Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima.

OLYMPIA, Jan. 13.– Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, the co-chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, has given all Olympia something to watch for when Gov. Jay Inslee mounts the rostrum in the House Tuesday to deliver his State of the State address. King says this would be a most excellent opportunity for the governor to make a promise: Inslee can lay to rest the fears that he might attempt to impose low-carbon fuel standards on the state of Washington by executive order.

By now the green-minded governor’s speechwriters have probably seen King’s press release. Will he respond?

The prospect of a fuel-standards executive order has been one of the hot topics of speculation during the run-up to this year’s legislative session. A proposal for a gas-tax increase is one of the big issues before this year’s Legislature — an increase ranging from 10.5 cents to 11.5 cents a gallon, under various proposals from the House and Senate. But the state can expect an even bigger boost in gas prices if Inslee imposes low-carbon fuel standards — from 93 cents a gallon to $1.17.

Those are the state’s own numbers, from consultants to the climate-change task force Inslee convened last year. Last week, at a pre-session forum, Inslee wouldn’t make any promises about low-carbon fuel standards, even as he called on the Legislature to pass the transportation tax package. As long as Inslee isn’t saying, not only will lawmakers be reluctant to pass a gas-tax increase for road construction, King says — the argument will be used against the tax plan when it inevitably goes before voters, either through a legislative referral to the ballot or a repeal initiative. “We have surveys that show the 11 1/2-cent increase is very unpopular, so you can imagine what a one-dollar increase would be,” he told Washington State Wire last week. Judy Clibborn, D-Mercer Island, the House Transportation Chair, stopped short of calling for Inslee to declare his intentions, but said the doubt is causing support for the package to weaken, and could torpedo the plan.

Making no promises: Gov. Jay Inslee addresses reporters at the annual legislative forum sponsored by the Associated Press.

Low-carbon fuel standards would require refiners to blend gasoline and diesel fuel with an advanced and largely unavailable advanced form of ethanol in order to achieve a carbon reduction of about 10 percent. In California, the one state that has enacted the standards so far, the oil industry maintains big price increases and supply disruptions are around the corner when stringent standards kick in next year. And if the possibility Inslee might follow suit sounds like a bit of rank political speculation, the governor himself touched off the suspicion in October when he signed an agreement with California, Oregon, and British Columbia. In it he pledged that Washington would enact low-carbon fuel standards as well as a cap-and-trade policy. Inslee didn’t say how he planned to do it, but the Department of Ecology says it has the authority to write regulations already under the state Clean Air Act — all it would take is an executive order. No legislative vote would be required.

King issued his challenge to Inslee in the form of a press statement Monday, the first day of the 2014 Washington Legislature. The full text follows:

King Urges Governor to Come Clean on Carbon Fuel Tax

OLYMPIA, Jan. 13.— Sen. Curtis King, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, called on Gov. Inslee to come clean with the Legislature on his future intentions to impose a carbon fuel tax through executive order.

“This is an issue of trust. We cannot ask the people of Washington and our job creators to support a 10-cent gas tax if the governor plans to add more taxes. The governor is about to give his state of the state address, so now is the time to be open and direct about his plans.”

–Erik Smith

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