Cooper Inveen, Reporter WNPA Olympia News Bureau

Gov. Jay Inslee’s proposal for regulating greenhouse gas emissions has cleared its first of several hurdles in a 6-to-5 party-line vote Feb. 10 in the Democrat-controlled House Environment Committee.

House Bill 1314, the Carbon Pollution Accountability Act, would establish a statewide cap on carbon emissions, requiring Washington’s 130 largest polluters to buy credits in order to continue releasing carbon and other gasses into the atmosphere. With credits starting at $12 per-ton of emissions, the program is estimated to bring in $1 billion its first year.

The narrow vote on the bill was the first concrete action on the governor’s signature climate proposal this session.