Court Opinion

ID: 9894351
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-11-01 15:10:08.96574+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:09:48.160538
License: Public Domain

IN THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA

Ramez Ziadeh, Acting Secretary               :
of the Department of Environmental           :
Protection and Acting Chairperson of         :
the Environmental Quality Board,             :
                                             :
                            Petitioner       :
                                             :
                  v.                         : No. 41 M.D. 2022
                                             : Argued: November 16, 2022
Pennsylvania Legislative Reference           :
Bureau, Vincent C. DeLiberato, Jr.,          :
Director of the Legislative Reference        :
Bureau, and Amy J. Mendelsohn,               :
Director of the Pennsylvania Code            :
and Bulletin,                                :
                                             :
                            Respondents      :

BEFORE:       HONORABLE RENÉE COHN JUBELIRER, President Judge
              HONORABLE PATRICIA A. McCULLOUGH, Judge
              HONORABLE MICHAEL H. WOJCIK, Judge
              HONORABLE ELLEN CEISLER, Judge
              HONORABLE LORI A. DUMAS, Judge

OPINION NOT REPORTED

MEMORANDUM OPINION
BY JUDGE WOJCIK                                           FILED: November 1, 2023

              Before the Court are the cross-applications for summary relief (cross-
ASRs) filed by the petitioner and intervenors1 in the above-captioned matters

       1
       On March 3, 2022, we granted the Applications to Intervene filed by then-President Pro
Tempore of the Pennsylvania State Senate Jake Corman, Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward, Chair
(Footnote continued on next page…)
regarding the February 3, 2022 Petition for Review in the Nature of a Complaint for
Permanent and Peremptory Mandamus and for Declaratory Relief (PFR) filed in our
original jurisdiction by Patrick J. McDonnell, Secretary of Environmental Protection
and Chairperson of the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) (Secretary McDonnell)2
against the Pennsylvania Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB), its director Vincent
C. DeLiberato, and Director of the Pennsylvania Bulletin and Pennsylvania Code
Amy J. Mendelsohn (collectively, Respondents). The PFR relates to Pennsylvania’s
participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) based on regulations
promulgated by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP),
on behalf EQB, referred to as the “Trading Program Regulation” (Rulemaking).
Following careful consideration, we grant in part, and dismiss in part, the cross-
ASRs,3 and grant the requested declaratory and injunctive relief in part.

of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee Gene Yaw, and Chair of the Senate
Appropriations Committee Pat Browne (collectively, Senate); and Speaker of the House of
Representatives Bryan D. Cutler, Majority Leader of the House Kerry A. Benninghoff, and
Chairman of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee Daryl D. Metcalfe
(collectively, House). Our use of the terms “Senate” and “House” does not imply that these
intervenors are acting on behalf of the Senate or the House as a whole.

       2
          When the PFR was filed, Secretary McDonnell was the Secretary of Environmental
Protection and Chairperson of the Environmental Quality Board. However, his service in that
office ended on July 1, 2022, and Acting Secretary Ziadeh has been substituted as Petitioner in
this matter pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 502(b). We continue to refer to Secretary McDonnell for ease
of discussion.

       3
         In considering the cross-ASRs, it is appropriate for this Court to take judicial notice of
our prior memorandum opinions and orders in this matter in Ziadeh v. Pennsylvania Legislative
Reference Bureau (Pa. Cmwlth., No. 41 M.D. 2022, filed July 8, 2022) (Ziadeh I), and Ziadeh v.
Pennsylvania Legislative Reference Bureau (Pa. Cmwlth., No. 41 M.D. 2022, filed January 19,
2023) (Ziadeh II), and in the related matter in Bowfin KeyCon Holdings, LLC v. Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection (Pa. Cmwlth., No. 247 M.D. 2022, filed July 8, 2022)
(Bowfin), and the various filings on the dockets of these cases. See, e.g., Pa.R.E. 201(b)(2)
(permitting courts to take judicial notice of facts that may be “determined from sources whose
(Footnote continued on next page…)
                                                2
               As this Court has summarized from the various pleadings in this matter:

