Note: The following e-newsletter was distributed to Sen. Leonard Christian’s subscribers on June 5, 2026. To subscribe to Sen. Christian’s e-newsletters, click here.
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Five years ago, majority Democrats in the Washington Legislature decided the best way to combat global warming was to tax gasoline to death. As a result, Washington today has some of the most expensive gasoline in the nation. But for some reason, our colleagues don’t want to boast about it anymore.
It may be that gas prices last week hit an average $5.69 a gallon, the second highest in the country and about the highest anyone in this state has ever seen. This is about one-third higher than the national average, a staggering difference driven entirely by state policy. And the sky-high price of fuel in this state is driving up the cost of just about everything else, an inflationary storm like we haven’t seen since the 1970s.
Yet when you ask the governor’s office about it, his staff takes no credit and refers questions to the White House.
That’s our governor for you. Always humble. But he does himself a disservice. National policy has nothing to do with the fact that Washington gas prices are higher than just about anyplace else. This is a made-in-Olympia phenomenon. None of this is an accident. Things are working exactly as they are supposed to. No matter what happens in the Middle East, gas prices in this state are going to keep rising and rising and rising. Our colleagues passed laws to make sure of it.
Working exactly as intended
When Democrats took full control of the Legislature in 2018, one of their top priorities was to make gasoline more expensive. They wanted to discourage the people of the state from using fossil fuels. This wasn’t an easy vote. Never before had Washington lawmakers passed legislation purposely designed to inflict misery and hardship on the people they serve. It took them three years to line up the votes to pass two big new taxes on fuel.
The first to take effect was the Climate Commitment Act, a complicated scheme that requires industries to purchase “credits” at auction for the privilege of emitting carbon. Most of the bill goes to refiners and is paid by motorists in the form of higher gas prices, about $4.5 billion so far. Currently this tax adds about 50 cents to a gallon of fuel, and this will increase as requirements become more stringent.
The other big tax is just starting to kick in. They call it “low carbon fuel standards,” or lately, the “Clean Fuel Standard.” A small part of this policy has to do with reformulating fuel, but mostly this is another scheme requiring refiners to purchase credits. Studies indicate this mechanism will add at least 40 cents to a gallon of gas by 2030, and likely will give Washington the highest gas prices in the country.
The case for relief
Already the people of Washington are yelping with pain. They didn’t realize that when Democrats said “make the polluters pay,” they meant everybody who drives a car. Yet these taxes aren’t reducing global warming. We’re driving as much as we used to and we are just paying more for gas. The state’s top spending priority appears to be supporting environmental organizations rather than reducing carbon. The Department of Ecology has yet to issue a report on results, missing numerous deadlines imposed by law and prompting a lawsuit, so we can assume the numbers are terrible.
Not that anything we can do on the state level would make a dent in world carbon anyway. Washington produces too little of it. Nor can we say we exerted “leadership,” because nobody followed us. About the only thing these taxes have been able to do, other than making gas more expensive, has been to make some people feel better about themselves. But nobody feels good when gas hits $6 a gallon, and it’s time to say enough.
A pause on taxes
I am joining legislative Republicans in urging that these feel-good climate taxes be temporarily put on hold, while gas prices remain high. Some have suggested we go into special session to do it. Chris Gildon, R-Puyallup, is leading the charge in the Senate, and he has a simpler solution. The governor could declare an emergency and suspend the taxes.
The governor’s handlers get testy at that suggestion and tell us to call the president instead, because it’s all his fault — which is pretty much what you expect them to say. But I think Gildon has it right. This is a problem created on the state level, and the state has a duty to fix it. And if we take a holiday from these feel-good climate taxes, I think the Legislature might finally ask itself the questions it should. Like are these taxes doing what they are supposed to?
My bet is that if we could be a bit more clearheaded about this, we would never bring the taxes back, gas prices would come back down, and those of us who live in the Spokane Valley could stop gassing up at State Line.
Longview tragedy prompts reassurances here
It’s hard not to shudder when thinking about the recent tragedy at the Nippon Dynawave paper plant in Longview. A storage tank imploded and sent a wave of caustic chemicals across part of the factory grounds. Eleven are dead. Many more are injured.
Next year we can expect to see legislation requiring state tank inspections, and industrial safety is sure to make for some of our most interesting debates. But one thing I want to point out for readers in the 4th District – this can’t happen here.
I checked with the Inland Empire Paper Co., the newsprint plant that has operated in Millwood since 1911. The Longview plant uses caustic “white liquor” for the production of kraft paper, for grocery bags and other purposes. But the newsprint production at Millwood uses an entirely different mechanical process to break down wood chips into pulp, and there is no such danger here. There will be more to report as the Department of Labor and Industries carries out its investigation. For now let us honor the victims and let this incident cause us to renew our commitment to industrial safety.
In the news —
The Center Square: No state investigation planned nearly six months after questions raised on WA’s daycare subsidies
To see this interview with The Center Square, click here.
It’s been almost six months since news media in this state started asking whether Minnesota-style daycare fraud might be happening here. There certainly were plenty of red flags, as reporters knocked on doors and found much to raise their suspicions. Now it has become clear there will be no investigation, and the state’s lack of curiosity is a wonder to behold. In last month’s e-newsletter I outlined my concerns as ranking member on the Senate Human Services Committee. This story from The Center Square’s Carleen Johnson tells us more:
(The Center Square) – Nearly six months after The Center Square began investigating inexplicably large taxpayer subsidies to home daycare providers in King County, the state has yet to announce plans to thoroughly audit the Department of Children Youth and Families, or the Department of Commerce, the two agencies responsible for running Washington state’s Working Connections Child Care Subsidy program.
“If your bookkeeper found a $37 million discrepancy in your accounts, wouldn’t you want to get to the bottom of it? Wouldn’t you be the least little bit curious?” questioned Sen. Leonard Christian, R-Spokane Valley, in a May 8 press release.
He was referring to an estimated $37 million in questionable payments in 2025 identified by State Auditor Pat McCarthy made to childcare providers by DCYF.
Thanks for reading,
Leonard Christian
4th Legislative District
Contact me!
If you have a comment about state government, or a concern with a state agency, I hope you will reach out to my office. The session is over, but I serve you year-round.
Mailing address: Post Office Box 40404, Olympia, WA 98504
Email: Leonard.Christian@leg.wa.gov
Phone: (360) 786-7606
Leave a message on the Legislative Hotline: 1 (800) 562-6000
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