Update on Inslee’s wins on Friday.
As Gov. Jay Inslee declared his presidential bid Friday, the Washington Senate passed a clean-power bill strongly championed by the governor. The 28-19 Senate vote to approve Senate Bill 5116 — and Friday’s passage in the House of HB 1112, another proposal sought by Inslee — marked a pair of rare wins for the governor’s climate agenda in the Washington Legislature. Sponsored by Sen. Reuven Carlyle, D-Seattle, at the request of the governor, SB 5116 would require the state’s utilities to stop using coal-generated electricity by the end of 2025. It would also set a goal to make Washington utilities carbon-free by 2045…. Meanwhile, the House on Friday afternoon passed HB 1112. Sponsored by Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, D-West Seattle, it would phase out the use of hydrofluorocarbons in equipment such as industrial refrigeration units. Joseph O’Sullivan reports. (Seattle Times)
Inslee’s climate agenda gets rare wins in Legislature as he launches presidential bid