               [T]he Rulemaking provides for Pennsylvania’s
               participation in the [RGGI]. The RGGI requires electric
               generation plants (covered sources) located in
               participating states to purchase one allowance for each ton
               of carbon dioxide (CO2) they emit.                Each state
               participating in the RGGI establishes a declining CO2
               budget that effectively limits the total CO2 that the covered
               sources are permitted to emit. The allowances are
               auctioned off quarterly by RGGI, Inc., and [P]articipating
               [S]tates receive the proceeds from the auction. The
               Rulemaking provides that Pennsylvania’s proceeds will be
               used in accordance with the Air Pollution Control Act

accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned”); Moss v. Pennsylvania Board of Probation and
Parole, 194 A.3d 1130, 1137 n.11 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2018) (“[T]his Court may take judicial notice of
information contained in the publicly[ ]available docket of [the underlying proceedings],” and
“‘[i]t is well settled that this Court may take judicial notice of pleadings and judgments in other
proceedings . . . where, as here, the other proceedings involve the same parties.’”) (citations
omitted); Elkington v. Department of Corrections (Pa. Cmwlth., No. 478 M.D. 2018, filed May
27, 2021), slip op. at 9 n.4 (“Although not introduced by the parties, the underlying criminal
proceedings are directly related to the claims made here and are referenced throughout the
pleadings, and this Court may take judicial notice of the dockets of other courts of the
Commonwealth.”) (citations omitted); see also Pa.R.A.P. 126(b)(1)-(2) (“As used in this rule,
‘non-precedential decision’ refers to . . . an unreported memorandum opinion of the
Commonwealth Court filed after January 15, 2008. . . . Non-precedential decisions . . . may be
cited for their persuasive value.”).

       In Ziadeh, we ultimately dismissed Secretary McDonnell’s PFR as moot because “it is
undisputed that the underlying questions of law presented by the PFR are now moot based on the
April 23, 2022 publication of the Rulemaking in the Pennsylvania Bulletin as the CO2 Budget
Trading Program,” but determined “that Intervenors’ Counterclaims [to the PFR] remain extant.”
Ziadeh II, slip op. at 11, 14, n.12. The Secretary’s ASR is likewise dismissed as moot based on
our memorandum opinion sustaining the preliminary objections of the Senate and the House
Intervenors and dismissing the Secretary’s PFR in Ziadeh II and the disposition herein. Likewise,
based on our disposition, the Secretary’s Application seeking to amend its Reply and Answer to
the Senate Intervenors’ New Matter and Counterclaims to raise an objection to standing as New
Matter is dismissed as moot.
                                                3
               (APCA)[4] and [] DEP’s regulations.[5] In 2021, the
               [P]articipating [S]tates received $926 million from the
               allowance auctions.

     4
         Act of January 8, 1960, P.L. (1959) 2119, as amended, 35 P.S. §§4001-4015.

     5
         More specifically, in Bowfin, we summarized the relevant stipulated facts as follows:

                       The Rulemaking establishes a program to limit the emission
               of CO2 from fossil fuel-fired electric generating units (EGUs)
               located in the Commonwealth with a nameplate capacity equal to or
               greater than 25 [megawatts]. The Rulemaking requires the EGUs to
               obtain allowances for each ton of CO2 emitted and imposes
               permitting, monitoring, reporting, and record-keeping requirements
               on them. It is the position of [the] DEP Secretary[], DEP, EQB, [and
               proposed intervenors] “that CO2 is a ‘pollutant’ that can be regulated
               under Pennsylvania’s [APCA].”

                       Under the Rulemaking, Pennsylvania will distribute CO2
               allowances available to each EGU through quarterly regional
               allowance auctions. The Rulemaking contains a declining CO2
               allowance trading budget that would incrementally reduce the
               number of CO2 allowances allocated by DEP to the air pollution
               reduction account for sale via an allowance auction. The
               Rulemaking would enable DEP to participate in a multistate CO2
               allowance auction, such as [RGGI], provided that participation
               could provide benefits to the Commonwealth that meet or exceed
               the benefits conferred on Pennsylvania through its own
               Pennsylvania-run auction process. Eleven other states currently
               participate in RGGI, namely Connecticut, Delaware, Maine,
               Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York,
               Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia.

