Ahead of the 2024 legislative session, local Republican lawmakers say reducing everyday costs for residents of the 20th District will be a top priority.
Earlier this month, The Chronicle’s Editorial Board sat down with Rep. Peter Abbarno, R-Centralia, Rep. Ed Ocrutt, R-Kalama, and Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, from the 20th Legislative District to discuss their legislative priorities and outline what they envision for the upcoming session.
The Legislature will convene on Jan. 8 for a 60-day session. The session ends on March 7.
With limited power to enact legislation not supported by at least a few of their Democratic colleagues, the Republican legislators said their responsibility also includes serving as a watchdog in Olympia, critiquing the policies adopted and signed by the governor.
“You can’t throw a stick in Olympia and not hit an agency that’s in trouble right now,” Braun said.
A plan to reduce costs
Under a plan to “fight for an affordable Washington,” the Republican’s 2024 legislative agenda includes:
• Requiring utility companies to list the impact of the carbon tax on billing statements
• Preventing a ban on natural gas as heating fuel
• Expanding tax incentives for hybrid vehicles to reduce their cost
• Supporting the research, development, production and sale of hydrogen-powered alternatives
• The modernization of the Energy Independence Act to eliminate “regulatory overlap and reduce costs”
• Exempting the first $250,000 of a home’s value from state property taxes, plus an equivalent credit for renters
• Establishing a state spending limit and applying revenue above the limit to state property tax relief
• Redefining “multi-unit family housing” to remove some housing from the burden and cost of overregulation
The CCA
One of the programs sure to see a wide array of discussions is the Climate Commitment Act (CCA), a wide-ranging environmental protection legislation that Braun and other Republicans have repeatedly tied to higher gas prices.
Adopted during the 2021 session, the legislation established an auction for emission allowances, with the funds set to go to fund climate projects across the state. The number of available credits will be reduced yearly, meaning the amount of revenue will also decrease over time.
All three of the lawmakers from the 20th District voted against the proposal.
“I didn’t support CCA, but I also want to make sure if it is passed, and we do have the revenue, that it is spent the right way, and for the most efficient for our taxpayers and our community,” Abbarno said. “You don’t necessarily support the underlying legislation that creates it, but it’s your job to then make sure that it’s spent and invested widely for the people.”
According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of gas in Washington state was $4.14 on Tuesday, about 26 cents higher than the state’s average a year ago. The national average for a gallon of gas was $3.12, about 2 cents more than the national average a year ago.
According to Braun, Washington’s gas taxes, regulations and isolation from areas of supply have previously contributed to a higher-than-average gas price, though the CCA resulted in even higher prices.
“If they’re gouging us, why are they not gouging everyone else?” Braun said. In his remarks, he added the impact of the gallon of gas has gone beyond the impact of “pennies” promised by Gov. Inslee. “If it were price gouging, it would be across the board, across all states.”
According to a November report published by the Department of Ecology, the operating, capital and transportation budgets for the 2023-2025 biennium passed by the Legislature include $2.1 billion in appropriations funded through revenue from the CCA.
“We’re bringing in way more with the CCA than we anticipated bringing in,” Braun said. “So, trying to figure out if we don’t get rid of the CCA entirely, trying to get back to what we promised with that legislation.”
Ahead of the session, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have proposed bills to ease the pain at the pump.
Rep. April Connors, R-Kennewick, suggested legislation to issue registered vehicle owners $100 each or $200 per family a year, while senator and gubernatorial candidate Mark Mullet, D-Issaquah, urged the Legislature to cap the price of carbon pollution permits being auctioned off under the Climate Commitment Act.
“Depending on how much you drive, it may cover the differential,” Braun said of Connors’ proposal. “If you drive a lot, like we’ve been doing lately, it won’t even come close to covering the differential in price.”
For Orcutt, the issue is simple: Look at Washington’s neighbor to the south. According to AAA, on Wednesday Oregon averaged $3.80 a gallon.
“The same refineries that service Washington are serving Oregon,” Orcutt said. “We’re on the same pipelines. It’s the same source, and in many cases it’s the same mix.”
A partial exemption from property taxes
According to Braun, the partial exemption from state property taxes would apply to the first $250,000 of a home’s value, an idea that's circulated in the Legislature but has not been adopted. Braun estimates the proposal would cost about a billion dollars over four years.
“A couple of years ago, you could have said that’s the median price of a house,” Braun said of the $250,000 figure. “Not true any longer, but we can’t afford to do $400,000.”
Braun said the proposal would require a constitutional amendment, because “under current constitutional limits, you can’t do this just for residences and not for other property.”
After years of a near-even split of property tax revenue from businesses and homeowners, Braun said the “bulk” of the money now comes from homeowners.
“I think this is justified, but it is a little controversial,” Braun said.
Separately, Orcutt has proposed reducing the revenue the state collects from property taxes. According to Orcutt, the state has far exceeded projected revenue from the McCleary Fix adopted by the Legislature.
“My proposal is to go back to what the projections were, and actually take the state levy down to that level. Again, what the people were told they were going to have to pay, let’s actually hold the state to not take more than that. Just lower the levy rate down,” Orcutt said, adding it would also benefit renters. “Then, everybody benefits from it.”
A need for oversight
While not tied to the CCA or another piece of legislation, the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF), the agency tasked with managing Green Hill School, also needs more significant oversight, according to the legislators.
“That same department is failing when it comes to Child Protective Services, it’s failing when it comes to foster kids,” Braun said. “It’s just really having a tough time.”
In August, the Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET) served a search warrant at the facility while investigating whether staff members had provided narcotics to inmates and whether overdoses were handled internally.
In November, Braun called for an additional investigation into the facility.
“I strongly support the call for an investigation of Green Hill School and the Department of Children and Youth Services (DCYF). School officials have a history of allowing serious security problems to create an unsafe environment,” Braun said in a statement at the time. “Finding out they have been holding onto 114 bags of drugs, drug paraphernalia and weapons in violation of state law is deeply disturbing. Each one represents a possible felony against whoever brought it into the facility. Tucking them away in a laundry room demonstrates a staggering level of incompetence.”
Several current and former inmates have since been charged in Lewis County Superior Court with possession of a controlled substance in a state facility, according to previous reporting by The Chronicle.
“This is a case where, if they were really doing what was envisioned by our founders in the constitution, they would be pulling in the Secretary of the Department Ross Hunter, and saying, ‘explain to us why we’re having repeated failures, why kids are dying, why we’re having situations like we have at Green Hill where we have crimes being committed and there’s no followup, there’s no interaction with local law enforcement or prosecutors. Just storing the evidence in a locker,” Braun said.
According to Braun, issues with the DCYF go beyond the management of Green Hill. While he doubts they would do so, he said Democrats should hold hearings to investigate further.
“That’s how our government is designed,” Braun said. “We’re not doing that, because we don’t have any balance in government.”
