Posted on 04/27/2003 6:43:44 PM PDT by nwconservative
Republican Senator Bill Finkbeiner; Raising Taxes and Eroding Property Rights
"Governor’s Sustainable Washington Advisory Panel BIOS's". "(As of September 9, 2002)" http://sustainableseattle.org/sustpanel/bios.doc Senator Bill Finkbeiner, Washington State Senate, (R) 45th Legislative District Representative Fred Jarrett, Washington State House of Representatives (R) 41st Legislative District, et al
A New Path Forward. Action Plan for a Sustainable Washington: Achieving Long- term Economic, Social, and Environmental Vitality"; was Submitted to Governor Gary Locke on February, 2003 by the "Governor’s Sustainable Washington Advisory Panel."
Governor Gary Locke issued Executive Order 02-03, Sustainable Practices By State Agencies and legislation is under consideration to pave the way for Kyoto implementation in Washington State. An example is House Bill 2119, designed to create a carbon registry; passed the Democrat controlled house while its companion, Senate Bill 5945 did not receive a hearing and died in the Republican controlled senate. Last year ESHB 2326, which created the Washington Climate Center, was signed into law on March 29, 2002 by Governor Locke. http://www.governor.wa.gov/eo/eo%5F02%2D03.htm
The Cost to the Washington State Economy will be horrendous. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimated the following: http://www.house.gov/science/charter_ee_10-09.htm
"Carbon Permit Prices. Carbon permit prices... increase energy costs for the average household by about $335-$1,740 annually."
"Electricity. Average electricity prices... an increase of 20-86% over the baseline."
"Gasoline. Gasoline prices... an increase of 14-66 ¢/gallon, or 11-53% over the baseline."
"Fuel Oil. Average fuel oil prices... an increase of 14-76% over the baseline."
"Natural Gas. Average natural gas... an increase of 25-147% over the baseline."
"GDP. GDP declines range from $61-$397 billion ..."
The last element is very meaningful to Lewis County, "the EIA estimates a decline in coal use of 20-80%, and an average coal price increase by 154-866%, with additional COAL MINING JOB LOSSES OF 10,300-43,000 (15-63%)."
The Heartland Institute also has calculated that Locke's greenhouse gas reduction blueprint could cost the normal family an additional $5000 per year. http://www.heartland.org
The Sustainability Panel Reports http://sustainableseattle.org/sustpanel/index.html Dear Governor, Five months ago, you charged this Panel with developing an action plan to move us onto a path towards a sustainable Washington. That plan is now complete, and we present it to you here. It is designed to ensure a rich quality of life for both current and future generations of Washingtonians. We share your commitment to sustainability in our magnificent state, and pledge to join with you in taking the next practical steps to make this plan a reality.
Action Steps 1. Take Action on Global Warming
The Governor and Legislature commit Washington to greenhouse gas reduction targets as the basis for developing a low-carbon, high-performance economy. These targets should be linked clearly to increased use and production of clean energy, as well as reduced expenditures on fossil fuels.
The Governor could explore collaboration on climate protection with other Northwest and West Coast states and provinces, as the northeastern governors and eastern Canadian premieres have done. A collaborative approach would have multiple benefits, including creating the infrastructure for carbon trading markets and increasing leverage for cleaner vehicles in western markets.
The Governor could establish this climate protection goal in 2003, consistent with international timelines and targets.
Standards to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles, similar to proposals now being considered in New York and California, should also be considered as part of these strategies.
The Panel recommends that the Siting Council adopt strong greenhouse gas mitigation standards for all new facilities. These standards should apply to the large (over 350 megawatt) facilities currently regulated by the Siting Council. Washington’s standard should exceed the existing Oregon standard, which is now outdated.
To ensure that smaller facilities also mitigate greenhouse gases, the Department of Ecology should adopt simultaneously an equivalent standard for new power plants under 350 megawatts.
2. To begin this transition, the Panel recommends that the Legislature, as part of the next biennial budget, judiciously enact new user fees and pollution taxes while phasing out exemptions that promote resource depletion. Possible opportunities include:
Develop a strategy to shift highway and road costs to motor vehicle users, possibly through tolls, congestion pricing, gas taxes, and fees such as weight-and- mileage charges. This approach, set forth in the Washington State Tax Structure Study Committee report, is strongly endorsed by the Sustainability Panel.
Increase user fees to allocate the cost of environmental protection more directly to activities that harm natural resources. This approach also was proposed in the Tax Structure Committee report.
3. Possible changes to user fees include:
Increase fees to administer laws related to hazardous and solid waste management, clean air, and clean water. Fees for Air Operating Permits and Wastewater Discharge Permits could be increased, the solid waste disposal surcharge (which expired in 1998) could be reinstated, and water permit fees (which have remained unchanged since 1917) could be increased.
Consider a front-end fee for purchases of electronics equipment such as computers to fund the cost of safe collection and recycling of this equipment, which rapidly becomes obsolete and contains heavy metals and other hazardous substances.
Apply a toxics tax to such items as pesticides and products containing mercury and other persistent, bioaccumulative, toxic materials.
Apply a small fee to the sale of new motor vehicles to fund diesel emission reduction and mercury retrofit programs for school buses.
Periodically review all tax exemptions, phasing out those exemptions that do not contribute to long-term economic, social, and environmental vitality. The Tax Commission also recommended this strategy.