                       To become a “Participating State” in RGGI, a state is
               required to (1) develop a regulation sufficiently consistent with the
               RGGI Model Rule and (2) sign a contract between the state agency
               and RGGI, Inc., to engage RGGI, Inc.’s services. RGGI, Inc. is a
               [Section] 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation created to facilitate
               administrative and technical support services to Participating States
               in RGGI. . . . In developing the Rulemaking, DEP performed
               certain modeling that was designed to forecast, among other things,
               the economic and environmental impacts that would result from the
(Footnote continued on next page…)
                                                 4
Ziadeh I, slip op. at 4-6.
                 On February 25, 2021, Senate Intervenors filed an Answer with New
Matter and Counterclaims to Secretary McDonnell’s PFR, which “have taken this
case in a new direction.” Ziadeh I, slip op. at 8. As this Court summarized:

                 The Senate’s first Counterclaim is that Secretary
                 McDonnell violated article II, section 1[6] and article III,
                 section 9[7] of the Pennsylvania Constitution when he
                 submitted the Rulemaking to the LRB for publication
                 before the House of Representatives had time to consider
                 [Senate Concurrent Regulatory Review Resolution 1
                 (SCRRR1) disapproving the Rulemaking]. According to
                 the Senate, Secretary McDonnell’s action was an attempt
                 to sidestep article III, section 9 and usurp the General
                 Assembly’s authority in violation of article II, section 1.[8]

                 Rulemaking. . . . Any proceeds received by DEP from RGGI
                 auctions and civil fines and penalties for excess emissions will be
                 deposited into the Clean Air Fund.

Bowfin, slip op. at 4-6 (citations and footnotes omitted).

       6
        Pa. Const. art. II, §1 states: “The legislative power of this Commonwealth shall be vested
in a General Assembly, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives.”

       7
           Pa. Const. art. III, §9 states:

                  Every order, resolution or vote, to which the concurrence of both
                 Houses may be necessary, except on the questions of adjournment
                 or termination or extension of a disaster emergency declaration as
                 declared by an executive order or proclamation, or portion of a
                 disaster emergency declaration as declared by an executive order or
                 proclamation, shall be presented to the Governor and before it shall
                 take effect be approved by him, or being disapproved, shall be
                 repassed by two-thirds of both Houses according to the rules and
                 limitations prescribed in case of a bill.

       8
          See also article III, section 10 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, which states: “All bills
for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives, but the Senate may propose
amendments as in other bills.” Pa. Const. art. III, §10.
                                                  5
             The second Senate Counterclaim alleges that the
             Rulemaking is an ultra vires action in violation of the
             APCA. The APCA, although authorizing [] DEP to
             promulgate regulations, sets forth bright-line limits on []
             DEP’s powers.        By sending the Rulemaking for
             publication, [] DEP took significant legal action despite
             clear statutory prohibitions to the contrary.

                    The Senate’s third Counterclaim asserts that the
             Rulemaking is an interstate compact or agreement, which
             is within the General Assembly’s exclusive constitutional
             authority to enter. In addition to this power being
             constitutionally reserved to the General Assembly,
             Section 4(24) of the APCA specifically states that [] DEP
             may formulate interstate air pollution control compacts or
             agreements for submission to the General Assembly. 35
             P.S. §4004(24). In its fourth Counterclaim, the Senate
             alleges that the Rulemaking is a tax and that the imposition
             of taxes is within the exclusive authority of the General
             Assembly. The Senate recognizes that the APCA allows
             for the collection of fines, penalties, and fees, including
             fees to cover the direct and indirect costs of administering
             the APCA. Here, however, the Rulemaking amounts to a
             tax. The courts have held that a fee may constitute a tax
             where the revenue generated exceeds the costs reasonably
             necessary to operate the program. The Senate references
             the 2021-22 budget for [] DEP of $169 million and notes
             yearly participation in the RGGI could generate over $650
             million. Finally, the Senate’s fifth Counterclaim is that[]
             DEP failed to comply with the Commonwealth
             Documents Law[9] and the APCA because it failed to hold
             “in-person” hearings. [] DEP held 10 virtual hearings and
             the virtual hearings do not satisfy the statutory
             requirement of “in-person” hearings.
Ziadeh I, slip op. at 8-9 (emphasis in original). Based on the foregoing, Senate
Intervenors ask this Court to, inter alia, declare that “the [] Rulemaking is
unconstitutional because it infringes upon the General Assembly’s exclusive

