Tag Archives: Climate Commitment Act

Republican ag leaders highlight hypocrisy of Democrats on gas-price debacle

Sen. Perry Dozier

OLYMPIA… Agricultural-policy leaders from the Senate Republican Caucus are weighing in on attempts to gaslight the public on why Washington’s gas prices remain highest in the nation.

While Gov. Jay Inslee and other Democratic elected officials tried to lay blame on the oil and gas industry during a news conference today, Senators Ron Muzzall, Judy Warnick, Perry Dozier and Mark Schoesler pointed out the hypocrisy of Democrats about their “cap-and-gouge” carbon-pricing scheme and its impact on the state’s agricultural producers. The carbon law was passed in 2021 but did not take full effect until 2023, triggering a steady rise in Washington gas prices. Washington overtook California for the nation’s worst gas prices a month ago.

“The governor and supporters of this money-grab are the only ones surprised that their carbon tax would result in higher prices at the pump,” said Muzzall, R-Oak Harbor, the ranking Republican on the Senate’s ag-related committee. “There’s a great deal of unhelpful finger-pointing going on while our ag industry is hurting. It’s hypocritical that farmers are stuck paying nearly 50 cents more per gallon for gas in costs that they were legally exempted from, while the governor gets to be chauffeured in his taxpayer-funded luxury SUV.”

The row over a fuel-surcharge exemption for Washington’s agriculture, timber and marine industries is ongoing as state regulators seem unable to follow the law’s requirements. When pressed on the issue, Inslee has flippantly said that these affected groups should seek reimbursement from the oil and gas industry themselves.

“Proponents of this scheme promised to maintain the exemption for ag fuel and broke that promise,” said Warnick, R-Moses Lake. “During recent town halls, I heard near-unanimous frustration and opposition to what the governor and these politicians are doing to rural and minority communities that I represent. Taking money out of working families’ pockets to line the state’s coffers doesn’t reduce carbon emissions, but it does make our state even more unaffordable.”

Washington has operated a similar state fuel tax refund program for the same industries for years, leaving Republican lawmakers and the public scratching their heads as to why the legally required rebates are unattainable.

“The governor has zero business talking about accountability on fuel prices. He hasn’t even held his own administration accountable for how his policy has gouged our state’s agricultural and maritime sectors. For months he and members of the Democratic majority ignored Republican efforts to end the surcharges on exempt fuels that are not only unfair but illegal,” said Dozier, R-Waitsburg, who prime-sponsored an unsuccessful piece of legislation to ensure the exemption is followed. “Farmers are price takers – they can’t be expected to absorb higher fuel costs while the governor and Ecology have dragged their feet on making things right. It’s completely unacceptable.”

The average price of regular unleaded gas in Washington is $4.928 today, compared to $4.588 in Oregon a gallon and $3.892 in Idaho. Assertions by Inslee and other Democratic lawmakers of price gouging and profiteering are debunked by the price disparity, while the effect of the higher fuel costs on overall business expenses puts Washington’s agricultural sector and other employers at a disadvantage.

“Even though the governor has been demonizing oil companies as the reason why our state has the highest gas prices in the nation, our neighboring states have much lower prices,” said Schoesler, R-Ritzville, a co-sponsor of Dozier’s legislation. “Oregon and Idaho don’t have cap-and-trade. It’s obvious that Washington’s cap-and-trade program is why our state has the highest gas prices in America. While most of the nation is enjoying gas prices below $4 a gallon, people in our state have been forced to pay about $5 a gallon for several weeks, and prices in Washington likely are going to keep rising.”

 

E-News: Affordability crisis deepens in WA, between gas prices and new tax on workers

On Tuesday morning I had the pleasure of taking part in a memorable ceremony for the B5 Community Learning Center in Kennewick. Often the shovels are put in the hands of the elected officials and others who have had roles in getting a project to the construction stage; this time the ground was literally broken by the immigrant children who will be served at the new B5 center!

Dear Neighbor,

Greetings from here at the ranch! It’s been almost two months since the Legislature adjourned for the second time this year… following a one-day “special” session to update our state’s drug-possession law. I’ve been busy catching up on ranch chores that couldn’t be done during our 105-day regular session, and some extra projects because we’re hosting a family gathering next month – many of you know how that is.

But I am your senator year-round, even when I am not at the state Capitol, which means attending meetings and community events, and continuing to listen to your concerns about government and the government policies that are affecting your life and family. I’m going to zero in on a couple of those in this newsletter. They unfortunately deepen the affordability crisis in our state, which has been a top concern for Senate Republicans for years.

‘Please do something to lower gas prices’

A constituent named Larry made a simple request in an email earlier this month.

“Please do something to lower gas prices. It is my understanding that Washington now has highest prices in the US. It is having an impact on me, and I can’t image the impact on those making minimum wages.”

He’s correct: Until about three weeks ago, California had the nation’s highest gas prices. Then Washington moved ahead – just in time for the extra driving many families do during summer vacation from school, as Senate Republican Leader John Braun noted in this public statement.

Another constituent, Michael, went more in-depth with his concern about gas prices.

“The state legislature needs to address this problem of rising gas prices immediately. Call a special session… Washington does not need the status of the state with the highest gasoline prices superseding California and Hawaii, let them reclaim this dubious distinction.   “THE TIME TO ACT IS NOW, NOT NEXT YEAR, NEXT LEGISLATIVE SESSION.”

