Carbon Tax Moves Closer To Washington Ballot

Campaigners for a carbon tax delivered signatures to the Washington Secretary of State Wednesday, right before the year-end deadline. Their ballot initiative aims to cut the state's sales tax and business and occupations tax and replace the lost revenue with a tax on the carbon dioxide emissions that are changing the planet's climate.

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The measure to impose new taxes on fossil fuels almost didn't make it this far, but not for lack of signatures.

Just last week, the Carbon Washington campaign was debating whether to turn in signatures at all.

Their initiative was opposed by some of the state's biggest environmental groups. Business groups also showed little interest. Poll results suggested that the carbon tax would have a hard time getting approved by the state's voters.

But they decided to forge ahead.

Yoram Bauman is the founder of Carbon Washington.

Bauman: "It's going to be a little bit of an uphill battle but the future of planet is at stake, and we have a policy that's proven to be successful up in British Columbia, where they've had it for more than six years."

Once the signatures are certified, the carbon tax goes before the state Legislature. If the Legislature doesn't pass it, Washington voters get to decide in November.