      9
        Act of July 31, 1968, P.L. 769, as amended, 45 P.S. §§1102, 1201-1208; 45 Pa. C.S.
§§501-907.
                                            6
authority to levy (or not levy) taxes,” and to “permanently enjoin the Executive
Department from implementing and enforcing the [] Rulemaking.”                               Senate
Intervenors’ ASR at 7, 8.10
                In considering the instant cross-ASRs11 with respect to the merits of the
Senate’s fourth Counterclaim, in granting a preliminary injunction, we previously
observed:

                        The Senate asserts that the Rulemaking is
                unconstitutional because it usurps its authority, as
                members of the General Assembly, to levy taxes under the
                Pennsylvania Constitution. The power to levy taxes is
                specifically reserved to the General Assembly. P[a].
                C[onst]. art. II, §1; Thompson v. City of Altoona Code
                Appeals Board, 934 A.2d 130, 133 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2007)
                (“It is well[ ]settled that ‘[t]he power of taxation . . . lies
                solely in the General Assembly of the Commonwealth
                acting under the aegis of the Constitution.’”) (quoting

        10
          We note that “[p]etitions for declaratory judgments are governed by the provisions of
the Declaratory Judgments Act, 42 Pa. C.S. §§7531-7541.” Brouillette v. Wolf, 213 A.3d 341, 357
(Pa. Cmwlth. 2019) (citation omitted). As this Court has stated:

                Declaratory judgments are not obtainable as a matter of right.
                Rather, whether a court should exercise jurisdiction over a
                declaratory judgment proceeding is a matter of sound judicial
                discretion. Thus, the granting of a petition for a declaratory
                judgment is a matter lying within the sound discretion of a court of
                original jurisdiction.

Id. (citations omitted).

        11
           Pa.R.A.P. 1532(b) states, in relevant part: “At any time after the filing of a petition for
review in an . . . original jurisdiction matter, the court may on application enter judgment if the
right of the applicant thereto is clear.” Judgment may be entered “‘if a party’s right to judgment
is clear and no material issues of fact are in dispute.’ ‘In ruling on [ASRs], we must view the
evidence of record in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and enter judgment only if
there is no genuine issue as to any material facts and the right to judgment is clear as a matter of
law.’” Eleven Eleven Pennsylvania, LLC v. State Board of Cosmetology, 169 A.3d 141, 145 (Pa.
Cmwlth. 2017) (citations omitted).
                                                  7
          Mastrangelo v. Buckley, 250 A.2d 447, 452-53 (Pa.
          1969)). While the General Assembly may delegate the
          power to tax, such as to a municipality or political
          subdivision, any such delegation must be “plainly and
          unmistakably conferred . . . and the grant of such right
          must be strictly construed and not extended by
          implication.” Mastrangelo, 250 A.2d at 453 (emphasis in
          original); see also P[a]. C[onst]. art. III, §31 (placing
          restrictions on General Assembly’s right to delegate its
          taxing authority). The Senate states that there has been no
          such delegation here under the APCA, the statutory
          authority relied upon by [] DEP in enacting the current
          Rulemaking.

                 The APCA specifically permits the imposition of
          fees to cover the costs of administering any air pollution
          control program authorized by the statute. Specifically,
          Section 6.3(a) of the APCA “authorizes the establishment
          of fees sufficient to cover the indirect and direct costs of
          administering the air pollution control plan approval
          process, operating permit program required by Title V of
          the [federal] Clean Air Act,[12] other requirements of the
          Clean Air Act and . . . to support the air pollution control
          program authorized by this act and not covered by fees
          required by [S]ection 502(b) of the Clean Air Act.[13]” 35
          P.S. §4006.3(a).[14] Additionally, Section 9.2(a) of the
          APCA allows for the collection and deposit of “fines, civil
          penalties and fees into . . . the Clean Air Fund.” 35 P.S.
          §4009.2(a).[15]

                This Court has previously considered the question
          of what constitutes a proper regulatory fee as opposed to a
          tax. We have stated:

12
     42 U.S.C. §§7661-7661f.

