Week Fourteen
Week 14 is now complete and Monday April 19th marks the 99th day of the 2021 105-day legislative session. This week was filled with concurrence votes, bill signings, budget negotiations and a few committee hearings. To view bills that have been signed by the Governor click here. To watch a summary of the highlights from this week click here.
Transportation package negotiations continued to move forward this week. On Tuesday, Senator Hobbs, Chair of the Transportation Committee, held a public hearing on all three of his bills related to a transportation package: SB 5481 – Authorizing bonds for transportation funding, SB 5482 – Concerning additive transportation funding and appropriations, and SB 5483 – Concerning transportation funding. On Thursday the committee took executive action on all three bills and they are now in Senate Rules.
There was movement this week on another bill linked to transportation this week, Senator Reuven Carlyle’s Cap and Invest proposal SB 5216 was heard and passed out of the House Environment and Energy Committee. The bill is scheduled to be heard and passed out of the House Appropriations Committee next week.
This week the Senate passed SB 5476 to address the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of State v. Blake. In this case the Washington State Supreme Court struck down the state statute that made possession of controlled substances a class C felony, removing any state criminal penalties for possession. The original bill removed any criminal penalty for possession however there were amendments adopted on the floor that would make knowing possession of controlled substances a gross misdemeanor and mandate that jurisdictions provide treatment options. The bill has now been sent to the House for further consideration.
The final week of session will include more concurrence votes, conference committees, and the release of the final budget. The session is scheduled to conclude on Sunday, April 25th.
Important Dates:
Feb 15 – House of Origin Policy Cutoff
Feb 22 – House of Origin Fiscal Cutoff
March 9 – House of Origin Floor Cutoff
March 26 – Opposite House Policy Cutoff
April 2 – Opposite House Fiscal Cutoff April 11 – Opposite House Floor Cutoff April 25 – Sine Die
The Cap & Invest legislation brought forth by Senator Carlyle, SB 5126, was heard in the House Environment & Energy committee on Thursday, April 14th, and saw executive action on Friday, April 16th. Multiple changes were made that will likely complicate this legislation including several provisions related to criteria pollutants. The bill will now move to the House Appropriations committee for public hearing on Monday, April 19th, with executive action scheduled for Tuesday, April 20th.
The Low Carbon Fuel Standard (HB 1091) has returned to the House for concurrence. The House is expected to not concur with the Senate changes which will cause the bill to go to a conference committee.
Decarbonization of buildings legislation brought forward by Representative Ramel HB 1084 remains in the House Appropriations Committee and is unlikely to move forward this year. The HEAL Act legislation sponsored by Senator Saldana, SB 5141, passed the House and now returns to the Senate for a concurrence vote.
We continue to monitor both HB 1513 and HB 1534, concerning a proposed carbon tax and bond legislative package. These bills, brought forth by Representatives Lekanoff and Shewmake, are not subject to cutoffs but have yet to see any activity in the House.
Legislation sponsored by Representative Ramel, HB 1280, remains on the Senate floor calendar and is unlikely to move forward this session. This proposal would set requirements for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in public facilities design.
Sponsored by Representative Shewmake, HB 1393, related to delaying the stewardship plan and annual report for solar panel manufacturers, was signed into law by Governor Inslee on Wednesday, April 14th, and is effective July 25, 2021.
We expect to see capital budget final numbers sometime by mid-week, and continue to push towards the House level of clean energy funding.
Clean Tech Alliance Bill Status & Upcoming Events Report
Upcoming Events
Appropriations (House) – Virtual, – 4/19 @ 9:00am
- E2SSB 5126 – Public Hearing – Concerning the Washington climate commitment act. (Remote testimony.) (If measure is referred to committee.)
Appropriations (House) – Virtual, – 4/20 @ 9:00am
- E2SSB 5126 – Exec Session – Concerning the Washington climate commitment act. (If measure is referred to committee.)
