Governor’s 2022 Policy and Budget Proposal
Summary –
Building decarbonization
Require all new construction to be ‘net-zero ready’ beginning in 2034, by reducing energy use by 80%, using all-electric equipment and appliances, implementing electrical panel capacity and wiring for solar panels, and incorporating electric vehicle charging and battery storage. Create a state-wide residential reach code with additional requirements for efficiency that local jurisdictions could choose to adopt. ($753,000)
Expand the current performance standards for buildings over 50,000 sq. ft. to cover non-residential and multifamily buildings between 20,000 and 49,999 sq.ft. Provide technical assistance and funding to building owners, prioritized to serve overburdened communities and low-income populations that experience disproportionate environmental harms, and including anti-displacement provisions to protect tenants as a condition of funding. ($1.7 million) Issue $10 million in bonds to leverage utility and Federal weatherization funding for 5,000 low-income households, and provide consumer education about energy efficiency. Issue $16.8 million in bonds to fund energy efficiency work at state agency facilities.
Allow consumer owned utilities to fund incentive programs to switch customers from fossil fuels to clean, efficient electric space and water heating, as investor-owned and co-op utilities currently can. Require gas utilities to create decarbonization plans every four years, subject to review, approval, and enforcement by the UTC. ($308,000)
Implement the Climate Commitment Act (aka the cap and trade program)
Create an Office of Climate Commitment Accountability to align and strengthen existing climate laws, rules, and policies; prioritize funding to reduce emissions and address climate risks; comprehensively engage overburdened communities; work with agencies to develop and implement a biennial strategic climate work plan with performance milestones and accountability measures, and identify how state law can be improved to support the state’s climate commitment. ($1.9 million)
Allow Ecology to use cap and trade revenues to fund work the Act requires on how emissions-intensive, trade-exposed industries (EITEs) must reduce their share of the state’s emissions through 2050. Create a $50 million grant program to help them plan and implement decarbonization strategies.
Pass legislation developed in consultation with the tribes improving the process in the original Act that Inslee vetoed. It would include protecting sacred sites, elevating disputes to the governor and elected tribal leaders, engaging in mediation, and requiring funding applicants to notify tribes early about projects that may impact their rights and interests. The Governor’s budget includes funding for tribes to engage with this process, and for additional staff at the Office of Indian Affairs to help with engagement and consultation. ($4.2 million)
Provide additional funding for for air quality monitoring in impacted communities ($2 million) , and for the Department of Ecology’s and Natural Resources’ new responsibilities under the Act. ($3.7 million)
Invest in clean transportation -.
Provide $100 million a year for point of sale rebates for EVs with an MSRP under $55,000 for sedans and $80,000 for vans, SUVs and pickup trucks.These rebates would be available to people who earn under $250,000 per year as a single-tax filer, or under $500,000 as joint filers, and would provide $7,500 for new all electric and fuel cell vehicles, $5,000 for used ones, and $1,000 for zero-emission motorcycles and e-bikes. People with incomes below $61,000 (60% of state median income) would get an additional $5,000 rebate for a new or used EV. Provide $4.2 million to develop implementation plans to transition state fleets to zero-emission vehicles, build out electric vehicle charging infrastructure, maintain chargers, and manage the program.
Use at least half of the $127.3 million in new funds expected to be generated by the cap and trade program in the last quarter of the biennium for transportation activities in overburdened communities. Provide $324 million in new support from the General Fund for ferry electrification projects. Provide $33 million in additional capital and planning grants to help transit agencies shift to alternative fuel buses; $45 million in additional funding for safe routes to school and bicycle and pedestrian safety grants; $10 million to fund a new transit access grant program; and $30 million in additional funding for special needs transit grants, with at least half of each of these set aside to support transitions in overburdened communities. The budget proposal also includes $29 million in additional funding to support EV charging infrastructure, education, outreach, and EV adoption; $7.2 million to fund state bikeways and trail networks; and $4 million in bonds to support the Mount Vernon Library Commons Project, which includes 75 EV charging stations along I-5. (Much of this additional funding would come from new revenue from the cap and trade program.)
Investments in clean energy –
Make the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council a standalone agency with dedicated funding; add tribal government representatives to the council; and improve its processes in various ways, including adding procedures for different kinds of clean energy projects and tribal consultation requirements. ($1 million)
Fund additional staff at Fish and Wildlife to help with mitigation decisions for solar facility proposals to enable clean energy generation and protect shrub-steppe habitats.The Department of Ecology would also get new staff to enhance clean energy siting and help with permits. The Department of Commerce would be funded to conduct a study of the benefits of agrivoltaics, the dual use of land for agriculture and solar energy. ($902,000).
Support a sales-and-use tax deferral for projects to construct clean energy manufacturing facilities, store renewable energy, and produce clean fuels and renewable and green electrolytic hydrogen. Issue $17.6 million in bonds to fund an aluminum smelter restart project in Whatcom County which will reduce emissions by at least 750,000 tons per year and fund the development of infrastructure by the Grant County PUD to support construction of a solar manufacturing facility.
Provide $100 million in grants for solar and energy systems to utilities, tribes, school districts, local governments, state agencies, housing authorities and nonprofits. These would include projects that provide benefits to overburdened communities and vulnerable populations, as well as priority funding for tribes and rural communities. Fund the Workforce Training and Educating Coordinating Board and Department of Commerce to develop a workforce development, training and transition plan in consultation with stakeholders. ($407,000) Provide $24.8 million to the Clean Energy Transition Workforce Account to directly support workers and their eligible expenses. Fund construction of a battery fabrication testbed for testing the performance of new battery technology at the University of Washington Clean Energy Institute with $7.5 million in bonds and $3.5 million from the general fund.