HB 1152 - Carbon Tax Act (Passed)

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I will be here to advocate for this bill and address any questions or concerns raised by dissenting Representatives.

To start the debate off, I will repost my original argument for the bill:

The purpose of this bill is to create a powerful economic incentive for fuel suppliers and consumers to switch to clean energy across the country.  The tax itself will be paid by a small number of Atlasians, and to avoid burdening low and middle-income households with higher energy costs, all proceeds will be rebated to Atlasian residents - a national version of the Alaska Permanent Fund, which for decades has sent annual identical checks to all state residents from earnings on investments made with the state's North Slope oil royalties.

The carbon tax is a simple, effective means of pricing carbon and reducing emissions.  British Columbia, which inaugurated its carbon tax in 2008, has seen a 12.9% decrease in per capita emissions in 2008-2013 compared to 2000-2007 and was three-and-a-half times as pronounced as the 3.7% per capita decline for the rest of Canada.  This suggests that the carbon tax caused emissions in the province to be appreciably less than they would have been without the carbon tax.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Not seeing a whole lot of comment/debate here.  Sad!

I agree with Representative VPG and would advise the House to adopt a border carbon adjustment fee for this bill.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Part of the reason I put a "findings" section in these bills is to make it easier for sponsors to advocate.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

The purpose of the rebate is to prevent any negative effects the tax would have on the economy.  A tax on carbon is essentially a price on carbon for its negative impact on the environment, which the market does not recognize in the way fossil fuels are priced.  The "fee-and-dividend" approach sets every individual's carbon tax proportional to their use of fossil fuels, creating an incentive to reduce, but every person's dividend is equal and independent regardless of their usage.

I really want this to pass and I am open to compromising, but certainly most of the revenues generated should be redistributed.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

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Sponsor, please?

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

The revenue number might need to be determined by the GM.