Mary Dye: Vote yes on I-2117 to pay less and protect critical projects

By Mary Dye

Important news: Citizens can vote “yes” and pay less for Initiative 2117 and repeal the costly Climate Commitment Act, knowing that critical projects will be protected.

As the well-funded TV blitz against Initiative 2117 heats up, voters deserve to know the truth: The proponents of the state’s disastrous cap-and-trade scheme have crossed the line, threatening Washington families by holding vital road construction projects hostage.

Worse, the glossy ads don’t say that the unpopular hidden gas tax threatens to bankrupt Spokane’s Waste-to-Energy plant, forcing the waste to be landfilled hundreds of miles away.

The North Spokane Corridor and the Waste-to-Energy Plant were addressed at a recent Spokane City Council meeting.

The Washington State Department of Transportation reported to the Spokane City Council on Oct. 3 that the North Spokane Corridor is on track to be completed by 2030. Spokane City Council President Betsy Wilkerson even asked the WSDOT officials to repeat the good news.

As reported in the Center Square, a transportation official clearly stated, “The North Spokane Corridor truly is a catalyst project, not just in the work that we’re doing with WSDOT, but many of the projects that you all have funded or pursued are the result of the community engagement that your staff has participated in.”

In contrast to the good news, on Aug. 21 of this year, state Sen. Andy Billig was quoted in The Spokesman-Review claiming that 30% of the state’s transportation budget is derived from the Climate Commitment Act. Billig said, “If that much money gets ripped out of the transportation budget, every road project, including the (North Spokane Corridor) will be in jeopardy.”

In reality, road construction projects like the North Spokane Corridor were already approved in 2015, funded by an 11.9-cent gas tax that generated $16 billion. Your gas tax dollars are protected in the state constitution and can only be used for road maintenance and construction. CCA funds are not allowed to be used for actual highway projects.

Cap-and-taxers are cavalier, knowing full well they have been poaching the transportation budget for years to fund projects meant to get you out of your car and onto transit, bikes or tennis shoes while short-sheeting road funding. Instead, they let highways and bridges deteriorate and delay our promised projects. By using CCA dollars, they have more to spend on their expensive electrification of transportation boondoggle. They found a way to reach into your pocket and make every person who depends on fossil energy pay their fair share of Climate Change.

Furthermore, Voting “yes” on Initiative 2117 will protect the popular and environmentally responsible Spokane waste-to-energy plant. In fact, city program directors reported to the Spokane City Council that the Climate Commitment Act is the most serious threat to the plant.

City of Spokane staff warned that if the Climate Commitment Act stands, the Waste-to-Energy Plant will have to pay up to $8.8 million a year beginning in 2027, likely causing the facility to close. The plant will be saved if we vote “yes” to I-2117.

We all know the claims that the Climate Commitment Act doesn’t cost the average citizen are false. CCA architect Gov. Jay Inslee initially said it would only cost “pennies.” For more than a year, we have paid 40 cents or more per gallon of gas. Inslee and company have harvested $2.146 billion from the state’s economy and sent those dollars to his pet causes. Climate activists have found the perfect foil to harvest billions from hard-working Washingtonians to redistribute $200 checks to low-income citizens, offsetting their burden during the election year.

“Shakedown” is a generous term for a scheme where the government seeks to bribe us with our own money. If you believe the ads that claim that an extra 40 cents per gallon will cure asthma, then by all means, vote “no.” However, if you want to pay 40 cents less at the pump, keep environmental programs like the Spokane’s Waste-to-Energy Plant open, and send a message to Seattle-area politicians that we are not going to subsidize their bike paths, battery-operated ferries and rebates for new Tesla’s, then vote “yes” and pay less with Initiative 2117.

State Rep. Mary Dye is a Republican from Pomeroy, Washington.