Provide sustainable funding for implementation of all recommendations.

Action 1

Provide capital and operating funding in the 2019-21 budget to carry out near-term, high-priority actions.

Action 2

Request that the Governor and Legislature establish a continuous funding source to implement these recommendations and meet needs as they arise.

Action 3

Include funding to state agencies for staffing, research, and ongoing management needed to implement the recommendations.

The 2019-21 biennial budgets (operating, capital, and transportation) provided $1.1 billion to support the recovery of Southern Resident orcas and implement the recommendations of the Governor’s Southern Resident Killer Whale Task Force under Goals 1 (prey), 2 (vessel disturbance), and 3 (contaminants).

The need to pursue additional funding sources to implement salmon recovery and watershed plans has been identified in the 2016 Governor’s Salmon Recovery Office and Salmon Recovery Funding Board’s Fundraising Plan. Funding for the natural environment and keeping pace with climate change impacts and rapid growth continue to be an issue for recovery of salmon and orca.

The Legislature passed a law reforming the financial structure of the Model Toxics Control Act program. The law makes the following changes:

• The Hazardous Substance Tax is changed from a value-based tax on petroleum products to a volumetric tax with a rate of $1.09 per 42-gallon barrel. The tax rate for non-petroleum products is not changed.
• Existing Model Toxics Control Act accounts are repealed and replaced with an Operating Account that will receive 60 percent of the revenue, a Capital Account that will receive 25 percent of the revenue, and a Stormwater Account that will receive 15 percent of the revenue. Use of the funds is restricted to specified Model Toxics Control Act-related purposes.
• $50 million every 2 years is deposited in the Motor Vehicle Fund to be used exclusively for transportation stormwater programs until transportation revenue increases by $2 billion.
• The Department of Revenue must compile a list of petroleum products that are not easily measured on a per barrel basis. Petroleum products on this list are subject to the 0.7 percent tax on the wholesale value.
• Beginning July 1, 2020, the volumetric portion of the Hazardous Substance Tax will be adjusted by the implicit price deflator for nonresidential construction annually.

More details may be found in the progress reports in the resources library.