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House passes bill directing DEQ to pursue reentry into regional greenhouse gas program after floor objections
Summary
The Virginia House approved SB 802, directing the Department of Environmental Quality to take steps for Virginia to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Supporters said it advances climate goals; opponents called it a de facto tax and criticized auction-based revenue mechanisms.
The Virginia House of Delegates on March 2 approved Senate Bill 802, a measure that directs the Department of Environmental Quality to take necessary steps for the Commonwealth to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The recorded vote was 64 in favor, 35 opposed.
The bill’s sponsor on the floor, Delegate Herring, described SB 802 as authorizing the Department of Environmental Quality to “take all necessary steps for Virginia to rejoin the regional greenhouse gas initiative,” arguing the move is a procedural and regulatory step toward regional cooperation on emissions reductions.
Opposition came from several members who criticized the mechanics and fiscal effects of RGGI. “If it quacks like a duck, walks like a duck, swims like a duck, it’s a duck,” Delegate Bloxson said, urging members to call RGGI what he described as a tax and to adopt a transparent revenue mechanism if the state needs funds. He raised concerns about auction-based market mechanisms, the cost of participation, and what he described as fees paid to auction intermediaries, saying those structures could limit funds available for local resiliency projects.
Supporters said rejoining RGGI would restore a regional market mechanism aimed at reducing power-sector emissions and create revenue streams for resilience and clean-energy projects. The House debate centered on the trade-off between market-based compliance and direct taxation or state-run funding mechanisms. No floor amendment substituting a different revenue approach was adopted during debate.
With the bill’s passage, the next procedural steps include implementation actions by the Department of Environmental Quality and potential rulemaking; the measure does not itself appropriate funds. The House gave final passage by recorded vote; the bill will continue through the legislative process as required.
The House’s action on SB 802 was part of a larger calendar that day in which the chamber advanced dozens of Senate and House measures across education, health, housing and agricultural policy.
