder to make the case that this is really an issue of fighting climate change as opposed to just raising general fund revenue, and that undermines the credibility or any efforts to expand the program beyond its original purpose.”

“Every year, I am visited by senior citizen representatives from our community and the AARP about the high prices of energy in our state,” Friend said. “This is one of the programs that contribute to the high cost of energy here. It doesn’t serve its intended purpose of offsetting carbon emissions, it does not offset the cost to the ratepayer, and it’s unconstitutional. RGGI should be shut down, not a model for the whole country.”

Assemblyman Friend is the sponsor of Assembly Bill 5385, which reaffirms the 16th clause of the State Constitution, exclusively limiting the authority to tax and raise revenue to the state Legislature. He serves as the Ranking Minority Member of the Assembly Committee on Local Governments.