Warnick and Manweller sponsor bill

OLYMPIA - Thirteenth District Reps. Judy Warnick and Matt Manweller have co-sponsored House Bill 2671 to clarify Washington's intention to welcome innovative employers into the state.

One of those is SGL/BMW of Moses Lake, in the 13th District. It is involved in the production of BMWs latest electric cars.

The proposal would change current law defining electric vehicles as those "directly" powered, instead of "exclusively" powered, by a clean alternative fuel. The bill also specifies that "directly powered" does not include auxiliary sources of power used to regenerate a battery that acts as a direct source of power to a drive train.

According to Warnick, of Moses Lake, this change would ensure that buyers of the BMW vehicle, partially made in Washington, would qualify for a sales tax exemption.

According to Manweller, BMW was told its latest electric car, the i3, would not qualify as a purely electric vehicle in California. California said the vehicle's optional "range extender," which provides a 2.4-gallon gas tank as a backup in case electric power is reduced to less than five percent, meant it was not purely electric.

This setback meant drivers of the i3 would not qualify for carpool lane access in California or for the state's $2,500 tax rebate, hurting BMW's ability to compete effectively in the clean vehicle market.

When Washington lawmakers looked into it, they were told by the Department of Revenue that the i3 vehicles would not be classified for a sales tax exemption in Washington either because the vehicle would not be "exclusively powered" by electricity if power was used from the optional onboard generator.

"SGL in Moses Lake provides dozens of jobs for people in our area to make carbon fiber for BMW's lightweight electric cars. We appreciate them and other employers for locating in Central Washington to provide manufacturing jobs," Warnick said.

"I am supporting this legislation because it ensures the state is fair to employers who have taken a chance in Washington based on certain assumptions," she added. "We need to support products that are made in Washington, from apples to carbon fiber, and this legislation is one way we ensure this kind of manufacturing continues."

SGL recently announced its expansion with two new production lines. Every BMW i3 made includes carbon fiber manufactured at the Moses Lake plant.

"I hope this bill is the first step in making Washington the preeminent carbon fiber producer in the world," Manweller said. "If Washington could become the Silicon Valley of carbon fiber, we would be leaving a high tech legacy to our children for generations to come."

According to Warnick and Manweller, the legislation has bipartisan support and was referred to the House Finance Committee for consideration.