13
     42 U.S.C. §7661a(b).

14
     Added by the Act of July 9, 1992, P.L. 460.

15
     Added by the Act of October 26, 1972, P.L. 989.
                                          8
      A licensing fee, of course, is a charge which
      is imposed pursuant to a sovereign’s police
      power for the privilege of performing certain
      acts, and which is intended to defray the
      expense of regulation.          It is to be
      distinguished from a tax, or revenue
      producing measure, which is characterized
      by the production of large income and a high
      proportion of income relative to the costs of
      collection and supervision.

Simpson v. City of New Castle, 740 A.2d 287, 292 (Pa.
Cmwlth. 1999) (emphasis added) (quoting Greenacres
Apartments, Inc. v. Bristol Township, 482 A.2d 1356,
1359 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1984)).

        We cannot . . . agree with Secretary McDonnell’s
argument that the allowance auction proceeds do not
constitute a tax. First, it is undisputed that the auction
proceeds are remitted to the [P]articipating [S]tates.
Senate Ex[hibit] 22 (52 Pa.B. at 2482 (“The CO2
allowances purchased in the multistate auctions generate
proceeds that are provided back to the [P]articipating
[S]tates, including the Commonwealth, for investment in
initiatives that will further reduce CO2 emissions.”)).
Secretary McDonnell’s position is unpersuasive where it
is undisputed that the auction proceeds are to be deposited
into the Clean Air Fund, are generated as a direct result of
the Rulemaking, and [] DEP anticipates significant
monetary benefits from participating in the auctions. In
addition, and importantly, it is unclear under what
authority [] DEP may obtain the auction proceeds for
Pennsylvania allowances purchased by non-Pennsylvania
covered sources not subject to [] DEP’s regulatory
authority and which are not tethered to CO2 emissions in
Pennsylvania.

      Second, the Rulemaking record, namely [] DEP’s
2020 modeling, estimated that only 6% of the proceeds
from the CO2 allowance[] auctions would be for
“programmatic costs related to administration and
oversight of the CO2 Budget Trading Program (5% for
[DEP] and 1% for RGGI, Inc.).” 52 Pa.B. at 2508. The
                             9
             remaining proceeds from the CO2 allowance[s] auctions
             will be deposited into an air pollution reduction account
             within the Clean Air Fund maintained by [] DEP, with the
             use of such proceeds exclusively limited to the elimination
             of air pollution. See 52 Pa.B. at 25[2]5, 2545 (Rulemaking
             §§145.343 and 145.401).

                    Third, Secretary McDonnell acknowledged that
             from 2016 to 2021, the Clean Air Fund annually
             maintained between $20 million and $25 million in funds,
             the total expenditures exceeded the receipt of funds by $1
             million for the years 2016 to 2020, but with the inclusion
             of anticipated CO2 [allowance auction] proceeds, the
             estimated receipts for the 2022-23 budget year exceed
             $443 million. [Notes of Testimony], 5/10/2022, at 132-
             35. In fact, [] DEP’s total budget for the 2021-22 fiscal
             year, i.e., the total funds appropriated to [] DEP from the
             General Fund, was slightly in excess of $169 million. See
             Pennsylvania Treasury, General Fund Current Fiscal
             Year Enacted Budget: Appropriated Departments,
             https://www.patreasury.gov/transparency/budget.php
             (last visited June 23, 2022).
Ziadeh I, slip op. at 31-34 (emphasis in original and footnotes omitted).
             Upon further review and consideration, we reaffirm our determination
in this regard, and now hold that the Rulemaking constitutes a tax that has been
imposed by DEP and EQB in violation of the Pennsylvania Constitution. Indeed, as
the Pennsylvania Supreme Court explained long ago:

                    No principle is more firmly established in the law
             of Pennsylvania than the principle that a revenue tax
             cannot be constitutionally imposed upon a business under
             the guise of a police regulation, and that if the amount of
             a “license fee” is grossly disproportionate to the sum
             required to pay the cost of the due regulation of the
             business the “license fee” act will be struck down. The
             courts interfere with the discretion of the legislature in
             such matters only “where the regulations adopted are
             arbitrary, oppressive, or unreasonable.” The regulations

