Legislative Half-time Report: Progress on our Priorities so far
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March 8th marked the halfway point for the 2023 state legislative session, and with it came an important deadline. Policy bills had to be voted out of their chamber of origin (either the House or Senate) to continue in the legislative process - unless it is considered necessary to implement the budget. It’s been an encouraging first half: all of our top priority bills have made it through this significant milestone.
We are heading into the second half of session in high spirits, grateful for the hard work and collaboration of partners across Washington. The remaining weeks will be critical as we support our top-priority bills in the opposite chamber.
Another top focus for us this year is the state budgets and how Climate Commitment Act dollars are invested. The House and Senate will soon release their budget proposals – stay tuned for future blog posts where we can dig into that. For now, let’s check in on where our top priority bills are at.
our top priority bills
Climate-smart planning for a resilient future
TNC Staff David, Emily and Skippy recently visited Olympia for meetings with lawmakers.
© Hannah Letinich 2023
HB 1181 and HB 1170 have both made it through the House, and are now working their way through the Senate. Both bills provide greater planning tools and agency alignment on climate resiliency, which is critical for preparing our communities for increasing extreme weather events and responding in the aftermath of climate disasters.
HB 1170 would direct the Department of Ecology to update Washington’s state-level climate response strategy, and provide recommendations for the Governor and Legislature on strengthening our climate resiliency.
HB 1181, updating the Growth Management Act (GMA) to include climate change, has been a priority for environmental partners for the last three years, and partners have done an incredible job keeping the momentum up – we cannot wait another year for this important update.
Clean energy siting & development
We’re supporting two bills that will move us closer to the clean, affordable, and connected energy grid necessary to tackle climate change while better balancing the impacts on communities – HB 1216 and SB 5165.
Washington is seeing a large influx of proposals for solar and other clean energy development projects, and only more will come. SB 1216 will increase coordination across relevant state agencies, require proactive analysis of potential impacts and benefits of wind, solar, battery storage, and hydrogen projects, and creates a designation process for “clean energy projects of statewide significance” and “fully coordinated permit process for clean energy projects.” The proposal seeks to enhance opportunities for Tribes, overburdened communities, and rural communities to raise and address concerns with clean energy development projects early.
Our priority is supporting a sufficient scale-up of clean energy development, while carefully considering the impacts on critical wildlife habitat, natural and working lands, and cultural resources – mitigating impacts wherever possible.
As clean energy generation grows, so too must transmission and distribution capacity, ensuring utility services are reliable and affordable, and efficient across the state. To this end, SB 5165 requires transmission planners to extend their planning horizon, to better anticipate long-term needs. For the first time, transmission planning would need to put more variable electricity resources, like some renewables, on more equal footing with “firm” electricity resources (a firm source is considered the highest quality transmission with the lowest chance of interrupted service), a key barrier to the implementation of clean energy.
ADDITIONAL BILLS WE’RE SUPPORTING
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT - WASHINGTON CLIMATE CORP NETWORK
We’re enthusiastic about HB 1176, which establishes a Washington Climate Corps Network to support climate-related service opportunities for young adults and veterans. Transitioning to a clean energy economy brings with it exciting opportunities for job creation, and this bill would establish an advisory committee on opportunities to expand this workforce.
conserving forest land through the trust land transfer
The Trust Land Transfer tool is used by DNR to identify state trust lands that either do not have productive timber lands or would underperform economically, and manage these lands for conservation, wildlife habitat, clean water, or recreational opportunities. HB 1460 has bipartisan support and would revitalize this tool all while ensuring the beneficiaries are made whole. When combined with funding, communities will have a stronger say in the future of state trust lands and open space, often near under-served or rapidly urbanizing areas.
community investments in wildfire preparedness
The increasing volatility of fire season and the new normal of a ‘smoke season’ has reinforced the urgency with which we must prepare for the threats of wildfire. Passed off the House floor unanimously on March 6th, HB 1578 delivers on a promise made in HB 1168 (2021 legislation that committed $125 million to strengthen wildfire response) to build community resilience to wildfire across the Evergreen State.
This bill improves community response, preparedness, and recovery from wildfire. Elements of this policy include expanding wildland-urban interface programming to the west side of our state, decadal assessments of wildfire risks, evacuation strategies, and response teams for burned area emergency stabilization. HB 1578 is a sound policy improvement and we were glad to see broad, bipartisan support for this in the House.
next up: the budget
In the coming weeks, the Washington State Legislature will be focused on budget decisions. The first auction generating revenue from the Climate Commitment Act’s cap and invest program occurred on February 28th, resulting in $300 million that will be invested in climate resiliency and emission reduction programs. The budget forecast will be released on March 20th, and House and Senate budgets released in the week after the forecast.
These next several weeks will be critical for keeping up momentum, and showing lawmakers that there is community support for these bills. Be sure you’re on our advocacy list so you don’t miss opportunities to take action!
Banner photo: Washington State Capitol, Olympia
© Hannah Letinich 2023