Then there was this email from Helen, another constituent. Like Michael, she connected Washington’s high gas prices to a state law that was passed in 2021 but didn’t take full effect until 2023. It’s officially called the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) but known generically as “cap-and-invest,” “cap-and-trade” or “cap-and-tax,” depending on who is talking (to me it clearly functions as a tax):

“I am writing to urge you to act immediately to FIX Washington’s deeply flawed and enormously costly new cap-and-trade program that was launched earlier this year.

“Independent sources, such as Washington Policy Center and Washington Research Council (WRC) estimate that based on the May 31st auction price, the compliance costs for this program are adding 44 cents per gallon to the cost to manufacture gasoline and 55 cents per gallon to the cost to manufacture diesel.

“The Seattle Times reports that the Department of Ecology has collected almost $850 million in compliance costs so far this year. An independent analysis conducted by WRC also estimates the program could cost $1.5 billion by year-end. These costs are three times higher than originally estimated when the legislature voted cap-and-trade into law.

“I urge you to work with your legislative colleagues to fix this flawed program to make it work as intended in meeting our climate goals without placing enormous cost burdens on Washington families, small businesses, family farmers and working people across our state.”

The auction referred to in Helen’s message is how, under the cap-and-tax law, state government began selling carbon “allowances” this year. These “compliance costs” are passed on to us at the pump, which explains why Washington gas prices have continued upward all year while they’ve fallen in other states.

The message from Michael also suggested legislators had failed to ask, back in 2021, whether the Climate Commitment Act would cause gas prices to rise. I can assure him that many of us didn’t ask whether the proposed law would affect gas prices – we predicted it would.

I’ll also point out that this bill didn’t get a lot of attention outside the Capitol because that legislative session was held remotely, greatly limiting the public’s ability to be heard. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that controversial “reform” bills about law enforcement were slid through that session, as was the state’s capital-gains income tax.

As I replied to constituent Larry, I am careful about sounding overly partisan, but when it comes to gas prices in our state and the subject of energy/fuel in general, there is no getting around how there is a great difference of opinion between Republicans and Democrats.

In each of the past two legislative sessions, Senate Republicans have proposed lowering gas prices through a temporary suspension of Washington’s 49.4-cent state gas tax (Senate Bill 5897 in 2022, and this year, SB 5756, which I sponsored). Democrats have shown zero interest – meaning they would not even agree to hold a public hearing on either bill and listen to the valid concerns you and many others have.

To Michael’s point, I would definitely support having a special legislative session to address gas prices. However, I doubt our Democratic colleagues feel the same way, as they and Governor Inslee are denying the Climate Commitment Act has anything to do with Washington having the highest gas prices in the U.S. The reality is, too many of the people who control our state government don’t seem to care if you are paying more for gas, and see higher gas prices as the way to force people into public transit and electric vehicles. But I will not give up, as this is too important to the people I serve.

The state Department of Ecology is on point within the executive branch of state government for implementing the Climate Commitment Act; it’s also the agency failing to deliver on the CCA exemptions promised to the agricultural and maritime industries (and the fuel surcharge rebates now owed them due to that failure) Just this week I was among more than 40 lawmakers signing a letter to Ecology which offers a plan for bringing gas prices down. Click here to read it.

The state Department of Ecology is on point within the executive branch of state government for implementing the Climate Commitment Act; it’s also the agency failing to deliver on the CCA exemptions promised to the agricultural and maritime industries (and the fuel surcharge rebates now owed them due to that failure) Just this week I was among more than 40 lawmakers signing a letter to Ecology which offers a plan for bringing gas prices down. Click here to read it.

New payroll tax adds to affordability crisis in our state

As of this month, any paycheck cut in Washington is subject to the new long-term care tax, unless the paycheck goes to someone who has obtained an exemption from state government.

The law that is now making Washington gasoline so expensive was created in 2021; the payroll tax goes back even farther, to 2019. The Democratic majority delayed the tax collection until 2022, which kept the whole thing under the public’s radar. But as word got out about the tax and the many flaws in the so-called “WA Cares” program it support (like how people who choose to retire out of state would give up access to the long-term benefits they’d paid for), people wanted an opportunity to exempt themselves.

That opportunity came late in 2021, for a limited time, but exemptions weren’t granted unless you could show you had purchased separate long-term care coverage. The resulting controversy led Democratic legislators to delay the collection of the tax until this month and add four very narrow exemptions that are ongoing but still exclude most Washington workers.

That was last year. I had hoped the majority would make further adjustments during our 2023 regular session, but nothing happened – and with the tax now coming out of the paychecks of those who could not or have not obtained an exemption, I am hearing from people again, wondering what’s going on and what can be done about it. They don’t like giving up an average of $24 in pay each month indefinitely for a benefit that might pay for only a few months in an assisted-living facility.

An answer came from some of my Senate Republican colleagues this week. Knowing that our colleagues in the Democratic majority won’t repeal WA Cares, they’re proposing that Washington workers again be given the choice to opt out, this time with no time limit and no strings attached (meaning no need to show proof of purchasing a separate policy). You can see the latest draft of the proposal here and read the thinking behind it here.

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Please remember I am here to serve you. Although we may not always be able to meet face to face, I encourage you to reach out to my office and to share your thoughts, ideas and concerns on matters of importance to you. Please, if you don’t already, follow me on Facebook. I look forward to hearing from you.

Perry Dozier
State Senator
16th Legislative District

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