The following op-ed was jointly authored by Rep. Fitzgibbon and NY Assembly member Emily Gallagher. It was published by Gannett/USA Today on April 14, 2026.
NY can learn from Washington State’s Cap and Invest policy
It’s not every day that state legislators from Washington and New York get to collaborate on policy, but we connected in the aftermath of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s announcement that she intends to roll back New York’s climate law and delay implementation of our Cap and Invest program.
Here in New York, the conversations around Cap and Invest have focused on how difficult it will be to implement under current conditions, but Washington has had a Cap and Invest program in effect for over three years. It has raised $4.2 billion to fund essential programs. Furthermore, it prevailed by overwhelming margins when a ballot measure sought to overturn it, and it’s now on track to link up with programs in other states to expand its impact. There are some lessons from the fight in Washington that we can apply here in New York.
What can New York state learn from Washington state?
Washington passed our Cap and Invest program in 2021, and we implemented it in 2023. Our state’s largest emitters — businesses spewing 25,000 tonnes or more of CO2 or its equivalent each year — are required to participate in quarterly auctions to purchase their emission allowances. The price of carbon fluctuates, but it’s controlled with a price floor and ceiling, both of which will eventually rise with inflation. We initially exempted certain essential industries from participation and those exemptions will phase out over time.
Washington is investing the $4.2 billion raised from the program in improvements that our constituents feel in their daily lives. We’re providing rebates for low-income residents and small businesses to install heat pumps. We’re improving the bikeability and walkability of our communities and investing in cleaner, cheaper transit options like the electrification of our ferry system. We’re paying for green school upgrades, like HVAC upgrades and air purifiers, which make our students safer and save our state money in the long run. We’re restoring critical river and forest habitats, while supporting local fisheries and foresters.
These investments are deeply popular. In 2024, Washingtonians rejected a ballot measure that sought to overturn the program by a remarkable 24-point margin. In contrast, Washington’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate that year won by just an 11-point margin — less than half of the support that Cap and Invest received. People voted to keep this program, not because it aligns with their politics, but because they are experiencing the benefits. We’re currently in the process of linking our program with California and Quebec, which will allow us to further bring down costs and deliver cleaner air across the region.
Critically, our success here is largely due to the broad and diverse coalition we built to fight for the program. A 2024 analysis of Washington’s Climate Commitment Act by Greenline Insights and Clean & Prosperous Institute projected that the program would create 45,000 jobs and generate $9.1 billion in economic impact, and these benefits brought together a broad, diverse coalition that only grew stronger over time. Labor unions like the WA Building Trades Council understood that these projects would deliver good union jobs, while unions like SEIU and the WA Education Association were motivated by the improvements to schools and workplaces. Local businesses and tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon saw the logic of a Cap and Invest program and understood the need for strong climate action.
Communities of color came out in force for the proposal, as they often bear the brunt of environmental racism which has resulted in increased levels of pollution and health conditions. Given the disproportionate harm these communities have faced, we ensured that they would explicitly benefit from the program. Our program mandates that at least 35 percent of funds are invested in projects that benefit overburdened communities, and at least 10 percent of revenues benefit projects with Tribal support.
All of this was bolstered by the strong support from our governor at the time, Jay Inslee. Inslee had a clear vision for what Washington would do once we realized the “invest” piece of Cap and Invest, and he used his platform to ensure that everyday Washingtonians could envision that too. He deeply understood the need for robust climate action, and his leadership allowed us to continue moving forward through moments of indecision and conflict.
How can Cap and Invest succeed in New York?
Here in New York, our program will inherently look different from Washington’s, but we should be able to replicate the benefits and the strong support it will generate. New York has a nation-leading climate law, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. We also have a Scoping Plan, which lays out how a Cap and Invest program might help us to achieve the strong goals outlined in our landmark law. All that’s needed is to release the regulations, move forward to implement the program and begin investing in New Yorkers.
The truth is that Cap and Invest works, and is popular because of it. Like Washington, New York can implement a successful Cap and Invest program and reinvest billions into communities around the state while fighting air pollution and climate change. The more states implement such a program, our collective impact becomes exponentially greater. And as the planet continues to warm while the price of fuel skyrockets, we cannot afford not to.
Joe Fitzgibbon is Washington House Majority Leader and Emily Gallagher is a New York Assemblymember.
Link: https://www.lohud.com/story/opinion/2026/04/14/ny-cap-and-invest-climate-policy/89558368007/