Proposal to boost oil tax draws foes to Olympia

"OLYMPIA — A proposed boost to the state's tax on oil and other chemicals to pay for clean-water projects is prompting a lather of lobbying and deal-making in the Legislature's special session.

In one of the most intense political fights of the year, oil-industry lobbyists have camped out almost daily in the Capitol rotunda, trying to halt the $100 million a year tax increase, which would mainly hit the state's five refineries.

Oil executives from Texas have flown in to meet with legislators. A former state Supreme Court justice is threatening a lawsuit on behalf of gas stations.

Environmental lobbyists are here, too, urging a vote on the plan before lawmakers go home. They've been cutting deals to unstick the measure — such as giving Alaska Air a break from the tax on jet fuel.

The proposal, dubbed the Clean Water Act of 2010, would more than double the state's hazardous-substances tax, created by a voter initiative in 1988 to clean up toxic-waste sites. The extra money would pay to clean up polluted stormwater, cited as the No. 1 threat to the health of Puget Sound.

Environmentalists have said for weeks they're close to winning. But the bill has remained stalled while they try to round up the votes they need.

Meanwhile, opponents have redoubled their efforts to kill the tax...."