                                         10
              in question when tested by this standard require judicial
              interference with the legislative act creating them.
Flynn v. Horst, 51 A.2d 54, 60 (Pa. 1947) (citation omitted).16
              As outlined above, in this case, it is undisputed that: (1) DEP and EQB
anticipate significant monetary benefits from participating in the auctions, the
proceeds obtained thereby are to be deposited into the Clean Air Fund, and they are
generated as a direct result of the Rulemaking; (2) there is no cited authority under
which DEP and EQB may obtain or retain the auction proceeds for Pennsylvania
allowances that are purchased by non-Pennsylvania covered sources, which are not
subject to DEP’s and EQB’s regulatory authority, and which are not tethered to CO2
emissions in Pennsylvania; (3) only 6% of the proceeds from the auctions would be
attributable to “programmatic costs related to administration and oversight of” the
program, with a mere 5% going to DEP and EQB; and (4) the estimated moneys
received by DEP and EQB from the auctions in a single budget year will exceed the
total funds appropriated to DEP from the General Fund by nearly threefold. Where,
as here, the moneys generated and received by the Commonwealth’s participation in
the auctions are “grossly disproportionate” to the costs of overseeing participation
in the program or DEP’s and EQB’s annual regulatory needs, and relate to activities
beyond their regulatory authority, the regulations authorizing Pennsylvania’s
participation in RGGI are invalid and unenforceable.
              Stated simply, to pass constitutional muster, the Commonwealth’s
participation in RGGI may only be achieved through legislation duly enacted by the

       16
          See also Sunrise Energy, LLC v. FirstEnergy Corp., 148 A.3d 894, 907 (Pa. Cmwlth.
2016), appeal denied, 169 A.3d 1025 (Pa. 2017) (“[A]n agency cannot confer authority upon itself
by regulation. Any power exercised by an agency must be conferred by the legislature in express
terms. Aetna Casualty and Surety Company v. [Insurance Department, 638 A.2d 194, 200 (Pa.
1994)] (stating that an agency can only exercise powers ‘conferred upon it by the Legislature in
clear and unmistakable language’) (citation omitted).”).
                                              11
Pennsylvania General Assembly, and not merely through the Rulemaking
promulgated by DEP and EQB. As a result, we will grant Senate Intervenors’ ASR
in part.17
               Accordingly, we grant Senate Intervenors’ ASR asserting that the
Rulemaking is an invalid tax; we declare that the Rulemaking is void; and we enjoin
the Secretary from enforcing its provisions.

                                             MICHAEL H. WOJCIK, Judge

Judge Covey did not participate in the decision of this case.
Judge Fizzano Cannon did not participate in the decision of this case.
Judge Wallace did not participate in the decision of this case.

       17
          Based on our disposition of the ASR on this Counterclaim, all remaining ASRs and
applications filed by the parties and Intervenors in this case are dismissed as moot. Moreover, any
claims raised by amici that are not raised by the parties and Intervenors will not be addressed by
this Court in this matter. As the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has explained:

               [A]micus briefs cannot raise issues not set forth by the parties.
               Hosp[ital] & Healthsystem Ass[ociatio]n of Pennsylvania v.
               Dep[artmen]t of Pub[lic] Welfare, [888 A.2d 601, 606 n.10 (Pa.
               2005)]; 4 Am.Jur.2d Amicus §7 (2005) (“[A]n amicus must accept
               the case before the court with the issues made by the parties.
               Accordingly, an amicus curiae ordinarily cannot inject new issues
               into a case which have not been presented by the parties.”).

Banfield v. Cortes, 110 A.3d 155, 172 n.14 (Pa. 2015).
                                               12
         IN THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA

Ramez Ziadeh, Acting Secretary            :
of the Department of Environmental        :
Protection and Acting Chairperson of      :
the Environmental Quality Board,          :
                                          :
                         Petitioner       :
                                          :
                v.                        : No. 41 M.D. 2022
                                          :
Pennsylvania Legislative Reference        :
Bureau, Vincent C. DeLiberato, Jr.,       :
Director of the Legislative Reference     :
Bureau, and Amy J. Mendelsohn,            :
Director of the Pennsylvania Code         :
and Bulletin,                             :
                                          :
                         Respondents      :

                                      ORDER

            AND NOW, this 1st day of November, 2023, the Application for
Summary Relief (ASR) filed by Senate Intervenors in the above-captioned matter is
GRANTED in part, in accordance with the foregoing Memorandum Opinion. The
regulations promulgated by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and
the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) referred to as the “Trading Program
Regulation” (Rulemaking), and found at 25 Pa. Code §§145.301-145.409, are
DECLARED VOID. The Acting Secretary of DEP and Acting Chairperson of EQB
is ENJOINED from enforcing the Rulemaking.            All outstanding ASRs and
applications filed in this case are DISMISSED as moot.

