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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2021 - 2022
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | March 31, 2021 02:27 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Gene Yaw |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Solar Environmental Justice Act |
| In the near future, I will be sponsoring legislation, which mirrors on-going national efforts, to prohibit state taxpayer dollars or tax credits from being utilized to purchase solar panels and related components which are manufactured or assembled outside the United States. Currently, Communist China serves as a primary supplier of solar panels and components throughout the world, utilizing rare earth minerals that are mined without proper environmental standards and are often acquired through the use of forced child labor. My bill will require that any solar panels or components purchased by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania must be manufactured and assembled in the United States. Additionally, no state-authorized tax credits may be used for a project, which would utilize foreign-manufactured or assembled solar panels and components. This approach ensures that, at a minimum, Pennsylvania taxpayer dollars are not used to support foreign governments that do not respect environmental standards or basic civil rights. My legislation will require: • The Department of Community and Economic Development to develop standards and guidelines to prohibit state funds from being used to purchase solar panels or components manufactured or assembled by foreign governments. • The Pennsylvania Auditor General to submit to the state legislature a report on the amount of solar panels procured by state departments and agencies from covered entities. • The Department of Community and Economic Development to conduct an independent study of the domestic market of solar panel production and the global supply chain and workforce involved in solar panel production. • The Department of General Services, in cooperation with the Department of Environmental Protection, to certify that no state contracts for the purchase of electricity or solar energy credits are going to entities, which utilize solar panels or components manufactured and assembled outside the United States. • The Department of Environmental Protection to develop a plan for the safe recycling of solar panels and components that are at the end of their useful life. I hope you will join me in co-sponsoring this legislation. |
Introduced as SB792