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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2021 - 2022
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | November 22, 2022 04:08 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Christopher M. Rabb |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Empowering Municipalities to Establish Green Banks |
| Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution enshrines the right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic, and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania’s public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come.Therefore, it is our collective duty to conserve and maintain our natural resources. We have a once-in-a-generation chance to empower municipalities and communities to fund environmental projects that will ensure Pennsylvanians continue to be stewards and uphold our rights and responsibilities established in the Pennsylvania Constitution. The federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) includes a $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for local green banks, which are nonprofit organizations that are designed to provide financial assistance for the rapid deployment of low and zero-emission products, technologies, and services. In addition, the IRA reserves funding to help low-income or historically disadvantaged communities institute environmentally conscious programs benefiting their neighborhoods. We need to ensure that institutions like the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority (PEDA) are poised and have the resources to capitalize on this opportunity. My legislation will empower municipalities to utilize this unprecedented funding and investment in green banks. Please join me in helping our municipalities take advantage of this novel source of funding to better Pennsylvania’s environment. |