Draft agenda for Tuesday Sept 2, 12-1pm

Hey folks: Here's a tentative agenda for our meeting on Tuesday (the day after Labor Day), 12-1pm in the 5th floor conference room of the Joseph Vance building (1402 3rd Ave downtown). Let me know if you have additions or changes, and if you can't make the meeting don't hesitate to comment on the blog or via email/phone/etc.

Overview
5 min (12:00-12:05) Introductions and updates.
5 min (12:05-12:10) WCI update.
20 min (12:10-12:30) Legislative work.
20 min (12:30-12:50) Ballot measure work.
5 min (12:50-12:55) Next steps.

12:00-12:05 Introductions and updates.
Updates limited to subjects (internal documents, speaking engagements, etc.) not covered below.

12:05-12:10: WCI update.
The WCI is set to release their final proposal on Sept 22, and rumor has it that the WCI is in trouble, e.g., because of disagreements about permit allocations. There's not much more to say here, but it does add some credence and urgency to our work.

12:10-12:30: Legislative work.
In an earlier post I noted that State Senator Eric Oemig is keen on carbon taxes and asked us for questions to pursue with his staff. Our goal for Tuesday is to pick and choose questions and ideas from the ones I posted earlier and/or ones that folks have come up with since then. This is not a brainstorming session, so email me ASAP if you want to add anything to the list below:

1. Can the revenue be used to provide dollar-for-dollar property taxes rebates as in Tim Eyman's I-892? Or do tax reductions and revenue generation have to be treated separately for some reason?
2. Is it possible to rebate local property taxes, or to provide lump-sum funds to counties to fund energy-efficiency efforts of their choosing?
3. Can the revenue go into a cascading pool-type system, where it gets used to rebate tax X, and then if anything is left over it gets used to rebate tax Y, etc?
4. Funding for clean energy R&D and/or other programs (e.g., "green jobs") at state colleges and universities?
5. Funding for energy efficiency programs, either tied to or separate from property tax rebates?
6. Require and/or fund motor vehicle tune-ups, which Aaron K says could increase gas mileage by up to 7%?
   
7. Funding for B&O investment tax credits? (Todd says he has legislative language on this.)
8. Concurrent with property tax reductions, should there be reductions in "excise taxes in lieu of property taxes"? These are described in detail in the state's Tax Reference Manual, but the basic idea that these include five taxes (on aircraft, watercraft, timber, Public Utility Districts, and leaseholding) that generate a small amount of state revenue ($0.28m, $16m, $9m, $17m, and $22m, respectively, compared with $16 billion for the state property tax)
9. Sales tax exemptions for new cars?
10. Ideas for offsetting impacts on low-income households include

• (a) additional funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP);
• (b) money for rapid-transit serving low-income neighborhoods;
• (c) rebates to low- and middle-income workers for the purchase of fuel-efficiency vehicles;
• (d) "green jobs" programs;
• (e) funds to reduce bus fares,
• (f) direct cash payments to low-income households; and
• (g) using the revenue to fund the Working Families Credit. (This last option is on ice because proponents of the Working Families Credit are opposed to this.)

12:30-12:50: Ballot measure work.
In our last meeting we agreed to file a test initiative shortly after Tuesday's meeting. Since this is just a test initiative, we don't need to be too careful about this, but I'm going to try to write up something to post online before the meeting. Until then, here are some issues to think about:

1. Are we still going to do this? (Just checking :)
2. What are we going to allocate revenue to? (Note that we don't have to go for the same ideas that we ask Sen. Oemig about; the two approaches----legislative and ballot measure---can substitute for or complement each other.)
3. Exemption for carbon sequestration?
4. Should we try to tax the carbon content of fossil fuels refined in WA but sold out-of-state?
5. What tax rate should we use?

12:50-12:55: Next steps.

1. Weekly or bi-weekly meetings at UW in addition to our downtown meetings?
2. Future downtown meetings 12-1pm on the first Tuesdays of the month: Oct 7, Nov 4, Dec 2, etc.

Notes from talk with Sen. Eric Oemig

Catherine and I talked with state Senator Eric Oemig last week.

In brief, he's keen on carbon taxes and wants us to suggest some questions that legislative policy folks could look into. We should aim to have this finalized by the end of our next meeting on Sept 2.

Here are some draft questions---please email me or post comments on this blog post if you have additions &etc----and below that are detailed notes from our conversation with Sen. Oemig.

* Can the revenue be used to provide dollar-for-dollar property taxes rebates as in Tim Eyman's I-892? Or do tax reductions and revenue generation have to be treated separately for some reason? Also, is it possible to rebate local property taxes, or just state property taxes?

* What about energy efficiency programs (tied to or separate from property tax rebates) and what about B&O investment tax credits?

