Climate advocates press Senate to protect Climate Commitment Act funds for transit, buses and heavy‑duty vehicle incentives
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Summary
Climate Solutions and public‑health advocates urged lawmakers to preserve Climate Commitment Act (CCA) allocations for transportation projects, including zero‑emission heavy‑duty vehicle vouchers, clean school buses and active‑transportation projects, noting voters rejected Initiative 2117 and expect CCA commitments honored
Climate and public‑health groups told the Senate Transportation Committee the Climate Commitment Act revenues in the governor’s budget must be used to meet pollution‑reduction commitments and to advance zero‑emission transportation investments.
Liam Missick of Climate Solutions told the committee that voters defeated Initiative 2117 and that CCA funds should be used as intended to cut greenhouse‑gas emissions, support zero‑emission medium- and heavy‑duty vehicle voucher programs and clean school buses. Missick requested $200,000,000 for a medium- and heavy‑duty vehicle voucher program and urged scaling the governor’s CCA investments to meet modeled needs.
Dr. Brett Lebegue of Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility connected climate-driven fires and air‑quality harms to transportation emissions and urged using CCA money to expand rail infrastructure to shift passengers and freight off highways. Witnesses said protecting transit investments is both a climate and equity priority and asked legislators to prioritize operations, transit-dependent riders and emissions reductions when allocating CCA dollars.
Testimony called on lawmakers to honor voter intent and the statutory role of CCA revenues when making spending decisions in SB 5161.