FILE PHOTO: This Nov. 20, 2019 file photo shows the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa.
Matt Rourke / AP Photo
Senate aims bill at preventing all-electric building codes
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The Associated Press
Matt Rourke / AP Photo
FILE PHOTO: This Nov. 20, 2019 file photo shows the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa.
(Harrisburg) — Pennsylvania’s state Senate on Wednesday approved legislation that would bar municipalities in the nation’s No. 2 natural gas state from adopting building codes that prohibit gas hookups or otherwise restricting utility service based on the energy source.
The Republican-penned bill passed, 35-15, and heads to the state House of Representatives for consideration there. The chamber approved it without debate, with six Democrats joining all 29 Republicans in favor of it.
The bill defends a homegrown energy source in Pennsylvania as some states, cities and counties elsewhere begin looking at all-electric building codes that exclude gas infrastructure as a way to fight climate change and accelerate progress towards a carbon-free electricity grid.
The vast Marcellus Shale reservoir beneath Pennsylvania is the nation’s most prolific natural gas reservoir, and the state has helped subsidize the build out of gas infrastructure to help the industry find new customers.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Lycoming, said the bill ensures the state controls any decision to restrict the use of an energy source in housing and commercial buildings.
Combustion of natural gas emits carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, while natural gas contains methane, which is far more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, according to researchers.
Pa. Republican lawmakers and the U.S. Capitol attack
As part of WITF’s commitment to standing with facts, and because the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was an attempt to overthrow representative democracy in America, we are marking elected officials’ connections to the insurrection. Read more about this commitment.
We note State Senator Yaw is one of several dozen state lawmakers who signed a letter asking members of Congress to delay certifying Pennsylvania’s electoral votes despite no evidence that would call those results into question.
The election-fraud lie led to the attack on the Capitol.
As part of WITF’s commitment to standing with facts, and because the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was an attempt to overthrow representative democracy in America, we are marking elected officials’ connections to the insurrection. Read more about this commitment.
We note State Senator Yaw is one of several dozen state lawmakers who signed a letter asking members of Congress to delay certifying Pennsylvania’s electoral votes despite no evidence that would call those results into question.
The election-fraud lie led to the attack on the Capitol.
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