We are now eight weeks into session and only five days remain of the regularly scheduled 60 day session. Two important cutoffs occured this week. Legislators worked late Monday night to pass bills with budgetary impacts out of their opposite-house fiscal committee by Monday’s deadline. Following that, action turned to the House and Senate floors where both chambers churned through bills until the last bills were read-in at 5:00 pm on Friday, the notable opposite-house cutoff. At this point, all indications suggest that the session will adjourn “sine die” as scheduled next Thursday.
For
the last days of sessions, legislators will work through concurrence votes;
this is where bills that have been amended in the Opposite House return to the
House of Origin for a final vote. If the House of Origin does not concur with
the changes, the Opposite House can choose to either recede from their
amendments or force the legislation to a “conference committee” where key
legislators negotiate a final product. If they are unable to reach a place of
agreement, the bill may die. Once bills are concurred or an agreement is
produced in conference committee, they then move to the Governor’s desk where
he has 5 days to sign, veto or partially veto the legislation.
The
other main focus of these final days is passing the 2020 supplemental budgets.
Budget writers have been engaged in closed door negotiations since the budgets
were passed out of both chambers late last week and early this week. We expect
to see the final negotiated budgets sometime early next week.
Controversial votes that happened this week included a late-night Wednesday vote in the House on a bill related to “comprehensive” sex education and a late Thursday night vote in the Senate on a bill to give Washington tribes the exclusive right to pursue sports wagering in tribal casinos. Just prior to Friday’s cutoff, high-profile bills related to facial recognition and data privacy went to the House floor. The data privacy legislation was the final bill before the cut off in the House. The Speaker read in the bill at 5:00 PM and then both chambers broke for caucus, they returned hours later and then engaged in nearly three hours of floor debate before ultimately passing the bill 51-46.
Also this week, the legislature saw growing concern and action around the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in Washington State. The chambers unanimously passed an emergency funding measure for COVID-19 response (HB 2965), making transfers of $100 million from the state’s rainy day fund to the disaster response account to support state and local government response efforts to help stop the spread of the disease. This is expected to be signed into law by Governor Inslee sometime next week. There are also growing concerns about the economic impact of COVID-19, especially on small businesses. The legislature is considering ways to mitigate these impacts.
The new Clean Air Rule bill that was introduced last week, SHB 2957, had a flurry of activity on Monday of this week. A substitute bill was released just prior to the bill’s hearing that makes a number of changes. Watch testimony on the bill in the House Appropriations committee here. The substitute was then voted out of committee on party lines and has remained in the House Rules committee since then. While it is exempt from normal cutoffs due to its fiscal impacts, it is unclear if there is enough momentum at this point to carry it to the finish line by next Thursday.
The LCFS legislation, ESHB 1110, had a hearing on Monday in the Senate Transportation committee. Testimony took over four hours, much of which was opposition from dozens of log and other truck drivers that flooded the capitol campus all day Monday. This legislation too is exempt from cutoffs, but appears unlikely to pass at this point.
Upcoming Events
Ways & Means (Senate) – SHR 4, JACB – 3/9 @ 3:30pm
- SHB 2486 – Public Hearing – Extending the electric marine battery incentive. (If measure is referred to committee.)
