Opponents of a Washington ballot measure that would repeal the state’s new carbon market said Wednesday that they’ve raised more than $11 million in campaign contributions, including donations from BP America, Amazon and Microsoft.
The group — called No on 2117 — plans to start running online videos and other messages aimed at persuading voters to oppose the ballot initiative, numbered 2117. It asks Washington residents whether they want to void the climate law that authorized the state’s new cap-and-invest market.
The initiative landed on the ballot after GOP megadonor Brian Heywood spent $7 million of his own money to fund signature gathering. He and his supporters argue the carbon market hiked costs for residents, including record-high Washington state gasoline prices last year.
“It hit everyone in their pocketbook right away,” Heywood said earlier this year about the carbon market. “People were [already] hurting, and we suddenly vaulted to the top of the most expensive gas in the nation.”
