As the public comment period winds down on a draft rule to limit carbon emissions from Virginia power plants, Gov. Ralph Northam intends to veto a bill passed by General Assembly Republicans that would thwart his attempt to link to a network of carbon-trading states.
A spokesman for Northam, a Democrat, said the governor will veto House Bill 1270 by Del. Charles Poindexter, R-Franklin, which would prohibit the governor or a state agency from establishing a carbon dioxide cap-and-trade program or adopting a regulation that “brings about the participation by the commonwealth in a regional market for the trading of carbon dioxide allowances.”
Poindexter’s bill, which passed the GOP-controlled House and Senate on party-line votes, was aimed at the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cooperative effort among nine Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states to cut power plant carbon emissions. Northam must act on the bill by April 9.
