A few items we don’t want to overlook:
1. The Puget Sound Business Journal reports on fallout from Congress failing to renew the charter for the Export-Import Bank.
- Boeing CEO considers moving “key pieces” overseas if Ex-Im not renewed.
- Small Washington exporters “knee-capped” by loss of Ex-Im Bank.
2. More details on Gov. Inslee’s emissions cap.
“Basically what this is about is breaking the monopoly and the stranglehold on Washingtonians of the oil and gas industry,” the Democratic governor said.
Inslee ordered his Department of Ecology Tuesday to develop a cap on emissions, and he said Wednesday it would set limits on the state’s largest emitters.
Details remain unclear, including how the plan would affect energy prices.
First, his proposed cap on emissions will not include any taxes on polluters, which means this will not be an avenue to raise revenue like Inslee’s proposed carbon emissions tax. That plan died in the Democratic House earlier this year. Second, this order includes no plan for mandating low-carbon fuel standards for vehicles, which means Inslee’s order will not trigger a legislative “poison pill.” If low carbon standards were ordered, the legislative poison-pill provision would automatically transfer at least $700 million in transit and other multi-modal money to roads projects.
- A new Manhattan Institute report on how California’s energy policies have affected lower-income residents.
3. The Washington Research Council has new releases.
- A Special Report, Transportation Package Makes Critical Investments for Commuters, Economy
- A blog post assessing the McCleary Filings and the Stubborn Problem of Initiative 1351.
Read and enjoy.
