Imagine standing at a gas pump in Lakewood, Vancouver or Spokane, watching the numbers climb with agonizing speed, and knowing that thousands of miles away, the Strait of Hormuz — the world’s most important oil transit point — is once again a geopolitical tinderbox.
When tensions flare in the Middle East, the entire world feels the squeeze.
But there is a bitter irony for those of us in the Pacific Northwest.
While the global market sets the base price of energy, the "Olympia Premium" ensures that Washingtonians are hit harder, faster and deeper than almost anyone else in America.
Global instability is a fact of life, but the crushing affordability crisis facing our neighbors is a choice — a choice made by Gov. Bob Ferguson and the Democrat majority in the Legislature.
For decades, Washington held a competitive advantage that fueled our economy and protected our families. We had some of the lowest energy rates in the nation. From 1990 to 2020, we consistently ranked first or second for the lowest residential energy rates thanks to our abundance of clean, renewable hydropower.
Today, that legacy has been dismantled. We have plummeted to seventh in energy affordability, our natural gas prices are among the top 10 most expensive in the continental U.S., and our gas prices are a permanent fixture at the top of the national charts, trailing only California and Hawaii.
The primary driver of this decline is the Climate Commitment Act (CCA), a "cap-and-invest" scheme that is, in reality, a massive tax on every aspect of Washington life. By forcing fuel suppliers and utilities to buy expensive allowances for the carbon they emit, the state has created a system where the costs are inevitably passed directly to the consumer.
This isn't just an abstract policy; it adds an estimated 50 to 60 cents to every single gallon of gas and diesel sold in our state. When you pay more at the pump in Yakima or Chehalis, you aren't just paying for the oil — you are paying a surcharge to fund the ideological agenda and insatiable spending appetite of Olympia politicians.
The damage of the CCA doesn't stop at the gas station. It creates a domino effect that touches every shelf in the grocery store. Every gallon of milk, every loaf of bread and every essential household good must be transported by trucks that run on diesel.
When the state artificially inflates the price of that diesel through the CCA, the cost of transportation skyrockets. Farmers in Eastern Washington face higher costs to run their equipment, and shipping companies pass their increased fuel bills onto retailers. The result is food and necessities are more expensive for the very families who can least afford it. Washingtonians are being hit with a double-whammy: It costs more to drive to the store, and it costs more to buy what’s inside.
Recent filings show the pain is only going to intensify. Northwest Natural Gas is seeking a 19% rate hike this summer, and Puget Sound Energy is pursuing cumulative rate hikes of more than 30% through 2029. These utilities explicitly attribute these spikes to the costly, complex regulatory policies enacted in Olympia.
We cannot wait until the next regular session to provide relief. Washingtonians are being forced to choose between heating their homes and buying groceries today. That is why I am demanding a special session to enact an "Energy Common-Sense" package: the immediate repeal of the CCA gas-tax premiums, a mandate for utility transparency so you can see all of the state fees on your bills, and a total halt on new environmental surcharges, pending an independent analysis of the cost to Washington families.
Now, I recognize that very few people — myself included — relish the idea of lawmakers returning to Olympia for a special session.
However, the reality is that a return to the Capitol is likely coming whether we want it or not. We are facing a perfect storm of fiscal mismanagement. Despite revenues growing by 6.5% over the last year, the state’s ending-fund balance is at a razor-thin 0.29%. We are already $114 million below revenue projections for the past two months alone.
The state’s bank account is nearly overdrawn because of reckless spending, and it is highly probable that the governor will be forced to call a special session to address this budget imbalance.
If we are going to be called back to fix a fiscal mess created by overspending, we should do it now rather than waiting. We should use that time to address both problems: the state's precarious financial position and the affordability crisis Democrats have created through nearly a decade of bad policy decisions.
Every day the governor refuses to act is a day he chooses a partisan legacy over the survival of the family budget.
Olympia created this crisis; it’s time for Olympia to fix it.
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Sen. Drew MacEwen, R-Shelton, serves as the Deputy Leader of the Senate Republican Caucus.
