Jan. 23, 2009

Dear friends and neighbors,

This has been a very busy week, with committee hearings, floor resolutions and countless meetings with my colleagues.  The schedule has been hectic, but I'm so encouraged by the continuing e-mails, phone calls and letters coming from the district.  Thank you very much for your support these past few weeks.

One issue in particular that I want to draw your attention to is the so-called "cap and trade" legislation that is being proposed by the governor.  There is more detailed information below, but suffice it to say you NEED to pay attention to this issue.  Unless serious concerns are addressed, this issue has the potential to hurt our economy, eliminate jobs, and cost businesses and consumers BILLIONS of dollars.  See the section below for more information.

Again, thank you for putting your trust in me to represent you in Olympia.  It is an honor that I take very seriously.

Sincerely,


Ed Orcutt
State Representative, 18th District

Budget update
We're seeing different views on state budget situation as the majority party says they're in no hurry to pass a supplemental budget for the remainder of the 2009 fiscal year.  Their plan, at this point, is to make a few small policy cuts and then wait for the revenue forecast to come out in the middle of March.

I believe that every day we wait is a dollar wasted.  The quicker we make the necessary cuts in entitlement programs, the more money we will save.  These are two very different viewpoints and it seems like we're just treading water at the moment.

It also appears the majority party may be waiting for a federal bailout.  Some are saying that the Obama administration will send money to the states to help out with budget deficits.  Even if some money does come from the federal government, every day we wait to address our $6 billion shortfall is another dollar taken out of our pocket.  We need to be arriving at solutions, and we need to it NOW, not later.

Protecting property owners from unfair property assessments
I believe one of my highest priorities as an elected official is to watch out for taxpayers and protect taxpayer dollars at every opportunity.  This week, I sponsored legislation to help protect property owners from unfair property assessments by giving them more time to appeal when there is a dispute.

With the hot real estate and housing markets we had a short time ago, many property owners have seen huge increases in assessed values.  For some, that assessed value took place over a year ago when the market was booming.  Now that the market has gone backwards, the assessed value in many cases is not even close to reality.

The appeal still must be made within 30 days after the date of the assessment.  But, in some cases, if the property hasn't changed in assessed value, no notice is given to the homeowner.  This scenario can make it nearly impossible for the homeowner to appeal should market conditions change the true and fair market value.

House Bill 1480 changes the date a home owner may appeal the property's assessed value from June 30 to November 1.  This change will allow property owners to appeal unfair assessments due to fluctuating market conditions when the assessor fails to change their value downward.

Cap and Trade
The so-called cap and trade legislation is a proposal put forth by the Western Climate Initiative, which includes seven Western states and four Canadian Provinces. The idea is to cap the amount of carbon that may be emitted by activities such as energy and oil production, manufacturing jobs, and, by 2015, auto emissions, in order to reach 1990 emission levels by 2020.

Companies will have to purchase "allowances" from the government for the right to emit greenhouse gasses. However, the government will limit the number of allowances and determine the market up front.

The government will also reduce the number of allowances available every three years. If companies don't have enough allowances to cover their emissions, they will have to pay a fine up to $10,000 per day.
If a company doesn't use all of its emission allowances, it may sell those credits to other companies who need them.

Because of an unregulated secondary market that will buy and sell carbon emission credits, the possibility for corruption, fraud and greed will drive the price of credits to artificial heights.  We saw it with Enron; we saw it with speculation in the oil markets; we saw it with the subprime mortgage collapse. Secondary markets have huge potential for devastating consequences.

There's also nothing to prevent an investment firm from buying up excess allowances from businesses in our state and then selling them to states like California or Oregon. Washington companies could be put out of business in a heartbeat simply because additional, necessary emissions credits are too expensive or unavailable.

I think we can all agree that the environment is worth protecting.  But at what cost?  Washington is one of the cleanest states in the Union.  We have abundant, inexpensive, clean hydropower, and our state's emissions only account for three-tenths of one percent of the world's greenhouse gasses!  Talk about putting the cart in front of the horse!  Why are we willing to risk our state's businesses, jobs and economy when our contribution to greenhouse gasses is negligible?

I would encourage folks to call the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000 or leave a message on her web site here, and let the governor know that Washington's families, businesses, and economy cannot afford her Climate Action Plan.

Visit my Website for further information and news
You can always visit my Web site for updated information and to contact me via e-mail. You can also sign-up for my E-newsletter. http://www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/Orcutt/default.htm