Sept 21, 2023
Republican Karen Greenhalgh and Democrat Michael Feggans are facing off in a competitive race to represent District 97 in the House of Delegates. The district includes parts of Virginia Beach. It has 63,376 registered voters.
Greenhalgh has served in the House since 2022. She currently represents the 85th District. Feggans has not held elected office.
…The state is set to leave the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which has provided millions of dollars in flood and resiliency funding to municipalities in Hampton Roads. How would you like to see flooding and resiliency programs paid for if RGGI is no longer an option and what is an adequate amount of money for the state to contribute?
RGGI is an important step toward addressing the impacts of climate change and the decision to leave will have lasting consequences. It provides guaranteed funding that small businesses and residents rely on to plan and execute flood mitigation and resiliency strategies. There is no realistic alternative to RGGI, the Legislature’s first responsibility should be to keep this invaluable program in place. If a withdrawal is finalized, we will need to find at least $200 million per year in guaranteed funding to replace it. We can’t afford for it to come from public schools, public safety, or transportation, and it can’t be subject to the whims of elected officials every two years. This burden would fall on hardworking Virginians and small businesses instead of the major polluters.
