The Washington House gave its approval Tuesday to a bill that would set higher oil train safety standards.
The bill is moving through the state Legislature as more trains are hauling crude oil through Washington from the Bakken region of North Dakota and from Canada's tar sands. The bill imposes a per-barrel tax of 8 cents on oil that arrives in Washington by train or pipeline. The revenue would pay for spill-related emergency response and preparedness.
The bill passed on a 58-40 vote. Democratic Rep. Jessyn Farrell from Seattle said the House's version of Senate Bill 5057 represents balanced strategy.
"What you are seeing before you is a reasonable compromise that is taking into account what local communities want in terms of safety and information and at the same time making sure we're protecting jobs, protecting industries, and that we're moving forward," she said.
Rep. Matt Shea, R-Spokane Valley, opposed the bill, saying it wasn't necessary to impose such a high tax rate.
"Raising the tax to 8 cents? We don’t have to have a study, we already know that doing that is going to bring in far more revenue than is needed to implement the program," he said. Shea also questioned whether it makes sense to tax oil transported by pipeline because oil-by-rail is a bigger safety concern.
Lawmakers dropped language that would have required more railroad workers on long oil trains.
The House added an amendment to require a follow up study in 2018 to look at whether the amount of money generated by the barrel tax is appropriate for the response need. The bill will now go to the state Senate.
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