Formulate a strategy to systematically reduce taxes over time on expenditures and investments that encourage economic, social, and environmental vitality. For example, taxes such as the B&O tax could be phased out and replaced by taxes on the unsustainable consumption of natural resources.
Finkbeiner Supports Takings and Land Use Restrictions http://www.americanlands.org/forestweb/wilderne.htm
Washington Wilderness Gains Bi-Partisan Support Conservation groups in Washington state kicked off the "Wild Washington" campaign this spring with the with the goal of permanently protecting Washington’s last remaining wild forest lands as wilderness. These efforts to protect Washington’s remaining wild places received a bipartisan boost on the 35th anniversary of the signing of the Wilderness Act earlier this month. Two Republican members of the state legislature, Senator Bill Finkbeiner and state Representative Kelly Barlean circulated letters in support of wilderness protection, while Republican Ralph Munro, Washington’s Secretary of State and Democrat John Roskelley, Spokane’s County Commissioner co-authored an op-ed praising Wilderness protection efforts. Governor Gary Locke also joined the chorus with his own statement encouraging continued work to protect wild lands throughout Washington. "There is a grassroots effort under way across our state to give new protection to our remaining national-forest wilderness. Fifteen years ago was the last time federal lawmakers acted to permanently conserve some of Washington’s natural crown jewels. Much of what’s left of Washington’s pristine wild country remains exposed and at risk," said Gov. Locke. Contact Washington Wilderness Coalition at 206/633-1992 for more information about the Washington Wild! campaign.
Finkbeiner Carries Gary Locke's Water!
Washington Votes.org http://www.washingtonvotes.org/votes.asp?LegislatorID=1966&LegislatorID1=0&TopicID=0&Keywords=&op=Search Introduced SB 5945 to establish the Washington Climate Action Registry. The center will encourage entities from various economic and geographic regions to participate in the registry by establishing emissions inventories, establishing greenhouse gas reduction targets, and implementing energy efficiency improvement and renewable energy programs to achieve those targets. See also Companion HB 2119. ? Referred to the Senate Natural Resources, Energy and Water Committee on February 24, 2003, but the bill did not receive a hearing by the cutoff date so it is considered a dead bill (although technically the bill could become active at any time during the 2003-2004 session).
Introduced SB 5467 to provide sales and use tax incentives for alternative vehicles, fuel, and equipment. The bill defines many terms such as "alternative fuel," "alternative fuel equipment," and "biodiesel" to outline the type of vehicles that qualify for tax exemptions. Referred to the Senate Highways and Transportation Committee on January 27, 2003, but the bill did not receive a hearing by the cutoff date so it is considered a "dead bill" (although technically the bill could become active at any time during the 2003-2004 session).
Introduced SB 5468 to permit low emission vehicles in high occupancy vehicles (HOV) lanes. The bill outlines what qualifies as a low emission vehicle. See also Companion HB 1818. Referred to the Senate Highways and Transportation Committee on January 27, 2003, but the bill did not receive a hearing by the cutoff date so it is considered a "dead bill" (although technically the bill could become active at any time during the 2003-2004 session).
Introduced SB 5469 to define "clean alternative fuel vehicle" and "fuel cell vehicle" and to provide incentives to use clean alternative fuel vehicles. Referred to the Senate Highways and Transportation Committee on January 27, 2003, but the bill did not receive a hearing by the cutoff date so it is considered a "dead bill" (although technically the bill could become active at any time during the 2003-2004 session).
Introduced SB 5079 to promote natural science, wildlife, and environmental education. This bill creates the Washington Natural Science, Wildlife, and Environmental Education Partnership Account in the custody of the state treasurer to provide natural science, wildlife, and environmental education opportunities for teachers and students. This account will provide grants for programs that promote innovative natural science, wildlife, and environmental education programs aligned with the state’s essential academic learning requirements. See also Companion House Bill 1466. Referred to the Senate Education Committee on January 14, 2003Substitute offered to the Senate Education Committee on February 5, 2003, to change the word "funds" to "grants" to better clarify the intended meaning. The substitute passed in the Senate on February 5, 2003. Referred to the Senate Rules Committee on February 5, 2003. Passed in the Senate (49 to 0) on March 6, 2003, concerning natural science education.
Introduced SB 5444 to implement Instant Runoff Voting. This bill would adopt a voting system in which all successful candidates would win by a majority vote rather than a plurality of effective votes. In general, instant runoff vote counting proceeds in the following manner: in the first stage all first choice votes are counted. If a candidate receives a majority of votes he or she is elected. If no candidate receives a majority on the first or a subsequent stage then the last-place candidate at that stage is eliminated. The next choices on ballots for an eliminated candidate become votes for the remaining candidates, and that process continues until a candidate has been elected. See also Companion HB 1925.Referred to the Senate Government Operations and Elections Committee on January 27, 2003, but the bill did not receive a hearing by the cutoff date so it is considered a "dead bill" (although technically the bill could become active at any time during the 2003-2004 session).
Let's start with a user fee on life itself. These people are as stupid as they are dangerous. It is this type of utopian pablum that has supported American industry's departure from the United States of America.
May those who peddle this type of enviro-wahhabism join the Nazi, Bathe, and the multitude of failed communist ideologies in Hell.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.