-Source-Bloomberg- Voters in Washington state will go to the polls Nov. 6 to decide whether or not they want to impose a first-of-its-kind fee" on carbon emissions. Ballot initiative 1631 marks the second time the state will vote to put a cost on emissions. A prior effort labeled a carbon tax failed when it was on the ballot two years ago. Washington to Decide on First-of-Its-Kind U.S. Carbon Fee Proponents including Democratic Governor Jay Inslee and Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates are hoping the new proposal -- which the state estimates would raise $2.3 billion for clean-energy investment by 2025 -- will win more backing. If passed it would be the first effort of its kind enacted by referendum anywhere in the world making the state a global leader in climate policy at the same time the Trump administration is reversing some federal measures. If it passes it would encourage carbon-tax supporters in other states -- as a matter of political reality this means blue states -- to pursue analogous referendums" said Pavel Molchanov an analyst at Raymond James & Associates in Houston said in an email. Because Washington is already one of the cleanest U.S. states in terms of greenhouse gases a carbon fee would be less of a burden for households there than in other places according to Neelesh Nerurkar vice president with the Washington-based research firm ClearView Energy Partners LLC. Fifty percent of registered voters support the measure with 36 percent opposed and 14 percent undecided according to a poll conducted Oct. 4 to Oct. 9 by Elway Research and Crosscut an online news provider. The margin of error is 5 percent.
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