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Inslee, California’s Brown talk climate

Former governor of Golden State makes visit to Olympia

By RACHEL LA CORTE, Associated Press
Published: January 17, 2019, 8:41pm

OLYMPIA — Gov. Jay Inslee met Thursday with former California Gov. Jerry Brown to discuss climate issues, including a proposal for utilities to provide carbon-free electricity by 2045 that is working its way through the Washington Legislature.

In September, Brown, a Democrat who left office last week as California’s longest-serving governor, signed legislation putting his state on the path toward all-clean energy electricity sources by the same date.

Inslee said he invited Brown to Olympia to meet with several Democratic legislative leaders because of the “tremendous progress” on climate legislation in California.

Inslee is among a crowded field of Democrats considering a 2020 presidential bid and looking for a legislative win on his climate agenda. He expressed confidence that climate measures would succeed this year, in part because Democrats increased their margins in both chambers after the November election.

The Senate Environment, Energy and Technology Committee held a hearing on the measure earlier Thursday. Democratic Sen. Reuven Carlyle, the committee’s chairman, said it likely will come up for a vote from the panel next week.

The bill is the centerpiece of a proposal Inslee announced last month.

Washington, which relies heavily on hydroelectric power, generates 75 percent of its electricity from carbon-free sources. The measure would require utilities to eliminate coal as an energy source by the end of 2025 as the first step toward the 2045 goal.

A House committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on a companion bill on Tuesday.

Another major effort in the Legislature would implement a clean fuel standard — similar to a program in California — that requires fuel producers and importers to reduce the carbon emissions associated with transportation fuels.

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