As mentioned in our budget action alert, the Senate is considering a bill, SB 5993, which significantly reforms the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) and provides new revenues for city priorities including toxic cleanups and dedicated stormwater funding.
A large and diverse coalition has formed in support of this bill, and the opposition is stepping up their efforts as well. Please take a look at the support coalition one-pager and share it with your legislators to indicate your support. Your delegation needs to hear how important this is to your city if they are going to overcome opposition to this bill.
Some talking points you might emphasize in your support of SB 5993 include that the bill:
- Provides reliable funding that meets demand projections for cleaning up legacy pollution, preventing toxic chemicals from harming people and the environment, and managing pollution sources like stormwater.
- Eliminates revenue volatility by shifting the Hazardous Substances Tax for liquid petroleum products from a price-based to a volume-based tax.
- Protects purchasing power using an annual inflation adjustment. The cost for addressing toxic pollution threats will increase each year, and without this essential protection purchasing power will erode over time.