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Editor's Note:
Click here to view Rep. Orcutt's letter to DOE Director Jay Manning.
Rep. Orcutt
says DOE overstepping its bounds with proposed greenhouse gas reporting
requirements for employers
"They are trying to implement something that the
Legislature specifically said 'no' to, which is either a negligent
oversight or a gross abuse of power," says Orcutt
Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, issued a strong warning today to
the state Department of Ecology for proposed rules that go far beyond
the scope of legislation passed by the Legislature.
"They are trying to implement something that the Legislature
specifically said 'no' to, which is either a negligent oversight or a
gross abuse of power," Orcutt said. "The courts
have made it abundantly clear that administrative agencies are creatures
of the Legislature without inherent or common-law powers and must
strictly limit their operations to those powers granted by the
Legislature."
Orcutt's main point of contention is a proposed agency
rule that would required third-party verification of greenhouse gas
emissions reported by employers. He said the 2008 law passed by
the Legislature specifically removed all mention of third-party
verification.
Orcutt issued a letter today to DOE Director Jay
Manning saying that: "Third-party verification was not envisioned by the
Legislature as part of its reporting requirements when HB 2815 passed in
2008. In fact, the language that may have supported such a process
was removed from the bill."
Orcutt believes mandatory third-party verification is
an unnecessary burdensome step and inserts a foreign influence into the
greenhouse gas emission reporting process. He said the reporting
process should remain between employers and the government that
represents the people. The law merely requires employers to report
greenhouse gas emissions.
"If the Department of Ecology has concerns about the quality of the
reporting, then the government has the obligation to police the
transaction, not any other entity," he said.
Orcutt said it was unreasonable to think that employers
can bear the cost of further bureaucratic regulations at a time when
unemployment is at record highs and the economy continues to struggle.
The only businesses available to do third-party verification are
out-of-state companies. As such, Washington employers would be
sending money to other states at the worst possible time.
Orcutt also has serious concerns about giving out-of-state,
third-party entities access to Washington employer records and
information.
"Especially in these tough economic times, I am against increasing costs
on businesses and their consumers, diverting hundreds of thousands of
dollars out of state, and holding Washington businesses hostage to the
schedules and whims of other companies," Orcutt said.
"Now is not the time for state agencies to make 'end runs' around the
Legislature to enact expensive, punitive and burdensome regulations."
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For more information, contact:
Brendon Wold, Senior
Information Officer: (360) 786-7698
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