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 Gov. Jay Inslee meets Laurel Hage, a homeowner whose energy bills fell by nearly two-thirds thanks to a state weatherization program.
A Marysville homeowner hosted the governor for a visit on Tuesday. Laurel Hage recently updated her house with help from a local weatherization program through Snohomish County. New insulation in her attic and improved ventilation are slashing her utilities by nearly two-thirds. It?s the kind of impact that the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) will have on thousands of Washington households, as the program sets aside millions for home weatherization programs statewide.
 Gov. Jay Inslee and Marysville and Snohomish County officials show off the Marysville Civic Center?s new EV fast chargers.
The governor also visited the beautiful Marysville Civic Center, a brand-new ?one stop shop? for city customer service functions. The building is partially powered by rooftop solar panels and it offers public fast chargers for electric vehicles. While this building?s chargers were built using Volkswagen settlement funds, the CCA will make statewide investments in solar power retrofits for public buildings, and in publicly-available fast chargers. Just last week, the governor announced that 5,000 new EV chargers are going up statewide (including over 400 in Snohomish County) thanks to CCA funding.
?This act can help the community in a whole bunch of different ways,? Inslee said. ?And it?s just starting.?
Read more: ?It?s just starting?: Inslee champions climate initiatives in Marysville (The Everett Herald)
 Gov. Jay Inslee met Isela Wingfield in Vancouver on Friday. As a single mom with two kids, her Working Families Tax Credit check was a big help this year.
You could get a nice check in the mail if you?re eligible for Washington?s new Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC). As many as 400,000 Washington households are estimated to be eligible for a tax refund of up to $1,255.
Last year was the program?s first, and 160,000 eligible Washingtonians each received an average of $714 back.
On Friday, Gov. Jay Inslee touted the program and encouraged residents to apply from Vancouver-based nonprofit Ren Locus? headquarters. The group offers free tax preparation assistance to Clark County residents. They?ve helped a number of locals successfully apply to the program.
?Last year, we did a little over 100 applications. Now this tax season, we've been open for just a week and a half and we've already done 30," said Ren Locus' Ed Kukulka.
Washington?s tax system is regressive. Lower-income residents pay a greater portion of their income than higher-income residents, as the state has no income tax and relies on use and sales taxes to fund critical state services. The governor launched the WFTC last year to get money back to lower-income families, and fought for a capital gains tax on exorbitant profits from the sale of stocks and bonds. Implementation of the capital gains tax was delayed until March 2023 as it awaited constitutional review by the state Supreme Court.
?Tell your friends ? there are 240,000 families eligible for their check who haven?t applied,? said Inslee. ?We passed the Working Families Tax Credit to get money back to working families, and we?re trying to get the word out now: there?s money right here waiting for you.?
The federal 2024 tax-filing season officially began on Jan. 29. The deadline to file federal taxes is Monday, April 15, but applicants have three years to file for the state's Working Families Tax Credit.
The 60-day 2024 legislative session is halfway over. The policy and fiscal committee cutoffs have passed, and the next deadline is the house of origin cutoff on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 5:00 p.m.
Policy to facilitate linking the state?s carbon market with the California-Quebec market (HB 2201 sponsored by Rep. Beth Doglio and SB 6058 sponsored by Sen. Joe Nguyen) is advancing. Both bills now await floor votes. ?The best way for us to reduce compliance costs under the Climate Commitment Act is to achieve the economies of scale of joining forces with other jurisdictions that are playing a leading role in North America in our transition to a clean energy future, ?said Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon Monday.
Several driver safety bills still have the green light. A set of proposals to permit the expanded use of speed cameras to deter reckless driving along highways now await rules review. So does a bill sponsored by Sen. John Lovick to lower the permissible blood alcohol concentration to 0.05. In a report, the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission noted that Utah passed a similar bill and saw a 19.8% reduction in fatal crashes and a 10.8% reduction in injury crashes in one year.