                                        __________________________________
                                        MICHAEL H. WOJCIK, Judge
         IN THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA

Ramez Ziadeh, Acting Secretary        :
of the Department of Environmental :
Protection and Acting Chairperson of :
the Environmental Quality Board,      :
                   Petitioner         :
                                      :
       v.                             :   No. 41 M.D. 2022
                                      :
Pennsylvania Legislative Reference :
Bureau, Vincent C. DeLiberato, Jr., :
Director of the Legislative Reference :
Bureau, and Amy J. Mendelsohn,        :
Director of the Pennsylvania Code     :
and Bulletin,                         :
                   Respondents        :   Argued: November 16, 2022

BEFORE:     HONORABLE RENÉE COHN JUBELIRER, President Judge
            HONORABLE PATRICIA A. McCULLOUGH, Judge
            HONORABLE MICHAEL H. WOJCIK, Judge
            HONORABLE ELLEN CEISLER, Judge
            HONORABLE LORI A. DUMAS, Judge

OPINION NOT REPORTED

DISSENTING OPINION
BY JUDGE CEISLER                                    FILED: November 1, 2023

      I must respectfully dissent from the majority’s conclusion that Intervenors
President Pro Tempore of the Pennsylvania State Senate Jake Corman, Senate
Majority Leader Kim Ward, Chair of the Senate Environmental Resources and
Energy Committee Gene Yaw, and Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee
Pat Browne (collectively Senate Intervenors), are entitled to summary relief
regarding whether the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) administrative
rule (Rulemaking) is a tax as opposed to a fee. I do so because there are genuine
issues of material fact at this stage regarding whether the Rulemaking establishes a
tax or a fee, which deprives all of the parties to this matter of the ability to obtain
summary relief on this point.

       Section 6.3(a) of the Air Pollution Control Act
                 authorizes the establishment of fees sufficient to cover the
                 indirect and direct costs of administering the air pollution
                 control plan approval process, operating permit program
                 required by Title V of the Clean Air Act, [42 U.S.C. Ch.
                 85, Subch. V,] other requirements of the Clean Air Act[,
                 id. §§ 7401-7675,] and the indirect and direct costs of
                 administering the Small Business Stationary Source
                 Technical and Environmental Compliance Assistance
                 Program, Compliance Advisory Committee and Office of
                 Small Business Ombudsman. This section also authorizes
                 the [Environmental Quality Board] by regulation to
                 establish fees to support the air pollution control program
                 authorized by this act and not covered by fees required by
                 [S]ection 502(b) of the Clean Air Act[, id. § 7661a(b)].
35 P.S. § 4006.3(a).1 Petitioner Ramez Ziadeh, Acting Secretary of the Department
of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Acting Chairperson of the Environmental
Quality Board (Acting Secretary), argues, in relevant part, that this language
authorizes the establishment of the emissions allowance auction process and creates
a fee, whereas Senate Intervenors assert that this auction process produces nothing
more than a tax in fee’s clothing.
                 The question of whether an enactment is a tax or
                 regulatory measure is determined by the purposes for
                 which it is enacted and not by its title. City of Wilkes-Barre
                 v. Ebert, . . . 349 A.2d 520 ([Pa. Cmwlth.] 1975).
                 Taxes have been defined as “burdens or charges imposed
                 by the legislative power upon persons or property to raise
                 money for public purposes, and to defray the necessary
                 expenses of government.” Woodward v. City of Phila[.], .

