12th District Rep. Keith Goehner has introduced legislation that would help inform motorists how much cap and trade adds to gasoline and diesel prices in Washington state.

Goehner has introduced legislation in the past requiring the posting of a sticker on fuel pumps with the state and federal gas tax rate.

House Bill 2050 would require additional stickers to disclose the impact of the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) on the price of fuel.

“While this continues to be about transparency, it is critical consumers know what they are paying for,” said Goehner, R-Dryden. “We should be open about how much money the CCA is generating and where those dollars are going.”

Over the last year, the increase in the high fuel prices in Washington are in direct correlation to the implementation of the cap-and-trade policy, or CCA, that took effect last January.

In December, a news report came out that a former Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) economist was asked to lie about the fuel price increases caused by the CCA.

Also, based on documents from reports for the governor’s 2014 Carbon Emissions Reduction Taskforce (CERT), legislators were informed by the governor’s chief policy advisor that a CO2 cap-and-trade system, like the one the state now has, could significantly increase gas prices.

The calculation to be used in Goehner’s bill is the same as an economic model used by the CERT. It is the same calculation used by a Washington think tank in 2022 that projected the climate tax would increase fuel prices by about 46 cents per gallon.

“My concern is the lack of transparency on this issue. Let’s be upfront with our motorists and taxpayers. Fuel is the only purchase consumers make that does not show the tax break down on your receipt,” said Goehner. “If our state government is more transparent with the public on fuel prices, it would increase trust and provide a better understanding of the revenue we are bringing in.”

Washington state is currently third in the nation in gas prices and consumers are paying about $1.02 more than the national average. It also has the third highest gas tax at 49.4 cents per gallon. That gas tax does not include the CCA calculation, or the hazardous substance taxes, oil spill response tax, oil spill administration tax, or the taxes and fees to remediate underground storage tanks that all are applied to the sale and production of motor fuel which are all layered into the overall gas price in this state.

House Bill 2050 would require the Washington State Department of Agriculture Weights and Measures Division to affix the tax stickers during fuel pump inspections.

To send a comment to a legislator on the bill, visit: https://app.leg.wa.gov/pbc/bill/2050.

The 2024 legislative session began on Jan. 8.