Republican State Senator Doug Ericksen, the chairman of the Energy, Environment and Telecommunications Committee, has proposed a bill that would slow Jay Inslee’s attempt to jam through a carbon rule by executive action by “prohibiting state regulators from adopting rules that limit greenhouse gas emissions without legislative direction.” Ericksen’s bill, if passed, could keep Inslee from raising energy prices throughout the state by himself.
During a bill hearing this week, Ericksen challenged Inslee’s ability to bypass the state Legislature to force a carbon rule on the state. Ericksen insisted the authority to enact such sweeping regulations lies with lawmakers and that Ecology’s proposed rule, released earlier this month, should be put on hold.
The Washington Times reports, “Ericksen, a vocal critic of Inslee’s carbon policies, said the proposed carbon rule will encourage companies to curtail operations or not build in Washington state. The rule, combined with potential ballot initiatives addressing greenhouse gas emissions, sends a bad message to job creators and would hurt working families, Ericksen said.”
Of course, Inslee resorted to executive action after his embarrassing failure to even gain support from members of his own party for his cap-and-tax scheme during the 2015 legislative session. Inslee’s failure to work with either party in the state Legislature is, ultimately, an example of his stunning inability to abandon his DC-style, hyper-partisan political approach even though he is no longer in Congress.
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