       1
           Act of January 8, 1960, P.L. (1959) 2119, as amended, added by Act of July 9, 1992, P.L.
460.

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             . . 3 A.2d 167, 170 ([Pa.] 1938). This Court has previously
             noted that:
                     The common distinction is that taxes are revenue-
                     producing measures authorized under the taxing
                     power of government; while license fees are
                     regulatory measures intended to cover the cost of
                     administering a regulatory scheme authorized under
                     the police power of government.
             [City of] Phila[.] v. [Se. Pa. Transp. Auth.], 303 A.2d 247,
             251 ([Pa. Cmwlth.] 1973). In National Biscuit Co. v. [City
             of] Philadelphia, . . . 98 A.2d 182 ([Pa.] 1953), the
             Supreme Court identified the features of a license fee:
                     The distinguishing features of a license fee are (1)
                     that it is applicable only to a type of business or
                     occupation which is subject to supervision and
                     regulation by the licensing authority under its police
                     power; (2) that such supervision and regulation are
                     in fact conducted by the licensing authority; (3) that
                     the payment of the fee is a condition upon which the
                     licensee is permitted to transact his business or
                     pursue his occupation; and (4) that the legislative
                     purpose in exacting the charge is to reimburse the
                     licensing authority for the expense of the
                     supervision and regulation conducted by it.
             Id. [ ], 98 A.2d at 188.
White v. Med. Pro. Liab. Catastrophe Loss Fund, 571 A.2d 9, 11 (Pa. Cmwlth.
1990). “A license fee is a sum assessed for a privilege, and to be valid the fee must
be proportionate to the cost of administering the licensing ordinance. If the fee
exceeds the reasonable cost of administration, it becomes an illegal tax which the
law will not allow.” Martin Media v. Hempfield Twp. Zoning Hearing Bd., 651 A.2d
1171, 1173 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1994); accord Costa v. City of Allentown, 153 A.3d 1159,
1165 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2017) (“A municipality cannot impose a tax upon a business
under the guise of exercising its police power, and, therefore, a license fee will be
struck down if its amount is ‘grossly disproportionate to the sum required to pay the

                                        EC - 3
cost of the due regulation of the business.’ Flynn v. Horst, . . . 51 A.2d 54, 60 ([Pa.]
1947).”).
      This Court, at the preliminary injunction stage, concluded that there is a
reasonable likelihood that Rulemaking creates a tax for a number of reasons,
including because “the auction proceeds are remitted to the participating states[;]”
the proceeds of the Rulemaking will far exceed the cost of administering the CO2
budget trading program; and those proceeds will swell the coffers of DEP’s Clean
Air Fund to more than twice the General Assembly’s total budget appropriations to
DEP for the 2021-2022 fiscal year. See Ziadeh v. Pa. Legis. Ref. Bureau (Pa.
Cmwlth., No. 41 M.D. 2022, filed July 8, 2022), slip op. at 31-34 (Wojcik, J., single
judge op.). Senate Intervenors now echo that reasoning, arguing that the emissions
allowance auctions create a tax, rather than a fee, because the auctions will result in
proceeds that grossly exceed the cost to DEP of administering the underlying
regulatory scheme, may not actually return funds in some instances to DEP, and will
not actually provide licenses to affected emitters. See Senate Intervenors’ Br. at 22-
28.
      Even so, there is still a persuasive argument to be made that the emissions
allowance auction process does not establish a tax. Acting Secretary asserts in his
brief that the Rulemaking creates fees, because the auction proceeds will be put
towards both administering and supporting DEP’s air pollution control programs;
the auction process creates emissions allowance credits, the value of which is set by
the market, not the government; the allowance credits pertain to a voluntary act (i.e.,
emission of CO2); and the Rulemaking allows for CO2 emitters to purchase such
credits from other states and apply them to emissions made in this Commonwealth.
See Acting Secretary’s Br. at 34-37.

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      Based upon the record before us, it does not seem that the emissions allowance
auction process would impose what could be deemed fees in the traditional sense,
but, by the same token, it is not entirely clear that the proceeds raised thereby would
constitute a tax. Given this, there is a genuine issue of material fact regarding the
question of whether the Rulemaking establishes a tax or a fee. Accordingly, I would
deny summary relief regarding this issue to both Ziadeh and Senate Intervenors, and
dissent from the majority’s decision to the contrary.

                                        __________________________________
                                        ELLEN CEISLER, Judge

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