Washington state passed two very egregious laws this session. One concerns natural gas, and the other concerns hate crimes. Here is the information.
Governor Bans Natural Gas Warning TLDNR 1589- Some background -PSE is a state-regulated monopoly -PSE is also a foreign-owned and controlled entity -Rate increases are approved by the Utilities & Transportation Commission (UTC) -PSE Electric rates and natural gas rates are treated separately and currently regulated separately -The state guarantees PSE a profit -In return, PSE promises to do what the state requires State requires: -PSE required to serve all customers -The CCA requires the elimination of fossil fuels -State CO2 goals require the elimination of natural gas -this is going to cost a lot of money -PSE cannot serve all customers and de-carbonize and make a profit What 1589 does 1) Allows all the costs for Electricity and Natural Gas to be lumped together Why? -1589 notes that it will take a massive amount of money to “de-carbonize” -they need to be able to spread (hide) that cost across all customers -The cost is expected to be massive -PSE must make a profit and this cost would make it impossible -that means they need to pass it on to you whether you currently use gas or electric service -Experts predict utility rates could double -On top of the changeover cost, customers will be stuck with the expense of buying new hot water heaters, stoves, heating systems, etc. ‘ 2) Creates “Geographically Targeted Electrification areas What does this mean? -PSE must put a plan forward by 2027 to the UTC to target certain geographical areas to eliminate the requirement to provide them with natural gas -that means those areas will lose their energy choice to use natural gas (sneaky backdoor geographical gas ban) even if they were already on natural gas -of course, the expensive-to-serve areas will be higher targets -but in order to meet the CCA requirements and the CO2 goals this will likely include broad areas of the state -customers will not have a choice if the UTC agrees 3) 2031 Ban on the installation of all new gas back up systems (not so sneaky front door ban on new hook-ups) 1589 acknowledges that the combination of Geographic Targeted bans plus the outright ban from 2031 will completely strain the electric grid and the current system would be unable to support the draw. -this means winter will see blackouts much like last winter but much wider spread -home heating with no gas backup means people will freeze -businesses such as restaurants dependent on gas for cooking will likely have to close (why does Gov. Inslee hate Chinese food?) -School budgets will be decimated by the increased cost (Already the CCA alone has increase some school district budgets over $250K per month— wait till they are forced to heat schools with all-electric rather than natural gas) While the governor is singing praises to himself for his righteousness, average Washingtonians are just about to get hit over the head with family budget-busting costs and perhaps worse…. Can you afford @GovInslee‘s pious self-serving plans to deny you the ability to heat your home?
Washington will establish a nonpolice hotline to assist people who have been targeted by hate crimes and bias incidents, state lawmakers decided this week, passing a new version of a bill that failed to advance last year.
Senate Bill 5427, sponsored by Sen. Javier Valdez, D-Seattle, among others, directs the state Attorney General’s Office to create a hotline serving at least three Washington counties by 2025 and all counties by 2027.
The bill says the hotline should be staffed during business hours. Call takers should provide victims with information, refer them to culturally competent, trauma-informed local service providers for additional help, and document the calls for annual reports. Identifying information will be kept out of the reports and exempt from public disclosure requests.
SB 5427 passed the Senate on Feb. 7 and cleared the House on Wednesday, drawing unanimous support from Democrats and near-unanimous opposition from Republicans. It’s now headed to Gov. Jay Inslee’s desk to be signed into law.
Under Washington law, hate crimes are actions in which a perpetrator maliciously and intentionally causes physical injury or damage because of a victim’s race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, or disability. Established as a category in Washington in 2019, hate crimes also include hate-related threats that cause a victim to reasonably fear harm. They’re felony offenses punishable by up to five years in prison.
SB 5427 defines bias incidents as “hostile expressions of animus” that relate to a victim’s actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, or disability. Bias incidents don’t include free-speech expressions for or against the policies of foreign or domestic governments, the bill says.
Proponents say a hotline is needed because many hate crimes currently go unreported to — or undocumented by — police and because police generally don’t record data on bias incidents, which are noncriminal in nature. Especially in marginalized communities, people might be afraid to contact police. Even when police are contacted, they might lack evidence to document a hate crime.
Washington police reported 590 hate crimes to the FBI for 2022, 651 for 2021 and 462 for 2020. In the most recent year, 63% of the state’s hate crimes were related to race, ethnicity or ancestry, while 18% were related to sexual orientation and 10% were related to religion.
Resources- Seattle Times and Center Square
This is a form of mental illness, destroying ourselves and future generations.
Hard to believe this is all done in the name of the climate change lie...