* What ideas are there for offsetting impacts on low-income households? Some ideas from Aaron of the Economic Opportunity Institute are (1) additional funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP); (2) money for rapid-transit serving low-income neighborhoods; (3) rebates to low- and middle-income workers for the purchase of fuel-efficiency vehicles; "green jobs" programs. To this I would add two previously discussed ideas: (4) paying to reduce bus fares, and (5) direct cash payments to low-income households. A sixth idea, using the revenue to fund the Working Families Credit, is on ice because proponents of the Working Families Credit are opposed to this.

* Can the revenue go into a cascading pool-type system, where it gets used to rebate tax X, and then if anything is left over it gets used to rebate tax Y, etc?


In length, here are my notes from our talk with Sen. Oemig.

1) He had some doubts about whether the WCI had unstoppable momentum and said that he thought a carbon tax could work with the WCI since each state would get its share of credits---WA could have a carbon tax instead and buy or sell credits to even up emissions with the WCI target. [Note from Yoram: I'm not sure what the point of this would be, but stay tuned...]

2) It doesn't matter how good a carbon tax is, it's like a gas tax and everybody hates the gas tax. $20/ton of CO2 ($0.20 per gallon of gas) is too high, maybe $10/ton but that's pretty high too. How about using the carbon tax money to reduce the gas tax, so that there's no net increase in the gas tax?

3) We need polling data! He's doing a semi-scientific poll of voters in his district and hopefully will share the results with us.

4) Some folks in the legislature are pushing for regulatory alternatives: fuel efficiency standards, closing coal plants, etc.

5) It would be hard to get a carbon tax bill through the legislature, but it might be possible to get a bill through that puts a referendum on the ballot for the state's citizens to vote on. Then the legislators aren't saying "I support a carbon tax" but rather "I want to give my constituents options, so let's put this on the ballot."

6) He might not be the best person to introduce legislation, but he suggested some other folks who would be good.

7) He is willing to talk to some other folks and try to get some staff to work on legislation (!) once we get #8 done and get back to him.

8) To-do: Tighten up our brainstorming and have a list of questions to follow up on, e.g., can you spend money on XYZ? He said to think that the world is your oyster and that everything is allowed until someone tells you it isn't.

9) To-do: Contact other legislators (he gave me a bunch of names) and start to open lines of communication about this.

Notes from Aug 5 meeting

In brief

• The major decision at this meeting was to file a "test" initiative shortly before or after the end of the month. We are actively seeking ideas and/or (less important) legislative language to include in the filing.
• During the coming month we will also continue working on the website, PPT, one-pager, etc., with a goal of being ready to do presentations in the fall.
  
• The next downtown meeting is Tuesday Sept 2, 12-1pm and on the first Tuesday of later months (Sept 2, Oct 7, Nov 4, Dec 2).

In length

• In attendance (as private citizens unless otherwise noted): Catherine, Phoebe, Aaron, Christy, Yoram, Laura.
• We will not attempt to gather signatures for the test initiative---the point is to get the Code Reviser's Office to help us with legalese, constitutional issues, see what kind of ballot title the Secretary of State writes &etc. (All that for the discount price of... $5!) Details in this Guide.
  
• Christy is looking at clean energy R&D, Aaron is looking at energy efficiency ideas, Todd is looking at investment tax credits, and Yoram is working on some flowery legislative intent language and the carbon tax component. The big gap is that we currently have 15% of revenue set aside for offsetting impacts of low-income groups, and we desperately need ideas about what to do with this money, preferably from WA State Budget & Policy Center (here are their WCI comments) or Economic Opportunity Institute. So far all I know is that BP&C and Senator Craig Pridemore are both opposed to using the money to fund the Working Families Credit.
• We've made decent progress since last time on the website and PPT. Yoram will revise the PPT, Catherine and Christy et al. will continue working on the website. Phoebe is working on a one-pager.
  
• Aaron agreed to contact Sen Maralyn Chase to get her thoughts. Yoram will continue corresponding with Sen Pridemore and try again to reach Sen Oemig. Aaron and Christy are working on getting a speaking gig lined up with a renewable energy group.
  
• Western Climate Initiative update: The WCI is a group of states and provinces (WA, OR, CA, AZ, NM, UT, MT, BC, ONT, etc.) working on a regional cap-and-trade system with a goal of reducing covered emissions to 15% below 2005 levels by 2020, which works out to be about the same as getting back to 1990 levels by 2020. (Details.) The cap-and-trade will have a two-stage roll-out, with point sources (electricity generation and large facilities) starting in 2013 and non-point sources (gasoline and diesel--jet fuel does not appear to be covered) joining in 2016. (Details.) How many permits each state gets and what (if any) limits apply to how each state auctions or distribute its permits are both still to be determined, as is how to integrate the WCI cap-and-trade with BC's carbon tax. Whatever happens, BC's carbon tax is a great precedent for our effort, both by itself and in the context of WCI.
• Go team!
  

Updates on website, PPT, next meeting, etc.

There's been some great work the last two weeks, so here are some updates---comments are welcome on all of these, either via email or directly in the comments section of this blog! Note that there's a proposal at the bottom for our next meeting to be Tue Aug 5, 11:30am-12:30pm downtown. Please email or comment if you have different or better ideas!

