Virginia Interfaith Power & Light: “Take Action Today – Urge your legislator to oppose the Governor’s RGGI amendments!”

On March 9th, the Virginia General Assembly approved a bipartisan budget that included language ensuring Virginia continues its legally required participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). This past Monday, the Governor returned the budget to the General Assembly with over 200 amendments, including stripping the language to ensure Virginia continued in RGGI.

The General Assembly will reconvene on Wednesday, April 17th, to reconsider the Governor’s amendments. We need to urge the legislature to oppose the Governor’s amendments concerning RGGI and ensure that Virginia’s continued participation in RGGI will remain in the budget as it moves forward.

Please contact your state representatives and urge them to oppose the Governor’s amendments that strip RGGI from the budget!

What is RGGI?

Virginia passed legislation to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) in 2020. Legislation passed both chambers of the General Assembly and was signed into law by then Governor Northam, as required by law. Governor Youngkin has attempted to remove Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative without changing the law at the General Assembly.

Virginia law requires that most of the funding from the RGGI auctions go to support community flood preparedness efforts and energy efficiency programs. This dedicated funding stream was created for these programs, passed by the legislative branch, and signed into law by the executive branch. Yet, these funds have not been appropriately allocated to these programs in recent years, which must be rectified.

Find out more about the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative here!

To make sure you know who your legislator is, visit whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov.

To find your Legislators’s phone number, click here. To find your Delegate’s phone number, click here.
Here’s a sample script:

“Hi Senator/Delegate _______, this is _____________. I’m one of your constituents. I’m reaching out to ask you to oppose the Governor’s Amendments that remove budget language requiring Virginia’s continued participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).

As you may know, Virginia joined RGGI through the legislative process in 2020, and the law has stayed the same despite the Governor’s attempts to remove it without the legislature’s input.

RGGI funds critical energy efficiency and community flood preparedness programs in every region of Virginia while also reducing carbon emissions, which makes our air cleaner and helps stabilize our climate.

Please encourage your colleagues to oppose the Governor’s amendments that removed language requiring Virginia’s continued participation in RGGI. Thank you!”