Well, there they go again.
Opponents of Initiative 2117, which would repeal Washington's costly cap-and-tax law, are repeating the lie that passing the initiative would put our state's roads and bridges at risk.
Their dishonest campaign ad began airing right after I'd mentioned how we should watch for that scare tactic again.
Because the First Amendment protects lying in political campaigns, voters must work to separate truth from fiction. In this case, the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) itself makes that easy.
Simply go to Chapter 70A.65.240 of the Revised Code of Washington, and find the sentence about how CCA money may only be spent to reduce carbon emissions in the transportation sector, and not for “highway purposes” — meaning building or maintaining roads and bridges.
The false claim that I-2117 threatens funding for roads and bridges was quickly shot down after the Senate Transportation Committee chair posted it on social media during this year's legislative session.
The fact that the initiative's opponents are now doubling down on the lie tells me they think Washington voters are gullible, or worse.
For anyone who still questions whether the CCA should be repealed, here are even more reasons to say yes to I-2117 when the general-election voting period begins Oct. 18.
The statement against I-2117 published in the official state voters’ guide includes a new one, in the form of a specious argument: If lower gas prices are the goal, opponents say, those who want to repeal cap-and-tax should push to lower the state gas tax instead.
That may sound logical on the surface, but the opponents fail to admit it's already been tried.
During the 2022 legislative session, when price inflation really began blowing holes in household budgets, former Republican Sen. Simon Sefzik introduced legislation to suspend Washington’s gas tax through the end of 2022. I was among the co-sponsors.
Because of federal pandemic relief, our state treasury had a record surplus – around $15 billion. A fraction of that would have supported a temporary gas-tax suspension, allowing families and employers to immediately save nearly 50 cents per gallon at the pump without jeopardizing a single highway project.
Democrats wouldn’t even allow a committee hearing on the bill. They also blocked our late-session attempt to bypass the committee process and bring SB 5897 directly to the floor of the Senate chamber. Money that could have provided temporary tax relief went instead to making state government even bigger.
I-2117 will lower the cost of gas, and unlike the 2022 legislation, Democrats could not bury it.
Then there's the attempt to bribe voters.
When the Democrat-controlled House passed its version of the new budget in late February, it included $150 million to help pay for a one-time, “clean energy transition” bill credit for low-income residential electricity customers.
The House scheme would have provided a $100 credit in mid-October, as ballots are being mailed out, with another $100 credit to follow — but only if I-2117 failed.
The message to voters in eligible households was obvious. Also, you have to believe the House Democrats wouldn't have tried this play without Inslee's blessing.
The Senate had not included any such payment in its initial version of the budget, but there was no going back once the House Democrats dangled money.
Our chamber prevailed in changing the timing, so the entire $200 bill credit would be provided no later than Sept. 15. But while the credit looks less like a bribe now, it’s fair to ask how Democrats came up with that amount.
They apparently think $200 is enough to offset the added costs brought on by cap-and-tax, when working Washingtonians on tight budgets know the CCA is costing them much more than that.
Also … if cap-and-tax is not repealed, will legislators feel bound to offer annual bill credits indefinitely?
Anyone who cares about our state's agriculture and maritime industries has an extra reason to repeal the CCA: once the law took full effect in 2023, a promise that fuel used by those sectors would be exempt from the cap-and-tax surcharge turned out to be false.
Senate Republicans quickly proposed legislation to force the Department of Ecology to honor the promise. As Ecology is one of Inslee's agencies, the bill went nowhere.
But then I-2117 came along — and next thing you know, legislative Democrats managed to put $30 million in the new state operating budget to “support” fuel buyers hurt by the broken promise.
The trouble is, the payments offered don’t come close to offsetting the extra costs paid by those subject to the surcharge.
Another reason to repeal the CCA is the shameless use of public resources to promote it. Basically, anyone on the receiving end of cap-and-tax money has been directed by Inslee's office to publicly acknowledge the financial support, and specifically give credit to the CCA.
Like the payments to farm-fuel buyers and low-income electricity customers, this government-propaganda plan was hatched only after Democrats saw more than 469,000 voters rise up against the CCA by signing the I-2117 initiative petitions.
In an earlier column about reasons to vote for I-2117, I pointed to Inslee's disinformation campaign, which falsely claimed cap-and-tax would at most add “pennies” to the cost of a gallon of gas; how Washington's working people and low-income families are hit much harder than others by the jump in gas, diesel and natural-gas prices since the CCA took full effect; and the many millions of dollars in cap-and-tax proceeds being handed to activist organizations, without legislative oversight or any obvious effect on carbon emissions.
The bottom line is, there are plenty of reasons to support Initiative 2117 in addition to "say yes, pay less" — meaning less at the pump and for heating or cooling your home.
The CCA’s supporters have a history of misleading the people, one way or another. I trust voters to see through the gaslighting about gas prices and all the other lies, like the fake claim about I-2117 jeopardizing roads and bridges, and act accordingly.
It's time to turn the page on another one of the Democrats’ regressive taxes, which disproportionately hurt working Washingtonians. Only by repealing cap-and-tax can the people force lawmakers to craft policies that promote carbon reduction in ways that won't also hit families and employers where it hurts most. It’s how our state can do better.
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Sen. John Braun of Centralia serves the 20th Legislative District, which spans parts of four counties from Yelm to Vancouver. He became Senate Republican leader in 2020.
