Initiative 2117 is an initiative to the 2024 Washington State Legislature that would repeal the Climate Commitment Act, Washington State’s plan for addressing the climate crisis. It was certified on January 16th, 2024. The House and Senate did not act on it and consequently, it will be before voters in the November 2024 general election.
Basic facts
| Ballot Title: | Initiative Measure No. 2117 concerns carbon tax credit trading. This measure would prohibit state agencies from imposing any type of carbon tax credit trading, and repeal legislation establishing a cap and invest program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Should this measure be enacted into law? Yes [ ] No [ ] |
| Ballot Summary: | This measure would prohibit state agencies from imposing any type of carbon tax credit trading, including “cap and trade” or “cap and tax” programs, regardless of whether the resulting increased costs are imposed on fuel recipients or fuel suppliers. It would repeal sections of the 2021 Washington Climate Commitment Act as amended, including repealing the creation and modification of a “cap and invest” program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by specific entities. |
| Filed on: | May 30th, 2023 at 8:24 AM |
| Certified: | January 16th, 2024 (by random sample check) |
| Petition Information: | The Secretary of State’s office reported receiving 27,175 petition sheets for I-2117 bearing 466,072 signature lines. 13,983 of those signatures were selected for a three percent random sample check. 10,863 were accepted and 3,120 were deemed to be duplicate or invalid. More details are available here. |
| Sponsor: | Republican State Party Chair Jim Walsh |
| Principal Funder: | Multimillionaire hedge fund manager Brian Heywood |
| Complete Text: | Available (PDF) |
Why we oppose I-2117
Initiative 2117 seeks to repeal the Climate Commitment Act, a 2021 law that requires polluters to pay for the damage that they cause. Funds raised from the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) are being used to move Washington towards a clean energy future and reduce pollution in our air, water, and soil. I-2117 would rob us of these resources. What’s more, it would bar our elected representatives from passing a new law to mitigate the enormous damage it would cause.
Voting no on I-2117 is critical for our environment and communities.
Without the funds raised by the CCA, a huge number of initiatives would be terminated, threatened, or reduced, including restoring fisheries and shorelines, wildfire resilience, preserving natural lands, school-based bike programs, free bus fare for students, updating our ferry system, and increasing the sustainable supply of water. The revenue from the Climate Commitment Act also creates good-paying, local jobs like making homes more energy-efficient, and installing heat pumps and solar panels. Ending this program would result in losing many of these good jobs and prevent the creation of more of them.
While fossil fuel corporations make record profits, Washingtonians and people around the world are grappling with the consequences of escalating pollution and climate damage, including record heat waves and snowpack loss. The Climate Commitment Act is our state’s best shot at creating a healthy future for all of us in Washington. It’s imperative that we join together to keep it working for us.
Vote NO on I-2117.
Downloadable one-page fact sheet
Wintertime fiscal assessment by OFM
OFM is the Office of Financial Management. Among its responsibilities is assessing the fiscal impact of proposed legislation, whether that legislation comes from the people or the people’s elected representatives. Below you’ll find OFM’s wintertime fiscal assessment of Initiative 2117, prepared during the legislative session. Note that this document contains legal and technical jargon.