How a tax break for hydrogen blew up

Plus more Heck, surplus campaign money, and a pile of capital gains

Passing a bill is like winning a relay race, which comes down to having the right runners on your team holding the baton.

Take House Bill 1729 from Rep. Peter Abbarno, R-Centralia, which would have cut a preferential business and occupation tax rate¹ for the research, manufacture, and sale of hydrogen products like fuel cells and electrolyzers to the tune of $1.2 million each biennium. This was a big deal for folks in the hydrogen business and for Centralia, where Big Coal is on its deathbed.

Here’s why all this matters. It’s not a foregone conclusion that Washington’s green transition will be a just transition—i.e. one that promotes fair labor, market competition, and zero handouts for polluters. All three of those issues ended up creating a three-way knife fight over HB 1729.