Initiative 2066: “This measure would repeal or prohibit certain laws and regulations that discourage natural gas use and/or promote electrification, and require utilities and local governments to provide natural gas to eligible customers” (from the Voters’ Pamphlet, General Election November 5, 2024).
This initiative is quite complex: it will repeal only some provisions of House Bill 1589, passed in the 2024 legislature, and only some provisions of the state code. However, those provisions provide for the orderly transition to using electricity instead of natural gas, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global heating. Burning natural gas also contributes to air pollution that causes asthma and heart disease.
Reducing the use of natural gas in new residences and in expanding industries will be necessary if Washington State (and Thurston County) is to meet goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. HB 1589 does not force the use of electricity instead of gas, but it encourages that transition. For example, a contractor can install a natural gas furnace in a new residence IF he also makes sure the house meets high standards for preventing energy loss through the house’s envelope of walls, windows and roof. Since installing an electric heat pump is cheaper initially and throughout its lifetime than the home envelope upgrades, most homeowners will opt for electric heat.
For more on reasons to reject Initiative 2066, see page 11 of the Voters’ Pamphlet and an October 9 article in the online magazine Sightline that rebuts claims in an October 6 editorial in the Seattle Times. See
https://www.sightline.org/2024/10/09/correcting-the-record-on-initiative-2066/
Initiatives 2109, 2117, and 2024
These initiatives would repeal or destroy other recently enacted programs:
Initiative 2109 repeals an excise tax on profits of over $250,000 from the sales of stocks. In 2023 only 3,895 of the wealthiest Washington residents paid this tax, which brought in $1 billion earnarked for education. This tax helps correct Washington state’s regressive tax system.
Intiative 2117 repeals Washington’s carbon cap-and-trade system designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This would eliminate the $478,479 that the program will bring in over this biennium. This money is earmarked for many different programs to mitigate climate change and improve air pollution — from protecting DNR’s Legacy Forests to insulating housing.
Initiative 2024 allows employees to opt out of the state’s new long term care insurance instead of automatic enrollment of all employees. Unlike private long term health insurance, the state insurance does not exclude people with pre-existing conditions like high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes. So making sure the pool of insured is large is necessary to keep the system solvent. At a monthly payment of $.58 per $100, the state insurance is an incredibly good deal for the $36,000 per year benefit for in-home or institutional care.
An article in the September 2024 issue of WIP explained other important reasons to oppose Initiatives 2109, 2117, and 2124. See “LWVAA Takes Stand Against Three Ballot Initiaves” https://olywip.org/lwvwa-takes-stand-against-three-ballot-initiatives/
Charlotte Persons is a longtime environmental advocate who lives in Olympia.
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