Republican state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe says he will not run for reelection this year.
Metcalfe was first elected to represent part of Butler County in 1998, and is serving his twelfth term. In a statement, he says he is retiring to pursue new adventures.
Metcalfe is known for conservative views — he led an annual “right to bear arms” rally at the state capitol and blocked Democratic legislation while chair of the state House Government Committee.
In recent years, as head of the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, Metcalfe invited known climate science deniers to testify at hearings.
State Rep. Greg Vitali, the Democratic chair of the committee, says Metcalfe has been difficult to work with.
“In a huge greenhouse gas-producing state like Pennsylvania having the majority chairman of an environmental committee as a climate denier is not a good thing," Vitali said.
He is a key opponent of Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to address climate change by joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas initiative, which makes power plants pay to pollute.
Critics note that, even as the climate crisis becomes more urgent, Metcalfe has used his position to effectively kill bills that would increase accountability for natural gas drillers or increase renewable energy, while greenlighting bills to roll back regulations.
His term will expire at the end of November.
