{"id":2199662,"date":"2024-03-15T08:35:02","date_gmt":"2024-03-15T12:35:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/concerns-remain-about-passage-of-a-bill-that-paves-way-for-natural-gas-ban-in-wa\/"},"modified":"2024-03-15T08:43:10","modified_gmt":"2024-03-15T12:43:10","slug":"concerns-remain-about-passage-of-a-bill-that-paves-way-for-natural-gas-ban-in-wa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/concerns-remain-about-passage-of-a-bill-that-paves-way-for-natural-gas-ban-in-wa\/","title":{"rendered":"Worries linger over the advancement of a bill potentially leading to a natural gas ban in Washington"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fconcerns-remain-about-passage-of-a-bill-that-paves-way-for-natural-gas-ban-in-wa%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2199662&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Washington&#8217;s \u2062&#8221;Natural Gas Ban Bill&#8221; Awaits Governor&#8217;s Signature<\/h2>\n<p>In\u200d the bustling halls of Washington\u2063 state politics, a piece \u200cof legislation has set the stage\u2063 for a profound policy shift. <strong>Engrossed Substitute\u2062 House \u200cBill 1589,<\/strong> a bill surrounded by fervent discussions and controversial opinions, stands on \u200cthe precipice of becoming law, pending \u2062Governor Jay Inslee&#8217;s approval.<\/p>\n<h3>What&#8217;s at Stake with ESHB 1589?<\/h3>\n<p>Colloquially known as the &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-video-links-biden-to-ukrainian-corruption-burisma-indictment-reveals-ex-president-yanukovich-illegally-obtained-7-4-billion-laundered-thru-fund-close-to-us-democratic-party\/\" title=\"New Video Links Biden to Ukrainian Corruption \u2013 Burisma Indictment Reveals Ex-President Yanukovich Illegally Obtained .4 Billion Laundered Thru Fund \u201cClose to US Democratic Party\u201d\">natural gas<\/a> \u200cban bill,&#8221; this legislation grants utilities, specifically\u2064 <strong>Puget Sound Energy (PSE)<\/strong>, the framework\u2064 to chart a new course away from \u2064natural gas.\u200c At its \u2063core, \u2062the bill embodies \u200ba structured \u2062move towards a greener future, aligning with Governor Inslee\u2019s robust climate change agenda.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cThe state is moving\u200d away from natural gas, and consumers are making that \u2062choice,\u201d remarked <strong>Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig<\/strong>. \u201cAre we going to plan for \u2062an orderly transition, or not? I\u200c think it makes a lot \u200dmore sense\u200c to \u2062plan.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Billig remains confident that the change won&#8217;t \u200clead to immediate energy \u200brate hikes, assuring\u200d that \u2063the \u2062 <strong>Washington Utilities and Transportation \u200dCommission<\/strong> (UTC), a bipartisan regulatory body, will maintain balance \u200cand fairness\u200b in \u2063the rate approval process.<\/p>\n<h3>The Debate Over Energy Costs<\/h3>\n<p>Contrary to Billig&#8217;s dismissal of\u2063 short-term rate increases, certain industry voices, like the <strong>Building Industry Association \u200cof Washington (BIAW)<\/strong>,\u200c have sounded alarms over potential cost surges for consumers and \u2062limitations on natural \u200dgas usage. BIAW Executive Vice President Greg Lane\u2064 stressed that the bill could lead to \u2062a \u2064broad prohibition of natural gas for\u200c PSE\u2019s \u200ccustomers, \u200dimpacting everything from cooking\u2063 to \u2064heating.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The impact on power bills is a debated \u200dtopic, with BIAW anticipating more than doubled bills\u2062 due to\u200c ESHB\u2062 1589.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Republican leaders, such as <strong>Sen. John Braun<\/strong>, acknowledge\u200b the uncertainty surrounding \u2063any <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ny-fed-finds-record-wage-expectations-in-july-consumer-survey\/\" title=\"July consumer survey by NY Fed reveals record-high wage expectations.\">rate\u2063 increases<\/a> and foresee \u2063inevitable legal disputes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s going to take\u2064 a few\u2062 years before anyone \u2063who\u2062 has been harmed can challenge, but it will \u2062be litigated,\u201d Braun conveyed.<\/p>\n<h3>Potential Repeal and Political Irony<\/h3>\n<p>The plot thickens with Initiative 2117, aimed at repealing the Climate Commitment\u2064 Act and stalling state-operated carbon taxes. Majority Democrats have \u2064shied away \u200dfrom\u2063 discussing the repeal, ultimately leaving the decision up to the voters\u200d this November.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Braun highlights \u200dwhat he perceives as the\u2063 irony in Governor Inslee&#8217;s stance, contrasting his \u2063criticism of oil company \u2062practices with his\u200c support for legislation that could lead to PSE passing \u200dcosts onto \u2062consumers.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3>Mounting Pressure \u2064on the Governor<\/h3>\n<p>Meanwhile, Governor Inslee, who \u2062is \u200dno stranger \u2064to pressure, faces mounting \u200ccalls to veto portions of \u200bthe \u2063bill deemed disadvantageous to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/child-tax-credit-expected-to-be-a-retail-boon\/\" title=\"Child Tax Credit Expected To Be A Retail Boon\">lower-income families<\/a>. In a \u2064twist of political\u200c drama, \u200cRep. Drew Stokesbary has\u200b pointed out that any veto could result\u2064 in a \u2062backlash against\u200c House Speaker \u200dLaurie Jinkins for putting her members in a potentially precarious\u2064 voting position.<\/p>\n<p>The Governor&#8217;s \u2064Office, approached for\u2064 comments, maintains a neutral stance. \u201cIt hasn\u2019t been scheduled yet,\u200b and I \u2062don\u2019t think the governor has been \u200bbriefed \u2064on the final version of\u200d the bill\u2063 yet\u200b or any veto requests we\u2019ve received,\u201d said Inslee\u200c spokesperson Mike Faulk.<\/p>\n<p>In the \u200dclimactic scene of this legislative saga, pundits, politicians, and the\u2063 public wait\u200b with bated breath to see whether \u2064Governor Inslee\u2019s pen will \u200cenact a future of altered\u2062 energy policy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Washington State Legislature&#8217;s contentious Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1589, known as the &#8220;natural gas ban bill,&#8221; awaits Gov. Jay Inslee&#8217;s signature. It would permit utilities like Puget Sound Energy to begin strategizing transitions away from natural gas<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2199663,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/AP24014160536170-1-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2199662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/AP24014160536170-1-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2199662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2199662"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2199662\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2199663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2199662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2199662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2199662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}