1. PPT presentation: Yoram and Bill have a draft in both PPT and 6-to-a-page PDF.
   
2. Website: Catherine and Christy have an update (also accessible through the links on the right). You can post website comments on the website itself...
   
3. Facebook page: Michael set one up, here it is!
   
4. Vision and mission statements: Here's Jason's latest effort: Our vision is to improve Washington State's tax system through policies that will strengthen the economy and reduce global warming emissions. Our mission is to build a diverse coalition of people who actively support sound climate policies in Washington State. Our main objective is to lower existing property taxes in favor of a tax on carbon emissions. We will accomplish this goal through education and coalition building, as well as the encouraging policymakers and citizens to vote for related bills and citizen initiatives.
5. One-pager: Not yet ready.
   
6. Legislative contacts and other Olympia outreach: The only update here is that Sen. Eric Oemig (D-45th district, which is Kirkland/Redmond/Duvall/Carnation) asked for a meeting with Todd Myers to discuss his (Todd's) carbon tax proposal. Jason and Yoram are still working on their tasks here.
   
7. In-person meetings: How about if we aim for the first Tuesday of each month for a downtown lunch meeting? That would make the next one Aug 5, 11:30am-12:30pm. (Beyond August we can meet 12-1pm... thanks to everyone for accommodating my summer teaching schedule :)

Notes from July 2 meeting

In short
At the end of next week (Friday July 11), check in on these to-dos:

• Yoram and Bill to work on a PPT presentation.
• Catherine and Christy to work on the website. (Feedback from everyone welcome from the comments form on the website itself!)
• Jason and Catherine to refine the mission/vision statements. (See below, feedback welcome!)
• Phoebe to work on one-pager.
• Yoram and Jason to contact legislators and other Olympia folks.
• Yoram to suggest dates for August meeting.
• Michael to look into Facebook, Alice to continue building resource list.
  

In length
In attendance (as private citizens unless otherwise noted): Catherine, Bill, Jeff, Phoebe, Jason, Aaron, Christy, Yoram.

Legislative route
Discussions with legislators and other Olympia folks made it clear that getting this through the legislature would be tough, especially since it would probably be subject to Initiative 960, meaning that it would either need a 2/3rd majority or an "advisory vote" from the state's citizenry. Nonetheless, Bill found folks connected to House Democrats "more receptive than he thought they'd be."
To do:

• Yoram and Jason (others welcome!) to continue getting feedback from legislators and other Olympia folks and try to find someone willing to introduce legislation in January 2009.
  
• Yoram and Bill to work on a 5-10 min PPT presentation.

Initiative route
The most immediately feasible options are a 2009 Initiative to the Legislature or a 2010 Initiative to the People.

• The 2009 Initiative to the Legislature would require gathering 250,000+ signatures between March and December 2009 to put the initiative at the top of the legislative agenda in January 2010; the legislature would then have three choices---pass the measure (in which case it would become law), put it on the ballot in November 2010, or put both it and an alternative on the ballot in November 2010.
  
• The 2010 Initiative to the People would require gathering 250,000+ signatures between January and July 2010 to put the initiative on the ballot in November 2010.

To do: Yoram to invite signature-gathering guru Katherine Bragdon to come talk at a future meeting.

Vision and mission statements
Here are Jason's draft:

• Vision: To improve Washington State's tax system through policies that will strengthen the economy and reduce global warming emissions.
• Mission: Our mission is to build a diverse coalition of people who actively support sound climate policies in Washington State. Our main objective is to lower existing property taxes in favor of a tax on carbon emissions. We will accomplish this goal through education and coalition building, as well as the encouraging policymakers and citizens to vote for related bills and citizen initiatives.

To do: Everyone to offer feedback, Jason and Catherine to refine.

Policy details
We briefly discussed tax rates ranging from $5-$25 per ton of CO2, which are equivalent to $0.05-$0.25/gallon of gasoline. Perhaps there was a rough consensus on targeting around $1 billion in revenue, which would be a tax of about $10-15 per ton of CO2.
Also: Some folks from the legislature and elsewhere are keen on having more money directly funding energy efficiency efforts (e.g., property tax rebates only for specific projects), some right-wing folks are keen on funding a B&O investment tax credit, and the UW student crowd is keen on having money for clean energy research. We didn't reach much of a conclusion, but the general parameters are still in the range of 80% for property and business tax relief, 15% for low-income groups, 5% for clean energy R&D.
To do:

• Everyone to continue thinking about this
• Yoram to try to get specific ideas about the 15% for low-income groups
• Phoebe to work on a one-pager

Outreach
Have a website and a Facebook group as a public face, with this blog for international communications, this wiki for details on policy nuts and bolts, and this wiki for legal issues, policy brainstorms, relevant articles, etc.
To do:

• Catherine and Christy to work on the website, with feedback welcome through email and/or the comments section of the website.
  
• Yoram is in charge of the blog
• Michael is looking into Facebook