Democratic Washington Gov. Jay Inslee unveiled a $941 million climate initiative as part of a supplemental budget plan Wednesday that would steer $900 million in funds generated by the state’s cap-and-trade emission tax into the green energy industry.
Washington’s carbon tax has generated more than $1.5 billion in revenue between February and September by making businesses pay for their emissions, an added overhead cost that critics argue contributes to the state’s gas prices, which are among the highest in the nation. These funds will be redirected toward electric school buses, developing a clean energy workforce, installing electric vehicle chargers and climate resilience projects, among other things, according to the supplemental budget document. (RELATED: Blue State To Shell Out Billions On Fish As Transportation Infrastructure Crumbles)
“Washington’s cap and trade emissions tax is unfair and disproportionately burdens the working class,” Joe Kent, a Republican running for Congress in Washington’s Third District, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“However, since the tax is already in place, the money generated should be used to fund local infrastructure projects like roads and bridges,” he continued. “Gov. Inslee decided to redirect that revenue to the green energy industry, exemplifying the Democratic Party’s contempt for working class voters.”
Of the $941 million Inslee proposes spending on climate and the environment, $900 million will come from the state’s carbon tax, according to his supplemental budget.
The proposed supplemental budget aims to reduce emissions in Washington public schools by spending $20 million on installing energy efficient HVAC systems and $31 million on purchasing electric school buses.
“While the governor claims the money is going to ‘green energy,’ the truth is that a huge portion goes to [the] government and payoffs for political special interests,” Todd Myers, environmental director at the Washington Policy Center, told the DCNF.
“In the first round of expenditures from the CO2 tax, more than half went to expanding government programs like planning, permitting, implementation of the law and other programs,” he continued. “Tens of millions more are targeted to specific industries, even if those projects don’t yield CO2 reductions.”
