GOP SENATE CANDIDATE IN PA TOURS NATURAL GAS PLANT AS VP HARRIS PIVOTS FROM ANTI-FRACKING COMMENTS
AG Josh Shapiro applied in 2018 to be part of a program to fund a special Bloomberg-backed prosecutor to litigate against oil and gas companies.
"The State Energy & Environmental Impact Center at NYU Law studies and supports the work of state attorneys general in defending, enforcing, and promoting strong laws and policies in the areas of climate, environmental justice, environmental protection, and clean energy," the program's website states.
In his 2018 application for the program, Shapiro’s office said that Pennsylvania was a "state whose own energy production remains largely based on the burning of coal. This ‘Pennsylvania perspective’ provides a unique and powerful platform from which to create progressive environmental legal and policy change – from within."
"Put otherwise, while many states can and do fight for progressive environmental legal change, when that fighter is a coal-burning, Marcellus Shale gas-extracting, ozone-suffering state where environmental action may not always be politically palatable, the impact of an environmental leader like Attorney General Josh Shapiro is simply more powerful," his office continued.
Josh Shapiro speaks at his swearing-in as Governor of Pennsylvania at the State Capitol Building on January 17, 2023, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Shapiro defeated Republican nominee Doug Mastriano by nearly 15 percent in the November election. (Mark Makela/Getty Images)
"State attorneys general should describe the particular scope of needs within their offices related to the advancement and defense of progressive clean energy, climate change, and environmental matters," the prompt for the application states. "Relevant details include the extent to which funding or other capacity constraints have limited the ability to work on these issues or how additional dedicated support could help advance the work of the state attorney general on behalf of his or her constituents."
"Priority consideration will be given to state attorneys general who demonstrate a commitment to and acute need for additional support on clean energy, climate change, and environmental issues of regional or national importance, such as those matters that cross jurisdictional boundaries or raise legal questions or conflicts that have nationwide applicability."
Shapiro's office wrote that he needs more "economic resources" to continue being a leader of "progressive" climate efforts.
"Being a leader of these efforts, however, requires economic resources. Perhaps because of its unique position, previous Pennsylvania attorneys general did not focus on environmental protection efforts," Shapiro wrote.
"Therefore, the environmental section Attorney General Shapiro inherited was notably smaller than those found in attorney general offices of other environmental leaders. As such, granting Pennsylvania’s application will be particularly significant. It will allow the PA OAG not just to join other states in lawsuits challenging the Trump Administration’s efforts to weaken environmental regulations, but to hire one or more SAAGs so it can be more proactive across-the-board and serve as the lead plaintiff in future such actions."
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for the State Impact Center confirmed that Shapiro had applied and been denied but said the group does "not have a record of why the application did not move forward."
"To clarify how the State Impact Center’s SAAG program works: it adds capacity for attorneys general, providing them with additional resources to be deployed at their discretion," the spokesperson said. "Attorneys general direct the work of the SAAGs. The SAAG's sole duty of loyalty is to the office in which they work."
Vice President Kamala Harris and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (L) speak to the press while making a stop at the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024. (Ryan Collerd/AFP via Getty Images)
