GOP amendment would allow states to opt-out of EPA climate rule

Senate Republicans have proposed an amendment that would allow states opt out of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) controversial climate rule for power plants. The Hill,

Under the amendment, a state’s governor or legislature would be able to opt out of the rule’s requirements for a variety of reasons…

The emissions regulation, which the EPA plans to make final this fall, is a key piece of the Obama administration’s environmental agenda. The rule aims to cut power plants’ greenhouse gases 30 percent by 2030, but Republicans and businesses argue it will dramatically increase energy costs.

States would be required under the EPA’s rule to submit detailed plans to meet the greenhouse gas reduction targets the EPA set for them…

[Sen. Rob] Portman hopes to attach the amendment to the Senate’s budget legislation, which it plans to vote on this week.