Two Washington Republicans proposed Thursday affixing stickers on fuel pumps to tell motorists how much cap-and-trade adds to gasoline and diesel prices.

Rep. Keith Goehner, a Chelan County legislator, said the stickers would shed light on an “add-on fee that’s affecting low-income people who have to drive.”

“It’s the only time I can think of when consumers don’t know what they’re actually paying,” he said. “It’ll be up to them to decide whether they’re getting a return on their investment.”

House Bill 2050 calls for the stickers to also list the per-gallon 18.4 cents federal gas tax and 49.4 cents state fuel tax. Lawmakers funded a pilot project in 2017 to put tax stickers on pumps, but did not renew the program.

A co-sponsor, Rep. Andrew Barkis, R-Olympia, said he wasn’t optimistic that the bill will pass the Democratic-controlled Legislature.

“We’re not real encouraged it will see the light of day,” he said. “The majority likes taxes, but they sure don’t like telling you about them.”

Cap-and-trade tax estimated

Unlike the fixed federal and state fuel taxes, the cap-and-trade tax can only be estimated. To calculate the tax, the bill proposes a formula based on the carbon content of fuels and cost of allowances over the previous year.

The per-gallon estimate for this year would be about 41 cents for gasoline and 50 cents for diesel. Cap-and-trade taxes are expected to rise each year as the state reduces the supply of allowances to force cuts in fossil fuel use.

The average price of regular gas in Washington has increased 28.7 cents per gallon since cap-and-trade went to effect Jan. 1, according to AAA. Only California, at 29 cents a gallon, has seen a bigger increase in 2023.

Oregon gas prices have risen 5 cents a gallon. Gas prices nationally have fallen by 4 cents.

Gov. Jay Inslee has blamed oil companies for Washington’s high gas prices. Efforts to obtain comment from the governor’s office Friday were unsuccessful.

Voters may have a chance to overturn or affirm cap-and-trade if an initiative qualifies for the November ballot.

The stickers wouldn’t necessarily weaken support for cap-and-trade, Barkis said. The stickers would make people more aware and maybe motivated to learn how the state is spending the money, he said.

“I think this would be an awareness campaign, consumer campaign, an education campaign,” Barkis said. “You’re a captive audience when you’re pumping gas.”

Inslee has proposed creating a new state agency to oversee the petroleum industry and possibly cap oil company profits, a step the California Energy Commission is also considering.

California’s harsh regulatory environment has reduced in-state oil production and caused fuel prices to be more volatile, according to comments to the commission from Chevron. “A margin penalty would only exacerbate this troubling trend,” according to the company.