| Bill # | Abbrev. Title | Short Description | Status | Sponsor |
| HB 1036 (Dead) | Transportation fuel/carbon | Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the carbon intensity of transportation fuel. | H Env & Energy | Fitzgibbon |
| HB 1046 (Dead) | Community solar programs | Concerning community solar programs. | H Env & Energy | Bateman |
| E2SHB 1050 | Fluorinated gases | Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from fluorinated gases. | H Spkr Signed | Fitzgibbon |
| SHB 1080 (ESSB 5083) | Capital budget 2021-2023 | Concerning the capital budget. | S Held | Tharinger |
| SHB 1081 (SSB 5084) | State gen. obligation bonds | Concerning state general obligation bonds and related accounts. | H 2nd Reading | Tharinger |
| SHB 1084 (SB 5093) | Building decarbonization | Reducing statewide greenhouse gas emissions by achieving greater decarbonization of residential and commercial buildings. | H Approps | Ramel |
| E3SHB 1091 (SB 5231) | Transportation fuel/carbon | Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the carbon intensity of transportation fuel. | S Passed 3rd | Fitzgibbon |
| HB 1093 (SB 5091) | Operating budget, 2nd supp. | Making 2019-2021 fiscal biennium second supplemental operating appropriations. | H Approps | Ormsby |
| SHB 1094 (ESSB 5092) | Operating budget | Making 2021-2023 fiscal biennium operating appropriations. | H Rules R | Ormsby |
| SHB 1103 (SB 5366) | Building materials | Improving environmental and social outcomes with the production of building materials. | H Approps | Duerr |
| HB 1125 | Energy investments | Incentivizing investment in energy conservation and efficiency measures and expanding opportunities for energy rate discounts to, among other objectives, reduce the energy burden of low-income customers and vulnerable populations. | H Env & Energy | Shewmake |
| HB 1130 | Energy supply/consumers | Concerning consumer affordability and reliability in energy supply. | H Env & Energy | Dye |
| SHB 1135 (SSB 5165) | Transp. budget 2021-2023 | Making transportation appropriations for the 2021-2023 fiscal biennium. | H Rules R | Fey |
| SHB 1204 (SB 5256) | Transp. electrification | Concerning the electrification of transportation. | H Rules R | Macri |
| HB 1280 | Greenhouse gas/facilities | Concerning greenhouse gas emissions reductions in the design of public facilities. | S 2nd Reading | Ramel |
| HB 1393 | Photovoltaic module program | Delaying certain implementation dates for the photovoltaic module stewardship and takeback program. | C 45 L 21 | Shewmake |
| SHB 1406 (SB 5426) | Wealth tax | Improving the equity of Washington state’s tax code by creating the Washington state wealth tax and taxing extraordinary financial intangible assets. | H Approps | Frame |
| HB 1513 | Carbon emissions | Improving environmental health by reducing carbon emissions through increasing climate resilience and mitigating the effects of climate change by levying a carbon pollution tax, authorizing a climate finance bond program, and investing in clean economic growth. | H Env & Energy | Lekanoff |
| HB 1534 | Carbon pollution tax | Establishing a carbon pollution tax that recognizes the nature of energy-intensive, trade-exposed industries. | H Env & Energy | Shewmake |
| ESSB 5083 (SHB 1080) | Capital budget 2021-2023 | Concerning the capital budget. | H Rules | Frockt |
| SSB 5084 (SHB 1081) | State gen. obligation bonds | Concerning state general obligation bonds and related accounts. | S 2nd Reading | Frockt |
| SB 5091 (HB 1093) | Operating budget, 2nd supp. | Making 2019-2021 fiscal biennium second supplemental operating appropriations. | S Ways & Means | Rolfes |
| ESSB 5092 (SHB 1094) | Operating budget | Making 2021-2023 fiscal biennium operating appropriations. | S Conf appt | Rolfes |
| SB 5093 (SHB 1084) | Building decarbonization | Reducing statewide greenhouse gas emissions by achieving greater decarbonization of residential and commercial buildings. | S Environment, E | Liias |
| E2SSB 5126 | Climate commitment act | Concerning the Washington climate commitment act. | H Exec Action | Carlyle |
| SSB 5165 (SHB 1135) | Transp. budget 2021-2023 | Making transportation appropriations for the 2021-2023 fiscal biennium. | S Conf appt | Hobbs |
| SB 5168 | Electric utility advisory | Concerning renewable and nonemitting resources analysis and advisory opinions. | S Environment, E | Short |
| SSB 5174 | Wind turbine blade recycling | Providing for the recycling of wind turbine blades. | S Rules X | Wilson |
| SB 5206 | Energy facility evaluation | Eliminating expedited processing of an alternative energy resource facility fueled by solar energy on certain designated lands before the energy facility site evaluation council. | S Environment, E | Warnick |
| SB 5231 (E3SHB 1091) | Transportation fuel/carbon | Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the carbon intensity of transportation fuel. | S Environment, E | Stanford |
| SB 5244 | Nuclear reactor production | Encouraging the production of advanced nuclear reactors, small modular reactors, and components through the invest in Washington act. | S Environment, E | Brown |
| SB 5256 (SHB 1204) | Transp. electrification | Concerning the electrification of transportation. | S Environment, E | Liias |
| SB 5308 | Hybrid vehicle fees | Reducing certain transportation electrification fees on hybrid vehicles. | S Transportation | Short |
| SB 5373 | Carbon pollution | Concerning carbon pollution. | S Environment, E | Lovelett |
| SB 5415 | Energy facil site eval cncl | Concerning the energy facility site evaluation council. | S Environment, E | Lovelett |