Washington Business Fall 2017 | Legislative Review & Vote Record | Page 33

issue area reports | environment
Environment
Mary Catherine McAleer: Climate Change, Energy, Chemical and Solid Waste Management and Water Quality
Michael Ennis: Land Use/Construction, Water Resources and Regulatory Reform
With the Legislature’s core focus on education funding this year, the discussion around environmental policy was mainly
revenue-focused. Gov. Jay Inslee’s proposed biennial budget included $4.4 billion in new tax revenue to fund K-12 education,
with $3.9 billion coming from a $25 per ton carbon tax.
The Legislature declined to consider the governor’s carbon tax proposal, but legislators introduced four more carbon tax proposals
of their own, possibly motivated by the threat of a 2018 carbon tax ballot initiative, in their search for a budget panacea, or the
opportunity for tax reform elsewhere. Ultimately, no carbon tax proposals advanced and the employer community influenced the
discussion to include consideration of business-friendly elements new to Washington climate policy dialogue. AWB remained
opposed to carbon pricing throughout
the legislative session for three
primary reasons: even with business
exemptions, the administrative
burden of complying with carbon
taxes still would make Washington
less competitive for business growth;
no proposal would have “protected”
revenues constitutionally (to prevent
them from being used for other state
programs in the future); and, AWB
member businesses continue to believe
they are the solution — not the problem.
Alongside the carbon tax proposals
in the Legislature, AWB is continuing
its work on the state Department of
Ecology’s (DOE) Clean Air Rule (CAR).
While AWB worked with DOE in the
drafting the rule, the collaboration
Mary Catherine McAleer, AWB government affairs director for environmental policy, testifies
ultimately failed to produce a regulation
before the House Environment Committee.
that was workable for the employer
community. As a result, AWB filed suit
against the department. The case is pending. AWB members remain mindful that this regulatory mandate creates a competitive
disadvantage to business counterparts in other jurisdictions and hits our state’s manufacturing sector especially hard, jeopardizing
family-wage jobs.
Additionally, changes to environmental policy at the federal level have increased the pressure on state and local gover nments to
maintain agency budget growth. The potential for reductions in pass-through dollars from the federal Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) to state agencies has caused state and local governments to search for new operating revenue in the form of
increased fees and taxes. AWB is working to prevent private backfilling of these funds. Additionally, Executive Order 13777,
Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda, created several opportunities for AWB member businesses to submit feedback on
burdensome federal regulations in need of review. A federal Regulatory Reform Task Force was directed to solicit public input,
evaluate existing regulations, and make recommendations to agency heads on their eventual repeal, replacement or modification.
Periodic progress reports are required of federal agencies, and employers could expect regulatory changes as early as 2018.
Meanwhile, the EPA partially disapproved Washington state’s proposed surface water quality standards and instead adopted
more stringent standards for background and legacy contaminants. The business community responded with an ongoing Petition
for Reconsideration as the state DOE began issuing permits based on the new water quality standards.
special edition 2017
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