We are fortunate to live in one of the most beautiful areas of the nation with our mountains, majestic forests, rivers, lakes and streams, and of course, Puget Sound.

Water quality is extremely important to Washington citizens. That is why voters approved Initiative Measure 97 in 1988. It created the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA), which is intended to fund clean-up of Puget Sound and other waterways through a tax of 0.7 percent on hazardous substances and petroleum products, such as gasoline, household cleaning products, insect repellant and commercial fertilizers.

Unfortunately, budget writers in the Legislature have discovered MTCA as a convenient cash cow to continue their unsustainable budget habits. Last year, lawmakers swept every last dime for Puget Sound cleanup from the MTCA accounts ($180 million) into the state’s general fund as they tried to close a $9.6 billion budget hole.

Now the state is facing another budget deficit. To close that $2.8 billion budget gap, the governor and lawmakers have proposed various tax increases, including raising the sales tax, eliminating tax exemptions, and extending taxes to candy and gum.

But one tax increase proposal flying under the radar screen is the most troubling.

House Bill 3181 would nearly triple the MTCA tax to 2 percent. This could raise the price of gasoline at the pumps by as much as 6 cents a gallon and have a tremendous impact against struggling employers and families. It would also mean higher prices for all products made from petroleum, including those found in the grocery store. It would directly increase the cost of agricultural products farmers must use and affect the price of food. Plus, it would be a huge tax increase to the state’s five oil refineries in Pierce, Skagit and Whatcom counties, some that have said they may close and move away from Washington, taking with them the thousands of family-wage jobs supported by this industry.

Equally troubling is the insidious way proponents are gathering support for this tax. They’re selling it to the public as a way to expand Puget Sound’s cleanup. In fact, they’re calling the legislation “The Clean Water Act of 2010.” Unfortunately, this $230 million tax increase has very little to do with clean water. It has everything to do with plugging holes in the state’s unsustainable general fund budget. That’s why the bill’s title is broadly written: “Funding cleanup of water pollution and other programs necessary for the health and well-being of Washington citizens … ”

Under the bill, the tax rate would increase May 1. More than 68 percent of the revenue collected would be deposited into the state’s general fund through July 2013. Less than 5 percent would be divided for Puget Sound cleanup and water quality improvements.

Simply put, the state’s general fund gets the bulk of the tax money. Yet many citizens are unaware.

During public testimony in the Capital Budget Committee, one citizen urged passage, saying, “This is perhaps one of the most important pieces of environmental legislation in the past 20 years. It’s essential for the cleanup of Puget Sound and other contaminated water bodies around the state.”

It’s disturbing that the wool is being pulled so far over the public’s eyes. House Bill 3181 is a classic bait-and-switch method of fooling citizens into thinking they will be getting one thing – the cleanup of Puget Sound – when in fact, it’s just another way for the state to dig deep into the pockets of taxpayers to plug the gaping holes in this and future budgets.

Considering that more than 334,000 people in Washington are out of work, many businesses are barely hanging on, and countless families are struggling to put food on the table, tripling the MTCA tax is an extremely bad proposal. It will not make Puget Sound any cleaner. What it will do is encourage continuation of lawmakers’ bad spending habits, put many more people out of work, create some of the highest gas prices in the nation, increase costs to farmers, and hurt everyone who will have to pay more for household products and food at the grocery store.

If you share my concerns, I invite you, your friends, family and neighbors to call the toll-free legislative hotline at 1-800-562-6000. Tell your legislators to stop House Bill 3181.

State Rep. Dan Roach, R-Bonney Lake, represents the 31st Legislative District and serves as ranking Republican on the House Transportation Committee. He can be contacted at 360-786-7846 or from his Web site at: www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/Roach.