Another priority for the governor this session is improvement of the state?s recycling rate. The ?ReWRAP Act,? which would extend curbside recycling to 11 counties currently without and motivate extended packager responsibility, also now awaits House floor action.
The governor-request legislation on fentanyl education (HB 1956 sponsored by Rep. Mari Leavitt) passed unanimously out of the House Appropriations Committee and awaits a floor vote. The bill directs that education on opioids and fentanyl be added to drug-related instruction in schools. It also orders a broad public education campaign. ?The damage caused by fentanyl is unlike any drug we have ever seen. It is necessary to act quickly to avoid more loss of life and injury from fentanyl that now makes up the vast majority of opioid overdoses,? testified Maddy Thompson, advisor to the governor on education. Upon passage in the House, the bill will be referred to the Senate Early Learning and K-12 committee that previously passed companion bill SB 5923, sponsored by Sen. Lisa Wellman.
Last week, the governor addressed the Washington State Labor Council to back several workers? rights proposals. SB 5477 sponsored by Sen. Karen Keiser would extend unemployment compensation to striking workers after a two-week stoppage, and SB 5778 also sponsored by Keiser would prohibit ?captive audiences,? where employers detain employees to lecture about religion, politics, or unionization. The latter bill passed the Senate Wednesday while the former awaits floor action.
Read more:
New 24/7 kiosks will offer free COVID-19 and flu tests
The Washington State Department of Health is collaborating with local health jurisdictions statewide to open 24/7 kiosks stocked with free COVID-19 and flu tests in food banks, transit stations, churches, schools, and libraries. Each kiosk holds about 700 tests, and local health jurisdictions may choose to stock them with other goods like pregnancy tests, naloxone, or tests for sexually-transmitted infections. Respiratory illnesses account for 5% of hospital admissions statewide, so they can be serious. When you feel a sore throat or runny nose, testing for illness and staying home after a positive test might spare someone else a bad case.
State Patrol recommends charges against highway-blocking protestors
The Washington State Patrol this week announced that it would recommend charges for six suspects involved in a highway-blocking protest that halted I-5 traffic for several hours in January. WSP continues to investigate 10 others for their involvement. The charges were referred to the King County Prosecuting Attorney?s Office for review and a charging decision.
WSDOT secretary honored by national society
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) recently announced their Outstanding Projects and Leadership (OPAL) Awards and honored Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Secretary Roger Millar. The prominent theme throughout Millar?s career is stewarding transportation systems as the means toward economic vitality, environmental resilience, aesthetic quality, public health and social equity. Gov. Jay Inslee appointed Millar in 2016.
2026 FIFA World Cup schedule released
Six games will be played at Seattle?s Lumen Field during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, including four group-stage matches and two knockout-round matches. The tournament begins in mid-June and will conclude on July 19 with the championship match played in New Jersey. The U.S. men?s national team will play in Seattle on June 19.
EPA adopts new standards to reduce soot pollution
The federal Environmental Protection Agency adopted new national air quality standards this week to address dangerous soot. The new standards may save as many as 4,500 premature deaths by putting a ceiling on allowable levels of ambient fine particulate matter. ?The newly adopted federal standard for fine particle pollution will work in tandem with Washington's actions under the Climate Commitment Act to better protect our most vulnerable communities,? said Gov. Jay Inslee.
Climate.WA.gov makes it easy to explore climate-related rebates and incentives, job training opportunities and more ?
Climate action nationally and in Washington state brings a lot of perks ? incentive and rebate programs for consumers, new jobs in clean energy and conservation, and investments to make neighborhoods safer and healthier. The newly-launched Washington Climate Action site includes a directory of training programs, a directory of rebate and incentive programs, and information about how the state?s most important climate policies - including the Climate Commitment Act - are being put to work in schools and neighborhoods.
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Climate.wa.gov maps how state climate programs are improving transit, building EV charging stations, helping schools purchase electric buses, improving air quality, and more.
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