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October 7, 2016 CapitalPress.com 7 Washington Washington pay loor to rise to at least $9.53 Ballot measure calls for $11 wage on Jan. 1 By DON JENKINS Capital Press The Washington Depart- ment of Labor and Industries announced Wednesday that the state’s minimum wage will increase by 6 cents an hour to $9.53 on Jan. 1, unless voters pass a measure to push the pay loor to the highest among the 50 states. After two years at $9.47 an hour because of low inlation, Washington’s minimum wage will rise to relect a 0.7 per- cent increase in the consumer price index for urban wage earners, according to L&I. An initiative voters approved in 1998 requires annual adjust- ments for inlation. The hike will make Wash- ington’s minimum wage the eighth highest among the 50 states, according to the U.S. Don Jenkins/Capital Press Workers pick corn in Washington state. The Department of Labor and Industries announced Sept. 28 that the state’s minimum wage will increase to $9.53 an hour Jan. 1. The wage would go to $11 an hour if Initiative 1433 passes. Department of Labor. Washington’s minimum wage would tie for highest if Initiative 1433 passes in No- vember. The measure calls for rais- ing the wage to $11 on Jan. 1, the same day Massachusetts will raise its current $10 pay loor by $1. Under I-1433, Washing- ton’s wage would increase an- nually until it reaches $13.50 in 2020. Automatic adjustments for inlation would then resume. I-1433 would not prevent cities from adopting higher minimum wages, as has Seat- tle, Tacoma and SeaTac. I-1433 would also mandate that employers provide paid family leave. Accrued beneits would carry over from year to year for seasonal workers. As of Wednesday, the ini- tiative’s campaign committee, Raise Up Wa, had reported raising $3.5 million, including $1 million from Seattle ven- ture capitalist Nick Hanauer, according to the Public Dis- closure Committee. The No on I-1433 com- mittee had reported raising $53,646, including $5,000 from the Washington Farm Bureau. The Farm Bureau main- tains that state and local minimum wages higher than the federal minimum wage, currently $7.25 an hour, put producers in those areas at a disadvantage against their competitors elsewhere. The trend nationwide has been for states to adopt high- er minimum wages and more complex rate schedules. The Oregon Legislature this year adopted a three-tier approach. As of July 1, the minimum wage rose to $9.50 in 18 rural counties, and $9.75 in three Portland Metro counties and the state’s other 15 counties. By mid-2020, the rural wage will be $12.50, the Port- land area wage $14.75 and the so-called “standard wage” for everywhere else will be $13.50. After that, the standard wage will be adjusted annual- ly for inlation. The rural wage will then be set at $1 less than the standard wage, while the Portland wage will be $1.25 more than the standard wage. California’s minimum wage will increase on Jan. 1 to $10.50 from $10. The wage will gradually rise to $15 in 2022 for busi- nesses with more than 25 workers and in 2023 for busi- nesses with fewer. The wages will then be adjusted for inla- tion. Idaho has adopted the fed- eral minimum wage as its state minimum wage. Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have minimum wages higher than the federal pay loor, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Wash. Farm Bureau, others sue to overturn carbon cap By DON JENKINS Capital Press Energy companies and business groups, including the Washington Farm Bureau, are suing to overturn Gov. Jay Inslee’s carbon cap, claiming the governor has exceeded his authority and imposed a climate-change policy that vi- olates state and federal consti- tutions and will actually harm the environment. Separate lawsuits were iled Tuesday in Thurston County Superior Court and U.S. District Court in Spo- kane. Both suits seek to stop the Washington Department of Ecology from implement- ing the Clear Air Rule, the Don Jenkins/Capital Press Steam rises from the KapStone Kraft Paper Corp. in Longview, Wash. The Northwest Pulp and Paper Association and several oth- er business groups, including the Washington Farm Bureau, iled a lawsuit Sept. 27 in Thurston County Superior Court to overturn Gov. Jay Inslee’s carbon cap. name the Inslee administra- tion has given the carbon cap. The rule is scheduled to go into effect Oct. 17 and will require dozens of plants, oil reineries and natural gas dis- tributors to gradually cut their carbon emissions or invest in carbon-reduction projects elsewhere in Washington. The carbon cap will in- crease fuel prices and the cost of agricultural production, ac- cording to the Farm Bureau. Inslee ordered Ecology to develop the rule, citing his authority under the Washing- ton Clean Air Act and a 2008 law that directs the state to cut greenhouse gases to half of 1990’s level by 2050. The lawsuits challenge the governor’s authority and ar- gue that the rule is poor envi- ronmental policy. Capping carbon in Wash- ington will shift manufactur- ing and electricity generation to other countries and states that rely more on coal-ired power plants, according to the lawsuits. Ecology failed to look at the global implications of its policy, said Brandon Housekeeper, director of governmental affairs on en- vironmental issues for the Association of Washington Business, which is lead- ing the lawsuit in Thurston County. Ecology has required pri- vate-sector proposals, such as a coal export terminal in Longview, to evaluate their impact on greenhouse gases worldwide, not just in Wash- ington, he said. “In a nutshell, they really oversimpliied their environ- mental evaluation of a com- plex rule,” Housekeeper said. “They didn’t even meet their own test. It’s just an incom- plete analysis.” The other plaintiffs in the state court lawsuit include the Farm Bureau and the North- west Food Processors Asso- ciation. Avista Corp., Cascade Nat- ural Gas, Northwest Natural Gas and Puget Sound Energy iled suit in federal court. The carbon cap will raise the cost of producing elec- tricity and encourage Puget Sound Energy to shift away from natural-gas plants in Washington and toward coal plants in other states, accord- ing to the lawsuit. Ecology issued a statement defending the rule. “When we adopted the Clean Air Rule we joined Cal- ifornia and nine other states in the Northeast to do our part to reduce greenhouse gas emis- sions. We’re currently evalu- ating the legal challenge and will continue our work to im- plement the Clean Air Rule,” according to Ecology. Presented by Sponsored by Wednesday November 9, 2016 8AM to 5PM – Expo Thursday November 10, 2016 8AM to 4PM – Expo Class for Pesticide Credits 8:30am – 9:30am Marc Eylar Weeds on the Move in Eastern Washington ID & Control Tax Seminar 8:30am-9:30am Paul Neiffer, CPA, Clifton Larson Allen Farm Tax Update, including How Proposed IRS Regulations Could Effect Family Transfers Class for Pesticide Credits 10:30am – 11:30am Marc Eylar Noxious Weeds Typical of Open Forests & Rangeland in Eastern Washington Seminar Ag Energy 1pm-2pm Bruce Appel Ag Energy’s Biochar, Production and Use in Agriculture Seminar Ag Energy 3pm-4pm Amit Dhingra Ph.D. Understanding how Biochar Modulates Plant Growth and Development Drone Demonstrations 10:30am – 11:30am Patrick J. Ford, PhD Director, New Opportunities in Aviation Roundtable Discussion 1pm-3pm WSDA Director Derek Sandison USBR’s Dawn Wiedmeire WA State Rep. Mary Dye For further information contact: Rusty Hunt Shani Van Hoorelbeke rhunt@cherycreekradio.com 509-681-0218 shani@cherrycreekradio.com 509-547-1618 Follow Us On #PNWAgie 41-4/#6 ROP-38-8-1/#4
