Can Legislators Lower Gas Prices?

A legislative update from Senator Keith Goehner

information released

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Because of how legislative sessions are defined in the Washington constitution, the Martin Luther King Jr. and Presidents Day holidays are always workdays for state lawmakers. In a sense, then, Memorial Day is the first national holiday we are free to observe each year. I encourage you to take time tomorrow to remember and honor those who laid their lives down for our nation as members of our military.

I hope your spring is going well. Mine is much better now after a rough patch that started in mid-April. What seemed like nothing more than a bad cold late in the legislative session just kept hanging on, week after week, until I experienced a medical condition that required hospitalization.

I was still recovering and had to miss our 12th District town hall meeting April 20 in Wenatchee but was able to take part in the Sultan and North Bend meetings several days later. I appreciate that so many of you chose to spend part of either a Saturday afternoon or a Monday evening to join us.

The patient part of me can’t say enough good things about the medical care I received — first at Confluence Health in Wenatchee, then Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for a few days before going home.

The legislator part of me is viewing this experience as even more reason to worry about protecting access to health care in the more rural parts of our state, and supporting valuable regional resources like Harborview.

While some of my legislative colleagues want to define access in terms of health-care coverage — Medicaid eligibility, for instance — the first priority should be to keep from overregulating our hospitals to the point that they can no longer provide service.

One of the Seattle television stations often includes a check on area gas prices in its morning newscast. Typically, there’s also an acknowledgement that Washington’s gas prices are well above the national average for two reasons: the state gas tax is higher than most, plus the cost of “climate initiatives.”

This was true before the Iran conflict began at the end of February. It will continue to be true once that fight is past.

The short answer to the question about lowering gas prices is… yes. Legislators approved the costly “climate initiatives,” and could modify them to make fuel less expensive — if the political will is there.

The most visible of these policies is the Climate Commitment Act. Critics refer to the CCA as “cap and tax” because it’s based on state sales of carbon “allowances” and acts like a hidden tax on motor fuel and natural gas. Olympia has raked in billions of dollars since the sale of these allowances (through auctions overseen by the Department of Ecology) began in 2023.

Former Governor Inslee, who wanted the CCA and got his legislative allies to pass it, claimed it would increase the cost of gas by only “pennies.” The latest calculations by our Senate staff show it’s adding 55 cents to the price of a gallon of gas and 66 cents for diesel.

Only California and Washington have such a policy. As of today, they are 1-2 on the aaa.com list of highest gas prices in the nation.

Inslee also pushed for the so-called low-carbon fuel standard, adopted the same year as the CCA. The updated version from 2025 is projected to add 64 cents to the cost of a gallon of gas and 79 cents to a gallon of diesel as of 2031.

These policies are primarily responsible for why Idaho’s gas is over $1 less per gallon than here and Oregon’s is 40+ cents less. They also add to the affordability crisis here in our state; in addition to raising the price at the pump, higher fuel costs affect nearly everything involving transportation, such as consumer goods and services and our agricultural sector. At the same time, there’s no proof these costly laws have done anything for our air quality.

Like I say, legislators have the power to modify any law, including climate policies. We would have to be in session, however, which is a different issue. The governor can’t change laws but has the authority to suspend them (as we know from the pandemic), so this week one of my Senate colleagues formally asked Governor Ferguson to temporarily suspend the CCA. That could quickly bring our gas prices down by 55 cents per gallon. Let’s see if and how he responds.

In the “wings” of the Senate chamber, just off the floor, with Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview, who serves with me on the Senate Transportation Committee.

Court hits pause on anti-sheriff law

I wasn’t surprised to see multiple lawsuits against the controversial anti-sheriff law adopted in Olympia this year. Setting qualifications and standards of conduct for county sheriffs is one thing; allowing an unelected commission to decertify a sheriff is another, because decertification is the same as removal.

The power to remove an elected sheriff should belong only to the voters in the county (and we know it works — Benton County voters recalled their sheriff in 2021).

As a believer in local control, then, I was pleased that a Thurston County judge hit pause on the law (created by Senate Bill 5974) just one day before it took effect at the end of April. By granting a preliminary injunction, the constitutional challenge filed by four Eastern Washington sheriffs may proceed.

The Lewis Street bridge over the Skykomish River, in Monroe.

I’m here to help!

As always, please reach out whenever you have questions or need help dealing with a state agency. I’m your senator all the time, not just when we’re in Olympia. During the “interim” between legislative sessions I make a point of visiting throughout our large and geographically diverse district, so say hello if you see me out and about.

Also, it’s your government — so if you ever think “there ought to be a law,” let me know, because many good policy ideas begin as conversations with the people we serve. My email is keith.goehner@leg.wa.gov and my Senate office phone number is 360-786-7622.

Sincerely,