Monitoring Bills
| Bill # | Abbrev. Title | Short Description | Status | Sponsor | Position |
| E2SHB 1110 (SB 5412) | Greenhouse gas/transp. fuels | Reducing the greenhouse gas emissions associated with transportation fuels. | S Transportation | Fitzgibbon | |
| E2SHB 2311 (SB 6272) | Greenhouse gas emissions | Amending state greenhouse gas emission limits for consistency with the most recent assessment of climate change science. | H Spkr Signed | Slatter | |
| ESHB 2322 (SSB 6497) | Transp. budget, supplemental | Making supplemental transportation appropriations for the 2019-2021 fiscal biennium. | S Passed 3rd | Fey | |
| SHB 2324 (ESSB 6248) | Capital budget, supplemental | Concerning the capital budget. | H Rules R | Tharinger | |
| SHB 2325 (ESSB 6168) | Operating budget, supplement | Making 2019-2021 fiscal biennium supplemental operating appropriations. | H Rules R | Ormsby | |
| SHB 2892 | Greenhouse gas emissions | Authorizing the department of ecology to regulate greenhouse gas emissions associated with persons who produce or distribute fossil fuel products that emit greenhouse gases in Washington. | H Approps | Fitzgibbon | |
| SHB 2957 | Greenhouse gases/indirect | Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by providing authority for the regulation of indirect sources under the clean air act and implementing standards and programs that reduce emissions associated with buildings. | H Rules R | Fitzgibbon | |
| SB 5108 (Inactive) (HB 1070) | Natural gas tax treatment | Concerning the tax treatment of renewable natural gas. | S Environment, E | King | |
| SB 5153 (Inactive) (ESHB 1109) | Operating budget 2019-2021 | Making 2019-2021 biennium operating appropriations. | S Ways & Means | Rolfes | |
| SB 5811 (HB 1999) | Clean car standards & prog. | Reducing emissions by making changes to the clean car standards and clean car program. | H Passed 3rd | Nguyen | |
| SB 5980 (Inactive) | Greenhouse gas emissions TO | Relating to greenhouse gas emissions. | S Environment, E | Carlyle | |
| SB 5981 (Inactive) | Greenhouse gas cap and trade | Implementing a greenhouse gas emissions cap and trade program. | S Environment, E | Carlyle | |
| SB 6000 (Inactive) | Gen. obligation bonds T.O. | Relating to state general obligation bonds and related accounts. | S Ways & Means | Frockt | |
| SB 6001 (Inactive) | Capital budget T.O. | Relating to the capital budget. | S Ways & Means | Frockt | |
| SB 6002 (Inactive) | Capital budget T.O. | Relating to the capital budget. | S Ways & Means | Frockt | |
| SB 6003 (Inactive) | State government T.O. | Relating to state government. | S Ways & Means | Rolfes | |
| SB 6005 (Inactive) | Revenue T.O. | Relating to revenue. | S Ways & Means | Rolfes | |
| SB 6006 (Inactive) | Education T.O. | Relating to education. | S Ways & Means | Rolfes | |
| SSB 6135 | System reliability/energy | Concerning system reliability under the clean energy transformation act. | H Passed 3rd | Sheldon | |
| ESSB 6168 (SHB 2325) | Operating budget, supplement | Making 2019-2021 fiscal biennium supplemental operating appropriations. | S Conf appt | Rolfes | |
| ESSB 6248 (SHB 2324) | Capital budget, supplemental | Concerning the capital budget. | H 2nd Reading | Frockt |
Dead Bills
| Bill # | Abbrev. Title | Short Description | Status | Sponsor | Position |
| SHB 1113 (Inactive) | Greenhouse emission limits | Amending state greenhouse gas emission limits for consistency with the most recent assessment of climate change science and with the United States’ commitment under the 2015 Paris climate agreement. | H Approps | Slatter | |
| HB 1127 (Inactive) | Transp. electrification | Concerning the electrification of transportation. | H Env & Energy | Morris | |
| HB 1128 (Inactive) | Electric & nat gas companies | Authorizing an alternative form of regulation of electrical and natural gas companies. | H Env & Energy | Morris | |
| HB 1129 (Inactive) | Customer-sited electricity | Concerning customer-sited electricity generation. | H Env & Energy | Morris | |
| 2SHB 1211 (Inactive) (E2SSB 5116) | Clean energy | Supporting Washington’s clean energy economy and transitioning to a clean, affordable, and reliable energy future. | H Approps | Tarleton | |
| SHB 1226 (Inactive) | Clean energy | Encouraging investment in and reducing the costs of transitioning to the clean energy future. | H Finance | DeBolt | |
| HB 1397 (Inactive) | Electric aircraft | Encouraging the use of electric or hybrid-electric aircraft for regional air travel. | H Rules X | Slatter | |
