Schmick calls Democrat efforts to regulate ‘bovine flatulence’ a further attack on ranchers and farmers

“I’m calling this ‘the tax on your burger and shake’ bill,” says Schmick

New legislation introduced in Olympia this week could potentially increase the costs of beef, cheese, milk, and other dairy products, says Rep. Joe Schmick, R-Colfax.

House Bill 1630 would require dairy farms and feed lots to report annually to the Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE) their total metric tons of methane emitted in the preceding calendar year. If they find sufficient methane equivalent to 25,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions, these facilities would likely need to come under the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) as officially covered entities.

“I’m calling this the ‘tax on your burger and shake’ bill,” said Schmick. “This is another unwarranted and unreasonable attack on our agriculture industry. This can potentially increase costs for the All-American diet staples like beef, milk and cheese. They might as well throw in a tax on apple pie while they’re at it.”

Schmick explained that one ton of methane emissions is considered equivalent to 28 tons of carbon dioxide. This means fewer than 1,000 tons of methane emissions in a year would cause a feedlot or dairy to be covered under the CCA.

Being covered by the CCA, says Schmick, requires the owner or operator of the facility to compete with other covered entities, including multinational corporations, for allowable emissions. This costly purchasing of allowances for compliance would drive up the cost of milk, cheese and meat. It’s a hidden tax on the consumer, he says, and another cost for dairies and growers that raise cattle.

“It’s an out-of-touch bill, and it’s anti-affordability. I’ve heard a lot about this from my constituents,” said Schmick, a former second-generation farmer and small-business owner. “Affordability for day-to-day life is just so darn expensive. State government should be looking at ways to ease the financial burden on our citizens, not add to the price of groceries.”

Schmick also pointed out the duality of DOE trying to track livestock emissions when it couldn’t keep its promise – and legal obligation – to exempt farm fuel from the CCA, as was agreed upon by former Gov. Jay Inslee and the ruling party in Olympia.

“The department couldn’t implement the farm fuel exemption because they said it was too hard,” said Schmick, whose 9th Legislative District contains vast agriculture products, including large and small producers. “Yet they now want to track bovine flatulence? Skepticism about the DOE is at an all-time high in my region.

Schmick said concerned citizens and those in the agriculture industry need to contact elected officials to stop the proposal in its tracks early before it gains steam and rolls through the legislative process.

Currently, HB 1630 is in the House Environment and Energy Committee.

“We need farmers and ranchers to get loud! Their voices need to be heard. You can call the legislative hotline at 1-800-562-6000 or go to leg.wa.gov and find the committee chair, assistant chair, and ranking member,” said Schmick. “Inundate them with phone calls, written testimony, or remote testimony. This is the type of bill that sneaks up on you. There is no fanfare from the other side at the moment, no real momentum. But that changes real quick if there is no opposition. We need folks back home and all around the state to push back on this.”

The 105-day 2025 legislative session ends on April 27.

Further information on Washington’s Affordability Crisis:

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Washington State House Republican Communications
houserepublicans.wa.gov