Groups urge state to triple tax on polluters to plug budget hole
Article in Seattle Times.
"OLYMPIA — As state lawmakers search for ways to fill a $2.6 billion budget hole, environmentalists are dangling what they hope will be a tempting new tax idea.
They're pushing to as much as triple the state's "hazardous-substance tax" on petroleum, pesticides and other chemicals — an increase that could bring in an extra $250 million a year.
In the long run, the money would be dedicated to cleaning up polluted stormwater runoff contaminating Puget Sound and other waterways.
But to sweeten their prospects, environmental lobbyists are pitching the notion that the Legislature could use up to $150 million a year over the first few years to plug the state budget shortfall. Stormwater cleanup would get a larger share in future years...."