| SHB 1642 (Inactive) | On-bill repayment programs | Allowing the energy savings associated with on-bill repayment programs to count toward a qualifying utility’s energy conservation targets under the energy independence act. | H Rules C | Doglio | |
| HB 1664 (Inactive) (2SSB 5336) | Electric transportation | Advancing electric transportation. | H Env & Energy | Slatter | |
| SHB 1796 (SB 5730) | Comm. property/clean energy | Concerning commercial property assessed clean energy and resilience. | H Local Govt | Doglio | |
| SHB 1832 (Inactive) | Public vehicle fleet | Concerning the electrification of the Washington public vehicle fleet. | H Trans | Macri | |
| HB 1862 (Inactive) (E2SSB 5223) | Electrical net metering | Concerning net metering. | H Env & Energy | Mead | |
| HB 1984 (Inactive) | Ag competitiveness/emissions | Ensuring that attempts to limit greenhouse gas emissions in Washington state do not make Washington’s agricultural products and food processing businesses economically uncompetitive, thereby shifting emissions to jurisdictions without similar greenhouse gas policies. | H Env & Energy | Maycumber | |
| HB 2079 (Inactive) (SSB 5936) | Industrial symbioses | Concerning use of industrial waste through industrial symbioses. | H Env & Energy | Doglio | |
| SHB 2156 (Inactive) | Taxes on asset sales, profit | Investing in quality prekindergarten, K-12, and postsecondary opportunities throughout Washington with excise taxes on sales and extraordinary profits of high valued assets. | H Rules X | Jinkins | |
| 2SHB 2157 (Inactive) | Tax structure | Updating the Washington tax structure to address the needs of Washingtonians. | H Rules X | Tarleton | |
| ESHB 2248 (SB 6223) | Community solar projects | Expanding equitable access to the benefits of renewable energy through community solar projects. | S Ways & Means | Doglio | |
| SHB 2486 (SB 6318) | Electric marine batteries | Extending the electric marine battery incentive. | H Approps | Lekanoff | |
| HB 2495 | Energy recovery facilities | Concerning the use of electricity from energy recovery facilities using municipal solid waste under the Washington clean energy transformation act. | H Env & Energy | Shewmake | |
| HB 2515 | Transp. electrification | Concerning the electrification of transportation. | H Trans | Macri | |
| SHB 2586 (SB 6496) | Electrification | Concerning the electrification of homes and buildings. | H Rules C | Ramel | |
| HB 2652 | Renewable ammonia | Concerning renewable ammonia. | H RDev, Ag&NR | Doglio | |
| HB 2756 | Metering infrastructure | Concerning advanced metering infrastructure. | H Env & Energy | Shea | |
| 2SSB 5115 (Inactive) (2SHB 1444) | Appliance efficiency | Concerning appliance efficiency standards. | S Rules X | Carlyle | |
| SB 5118 (Inactive) | Self-generated electricity | Concerning the right to consume self-generated electricity. | S Rules X | Palumbo | |
| SSB 5134 (SHB 1102) | Capital budget 2019-2021 | Concerning the capital budget. | S Rules X | Frockt | |
| 2SSB 5293 (Inactive) (E3SHB 1257) | Energy efficiency | Concerning energy efficiency. | S Rules X | Carlyle | |
| 2SSB 5336 (Inactive) (HB 1664) | Electric transportation | Advancing electric transportation. | S Ways & Means | Palumbo | |
| SB 5412 (Inactive) (E2SHB 1110) | Greenhouse gas/transp. fuels | Reducing the greenhouse gas emissions associated with transportation fuels. | S Environment, E | Saldaña | |
| SB 5629 (Inactive) | Small modular reactors | Promoting small modular reactors in Washington. | S Environment, E | Brown | |
| SB 5730 (Inactive) (SHB 1796) | Comm. property/clean energy | Concerning commercial property assessed clean energy and resilience. | S Environment, E | Palumbo | |
| SSB 5936 (Inactive) (HB 2079) | Industrial symbioses | Concerning use of industrial waste through industrial symbioses. | S Rules X | Brown | |
| SB 6222 (E2SHB 2405) | Comm. property/clean energy | Concerning commercial property assessed clean energy and resilience. | S Environment, E | Lovelett | |
| SB 6223 (ESHB 2248) | Community solar projects | Expanding equitable access to the benefits of renewable energy through community solar projects. | S Environment, E | Lovelett | |
| SB 6272 (E2SHB 2311) | Greenhouse gas emissions | Amending state greenhouse gas emission limits for consistency with the most recent assessment of climate change science. | S Environment, E | Das | |
| SB 6318 (SHB 2486) | Electric marine batteries | Extending the electric marine battery incentive. | S Transportation | Liias | |
| SB 6496 (SHB 2586) | Electrification | Concerning the electrification of homes and buildings. | S Environment, E | Lovelett | |
| SSB 6628 | Greenhouse gas/fossil fuels | Concerning emissions of greenhouse gases. | S Rules 2 | Carlyle |