Utility rates are skyrocketing across Washington, with Puget Sound Energy proposing 17% increases next year and nearly 30% over three years, Seattle City Light planning nearly 10% annual hikes in 2027 and 2028, and Avista looking at 14%next year.

The usual suspects are quick to blame data centers or utility profits. But, as the Washington Policy Center’s Todd Myers points out, the data tells a different story. Retail electricity sales have been basically flat for a decade, and data centers aren’t the main driver. The real culprit is Washington’s own aggressive climate laws and regulations.

The Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA) and Climate Commitment Act are forcing utilities to scramble for scarce wind, solar, and battery storage to meet unrealistic carbon-free targets. These intermittent sources look cheap on paper when the sun is shining or wind is blowing — but they’re incredibly expensive when you account for the need to overbuild capacity and back them up for peak demand, especially on cold, still winter days when Washington needs power most.

Utilities are also spending billions on wildfire mitigation and other mandates. The result? Higher costs passed directly to families and businesses, even as demand hasn’t exploded.

Myers explains how this is the predictable failure of progressive energy policy under decades of Democratic control: ignore basic physics and economics, ban affordable reliable sources like natural gas, force reliance on unreliable renewables, then act surprised when the bills skyrocket.

Politicians love to virtue-signal about “climate leadership” while working families pay the price at the meter. Until Olympia stops treating reliable, low-cost electricity as the enemy, ratepayers will keep getting hammered.

Time for real reform before the lights — and wallets — get even dimmer. Read more at the Washington Policy Center.

Washington’s already sky-high gas tax is climbing once more.

Starting July 1, the per-gallon fuel tax jumps another 1.1 cents to 56.5 cents, part of the automatic inflationary adjustments baked into the massive 2025 transportation package signed by Governor Bob Ferguson. That package already included a 6-cent gas tax increase and 9-cent diesel hike. Washington now trails only California and Pennsylvania.

This comes as gas prices hover around $5.32 per gallon — among the highest in the country.

The kicker? Even with all these new taxes and fees (including higher truck weights, boat sales taxes, and registration costs), transportation revenues are still falling short. The latest forecast shows collections $36 million below expectations this budget cycle and $130 million less for the next. Over three cycles, the state is looking at a $435 million shortfall, driven largely by declining gas consumption as more people switch to electric vehicles and cars get more efficient.

This is the perfect progressive feedback loop under decades of Democratic control: pass climate mandates and taxes that discourage gas use, watch revenue drop, then raise taxes again to “fix” the budget hole you created. The transportation budget relies heavily on gas taxes (nearly 40%), but the very policies Democrats champion are making that revenue source shrink.

Olympia’s solution, as always, is more taxes, more fees, and more spending promises. Working families and businesses get stuck with the bill while the state’s green agenda marches forward.

Another day, another example of tax-and-spend governance that never learns from its own failures. Washington drivers deserve relief, not another round of punishment at the pump. Read more at the Washington State Standard.

Washington taxpayers get another unwelcome reminder on July 1 that Democrats are never done raising taxes.

A fresh batch of new tax laws from the 2026 legislative session kicks in, hitting data centers (by ending sales tax exemptions on replacement equipment), mortgage lenders (narrowing B&O tax breaks), estates (restoring higher rates up to 20%), and local governments (expanding property tax levies for health clinics, criminal justice, and housing without voter approval).

These come on top of the new 9.9% “Millionaires Tax” that Democrats rammed through — currently facing legal challenges and a repeal effort from Let’s Go Washington.

This is classic one-party Democratic governance in Washington: pass the big flashy tax, then quietly layer on a bunch of smaller ones that make life more expensive for businesses, families, and homeowners. No voter approval required for most of them, of course.

Data centers — one of the few bright spots for construction and high-tech investment — get treated like a nuisance. Mortgage lending gets squeezed. Estate taxes rise on families. And local governments get more tools to dip into property taxes.

The pattern is unmistakable: explode spending, create budget gaps, raise taxes to “fix” it, then do it all over again. Washingtonians are about to feel the pain at multiple points — from their power bills to their property taxes to their estates.

Another day, another example of Olympia Democrats treating taxpayers like an unlimited ATM. The only question left is how much more they’ll try to extract before voters push back harder. Read more at Seattle Red.

In an interview with The Center Square, appellate attorney Greg Miller, who is challenging Governor Bob Ferguson’s appointee Justice Theo Angelis for a seat on the Washington Supreme Court, laid out a refreshingly straightforward case for judicial independence and real experience.

Miller highlighted his decades of appellate work, trial experience, and deep knowledge of state law — the kind of background he says is sorely missing from some of the governor’s recent picks. He raised legitimate concerns about the appointment process turning the supposedly nonpartisan court into an extension of the executive branch, especially as the new 9.9% income tax faces both a lawsuit and a repeal effort.

On the hot-button issues, Miller emphasized taking cases one at a time, applying the law fairly, and avoiding pre-determined outcomes. He noted that relationships and donations (Angelis and others have ties to Ferguson and the tax’s sponsors) are fair game for voters to consider, and recusal questions should be taken seriously.

This race matters. With five Supreme Court seats on the ballot and the fate of major Democratic policies like the new income tax potentially heading to the court, voters should be asking who will actually apply the Constitution and the law — not who will rubber-stamp Olympia’s agenda.

Miller’s candidacy is a welcome contrast to the insider appointments and activist mindset that have increasingly politicized Washington’s highest court. Voters deserve judges with real experience and independence, not more extensions of one-party rule. Read more at Center Square.