Washington Business Fall 2015 | Legislative Review | Page 20

2015 legislative review

climate change/
energy/air quality
ESHB 1314

implementing a
cap-and-trade system
in washington state
Failed/AWB Opposed
Gov. Jay Inslee made establishing a capand-trade style energy tax a cornerstone
of his 2015 political agenda and called
on legislators to adopt such a system to
combat climate change. The program,
s p o ns ore d by Re p. Joe Fit z gib bon,
D-Burien, would have increased costs for
Washingtonians through a $1.3 billion tax
on energy. Early iterations of House Bill
1314 identified a list of facilities that emit
more than 25,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases and called on them to pay a
price on their emissions. These facilities
included a cross-section of industry sectors, from refineries and pulp and paper
producers to steel and aluminum manufacturers and food processers. In other
words, virtually every family in the state
would have paid more for everyday products, goods and services, fuel for cars, the
gas we use to heat our homes, and the
electricity we use to turn on the lights.
Later iterations of the legislation offered
limited rebates to some industry sectors,
such as energy-intensive or trade-dependent industries, while offering no such
relief to other industry sectors.
AWB’s economic analysis matched the
governor’s own analysis, conducted by
the state Office of Financial Management,
which showed this new tax on energy
would be highly regressive, hitting lower-income families harder in the form of
higher costs for fuel, natural gas and electricity. The governor’s own analysis of his
cap-and-trade program showed it would:
• Immediately raise the price of gas by
$0.11 per gallon and by as much as $0.41
by 2035;
• Raise the cost of natural gas by 22 percent through 2035; and

18 association of washington business

Monique Trudnowski, owner of the Adriatic Grill, testifies about the cost ESHB 1314 would have
on her Tacoma restaurant. With her is Ian Tolleson of the Northwest Food Processors Association
during an AWB-led panel March 12 before the House Appropriations Committee.

• Increase the cost of electricity by as
much as 12 percent.

support for research and innovation
regarding nuclear power. These include:

AWB, along with other stakeholders from
the private and public sectors, including labor, worked with policy leaders in
the Legislature to tell our story on the
costs and implications of the legislation.
More than 50 individuals representing
the employer and employee community testified over three separate public
hearings, sharing personal stories on the
impacts to their business or jobs. The
response from the impacted community
was overwhelming and helped keep the
controversial bill fro HXZ