OLYMPIA UPDATE

OLYMPIA–Rep. Mary Dye, R-Pomeroy, ranking Republican on the House Environment and Energy Committee, issued this statement Monday, December 13, following a press conference in which Gov. Jay Inslee rolled out his climate proposals for the 2022 legislative session:

"In his opening remarks, the governor spoke of the dangers of climate change and his concerns about smoke in the Methow Valley because of wildfires, flooding on the Nooksack River that displaced families, destruction of hundreds of thousands of acres of good forests, drought that has caused reduction of wheat crops, damage to grapes in Walla Walla, and oyster beds at risk in Puget Sound. I share those exact concerns with Governor Inslee. Unfortunately, the climate proposals he unveiled today address none of these issues. That's very disappointing.

"The governor's proposal to decarbonize buildings, to get rid of the natural gas industry and retrain workers whose jobs would be eliminated from his policies would do nothing to reduce deadly, destructive wildfires and the smoke they emit. The governor's proposal to spend millions of dollars in rebates for electric vehicle purchases would do nothing to prevent flooding or address drought that threatens our farmers. The governor's proposal to electrify ferries fails to address cleanup of Puget Sound from wastewater spills that damage those oyster beds. Where are his proposals to address the top concerns, he mentioned at the beginning of the press conference?

"We have a better, robust and more responsible proposal that would directly address forest health, flood mitigation, drought resiliency, and Puget Sound restoration, by using climate adaptation solutions under the House Republican ORCA Plan. Our plan also provides jobs by cleaning up and expanding our state parks, extending outdoor recreational opportunities, and we would eliminate the Discover Pass so that no one across our state is denied the ability to enjoy our parks because they cannot afford the fees. In contrast to the governor's electrification proposal, the ORCA Plan provides real solutions to protect our families and communities from climate impacts we can expect due to global carbon emissions. I invite Governor Inslee to join us and our plan to effectively address these concerns."