Clean Air Council Denounces Passage of HB 732, a Massive Subsidy to Attract Petrochemical Plants

Harrisburg, PA (July 14, 2020) Late this afternoon, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives voted to concur in House Bill 732, just a day after the bill was amended and rushed through the Senate on final passage. The bill was amended to include tax credits – in place for 26 years and adding up to over $693 million in foregone tax revenue – made available only to facilities that manufacture petrochemicals and fertilizers using fracked gas.  Despite no legislative hearings or public discussion of the bill, HB 732 now heads to Governor Wolf’s desk.  Having vetoed a similar tax credit bill, HB 1100, just a few months ago, Governor Wolf has now flip-flopped, negotiated from a position of weakness, and apparently intends to sign this bill into law.

Joseph Otis Minott, Esq., Executive Director and Chief Counsel of Clean Air Council, issued the following statement:

“House Bill 732 doubles down on fracked gas and will make our commonwealth sicker and dirtier. Plain and simple. There is no justifiable reason to offer hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies to incentivize the build-out of new fossil fuel infrastructure. This massive corporate giveaway will harm Pennsylvania for decades. To have any chance to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, we must completely halt our reliance on fossil fuels and their emissions by mid-century. Yet House Bill 732 would entrench subsidies for fracked gas and petrochemicals until 2050, all but ensuring that Pennsylvania will be propping up and financially supporting climate pollution for decades. Governor Wolf made the right call when he vetoed House Bill 1100 earlier this session. Despite nothing changing, he’s now making the exact wrong call on the same policy.”

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