OLYMPIA, Wash. – In the coming months, Washington state will embark on a study of the best ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The research is one provision of a measure Governor Jay Inslee signed into law Tuesday. It’s a key legislative win for the Democrat.
So why are Republicans declaring victory?
In the end, Governor Inslee got his climate change bill. But it came out looking a bit different then it went in. That’s because Republicans now largely control the Washington Senate. They rewrote key sections of the bill.
Doug Ericksen did much of the tinkering as chair of the Senate Energy committee. He hopes the research required by the new law can take what he calls the "religion" out of carbon reduction.
“It’s not really a climate change bill anymore," Ericksen says. "It’s really a cost-benefit-analysis of environmental actions bill. What’s the actual cost of these environmental programs on manufacturing, on agriculture, on fuel prices, the cost of a family’s heating bill?”
Democrat Kevin Ranker sponsored the measure on Inslee’s behalf. He disagrees with Ericksen’s characterization.
“This is a huge victory because this forces us, Democrats and Republicans, to the table in an executive work group to take actions," Ranker says. "Not to debate whether or not climate [change] is real, but to debate what we’re going to do about it.”
That workgroup – comprised of legislators and the governor – will hire a consultant and then use the findings to recommend ways for Washington to meet its greenhouse gas emission targets.
On the Web:
SB 5802: Recommendations on greenhouse gas emissions - Washington Legislature
