Wash. 'Carbon Tax' Initiative Likely Headed To Ballot

OLYMPIA, WA - A ballot initiative to create a so-called carbon tax in Washington will likely make the November ballot. Organizers of I-1631 submitted some 375,000 signatures to the Secretary of State's office on Monday - about 100,000 more than the campaign needed.

If approved, I-1631 would require "large emitters" to pay $15 per metric ton of carbon they release beginning on Jan. 1, 2020. That fee would increase $2 per year until the state meets its carbon reduction targets. Revenue from the fee would go toward a variety of programs, but 70 percent would go toward "clean air and clean energy investments," according to the initiative.

Those investments include everything from building solar and wind power infrastructure to erecting more charging stations for electric vehicles.

A similar carbon tax initiative, I-732, failed to pass in 2016. Support for that initiative, however, was mixed. Even Gov. Jay Inslee (a carbon tax proponent: he tried to get one through the Legislature this past winter) opposed I-732 because it included a provision reducing some state taxes, which some predicted would hurt the state budget.

As far as opposition to the measure, several groups have donated to a PAC that was set up to fight the ballot title of I-1630. That campaign raised $14,500, according to state records, from organizations like the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturer's Association, the Association of Washington Business, and the Western States Petroleum Association. (There's also a parody Twitter account for the no campaign.)

Association of Washington Business spokesman Bobbi Cussins said that AWB has not taken a stance on I-1631.

"The Association of Washington Business led that ballot title challenge, but we haven’t yet taken a formal position on the initiative, nor have we donated to any opposition campaign. We have an internal process that needs to be completed before we could take a position," Cussins wrote in an email.

Read the full I-1631 initiative here.

Clarification: an earlier version of this story did not specify that the petrochemical and other groups organized a PAC only to challenge the I-1631 ballot title.

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