Although the midterm election is over, the work is just beginning for legislators. The results of two statewide ballot measures call for action on the part of lawmakers.
The electorate indicated with 56 percent of the vote that Initiative 1631, which would have imposed a carbon fee on polluting industries, was not the right approach for the state; but that does not mean that lawmakers can ignore the pressing issue of climate change. And I-940, concerning the use of deadly force by law enforcement, was approved with 60 percent of the vote; but there still are improvements that can be made, as lawmakers recognized before the issue landed on the ballot.
Initiative 1631 would have placed a carbon fee into a fund overseen by an unelected board for the purpose of developing alternative energy projects. The measure was strongly opposed by oil companies, who bankrolled a record-setting $31.5 million campaign to defeat it by highlighting assertions that the fee would result in higher gas and energy prices for consumers.
I-1631 was not the right proposal at the right time, but surveys indicate Washington residents are acutely aware of climate change, believe that human activity is a contributing factor, and desire funding for renewable energy projects. The Legislature should take note of those beliefs and should view reduction of carbon emissions as a moral imperative rather than considering the vote to be a rejection of climate initiatives.
Gov. Jay Inslee has pushed to reduce emissions throughout his six years in office, but has been met with opposition in the Legislature. This year, Senate Bill 6203, under the headline “Reducing carbon emissions by moving to a clean energy economy,” was introduced at the governor’s request but failed to make it out of committee. Lawmakers should revisit that bill or introduce a new one to make Washington a national leader in the development of clean energy. The effects of climate change are readily apparent in increasingly devastating wildfires and weather events and must be addressed.
Meanwhile, Initiative 940 also calls for legislative action. The new law will make it easier to prosecute officers for wrongly using deadly force. Washington’s accountability laws are assessed to be the strictest in the nation for protecting law enforcement when it comes to questionable shootings.
Critics, including law enforcement agencies, say the initiative swings the pendulum too far in protecting the public at the expense of officers trying to do their jobs. The Legislature agreed, but lawmakers botched an attempted fix by passing an amendment before passing the actual law. After legal wrangling, I-940 was placed on the ballot, where it was approved by voters.
The Legislature should revisit I-940 and the issue of deadly force and should again attempt to amend the measure. That can be difficult once an initiative has been approved, requiring a two-thirds majority in both chambers. House Bill 3003, which was approved by lawmakers before being thrown out by the courts, would eliminate I-940’s complex standard for determining whether an officer acted in good faith and would ask only whether a reasonable officer would have deemed deadly force necessary in that situation.
By working with both law enforcement representatives and supporters of I-940, lawmakers can devise a bill that heeds the concerns of the public and allows officers to effectively do their jobs.
The voters have spoken on I-1631 and I-940. Now it is time for the Legislature to get to work.
