Week of February 23, 2009
For the seventh year in a row, the environmental community will prepare weekly Hot Lists detailing positions on no more than ten of the highest priority issues being considered that week in the House and Senate.
If you are interested in receiving pdf version of the hotlist by Monday morning of each week, please email sudha (at) wcvoters.org.
HOUSE COMMITTEE ACTION
SHB 1165: Providing for the safe collection and disposal of unwanted drugs from residential sources. General Government Appropriations Committee: Possible executive session
POSITION: SUPPORT
•Reduces risks of accidental poisonings, drug diversion, and contamination of surface and ground water by requiring drug producers to provide residents with a secure and convenient statewide program for disposing unwanted and left-over prescriptions and over-the-counter medicines.
•Budget-neutral to the State. The drug producers set up and pay for the program, and a fee paid by the producers recovers agency oversight costs.
PSHB 1180: Regarding the use of bisphenol A.
General Government Appropriations Committee: Executive Sesssion
POSITION: SUPPORT
•The Safe Baby Bottle bill (HB 1180) protects children's health by banning the toxic chemical—bisphenol A (BPA)—in baby bottles, sippy cups and other food containers kids use.
•Wal-Mart, Toys ‘R’ Us, Whole Foods, and Safeway Stores have announced that they will stop stocking BPA containing products for babies. Nalgene, Camelbak, and Playtex and others have announced that they will stop making products with BPA. A small investment in prevention will help protect children's health and the environment for the future. The $47,000 for the 09-11 biennium is for the Department of Ecology and the Attorney General to enforce the ban. The funds would be taken from the state toxics account, which is a dedicated fund used for pollution prevention and cleanup.
SHB 1490: Reducing greenhouse gas emissions through land use
and transportation requirements. (a.k.a. Creating Transit Oriented
Communities; Rep. Sharon Nelson, Prime Sponsor).
General Government Appropriations Committee: Possible Public Hearing
POSITION: SUPPORT
•Washington State cannot afford to continue sprawling in a low density pattern. It is too costly for taxpayers to expand urban services to pave over the state’s rural and resource lands.
•The Transit-Oriented Communities bill incorporates climate change
consideration into land use and transportation planning, helping to
increase transportation choices, reduce traffic congestion, save
taxpayer dollars, and significantly reduce the state's greenhouse gas
emissions. The bill has no immediate fiscal impact to the state.
SHB 1614: Reducing the amount of petroleum pollution in stormwater (a.k.a. Invest in Clean Water; Rep. Ormsby, Prime Sponsor).
Capital Budget: Hearing and Possible Executive Session.
POSITION: SUPPORT
•One of four environmental priorities for 2009, this bill would provide a solution to part of the State's budget crisis by raising $100 million in new funds that can be used for water quality infrastructure and to offset over $35 million originally allocated for stormwater projects in the Governor's proposed budget.
•This bill is carefully crafted as a fee (not a tax) on petroleum
products that contribute to stormwater pollution. This polluter-pays
approach would provide new money for jobs and would relieve financial
pressure on cash-strapped local governments which are obligated under
federal law to fund stormwater mitigation projects.
HB 1747: Reducing climate pollution in the built environment (a.k.a. Efficiency First; Rep. Rolfes, Prime Sponsor). Ways and Means Committee: Possible Public Hearing
POSITION: SUPPORT
•Supported by AIA
Washington, many Architects and other businesses around the State, this
job creator will assert Washington’s regional and national clean-energy
leadership by putting efficiency first by promoting super-efficient,
low-energy-use buildings.
•This bill requires super efficient energy codes, disclosure of buildings’ energy use scores to prospective buyers, makes our public buildings models of energy efficiency, and provides financing energy-saving upgrades to existing buildings.
SHB 1819: Reducing greenhouse gas emissions (a.k.a. Cap and Invest; Rep. Dave Upthegrove, Prime Sponsor).
General Government Appropriations Committee: Public Hearing and Possible Executive Session
POSITION: SUPPORT
•This bill moves forward with implementing a cap on global warming
pollution starting in 2012, and convenes a group to look at the
“invest” component and bring recommendations back to the Legislature.
It enables Washington to achieve the emission limits enacted by the
Legislature last year.
•Negotiations with many reasonable
business interests are ongoing. A new University of Oregon study issued
this past week estimated the costs of unmitigated climate change to
Washington State at $3.8 billion/year by 2020, including costs related
to human health impacts and harm to the agriculture and forestry
industries. It is important to continue moving forward this year toward
meeting our climate goals, and this bill is the foundation of the
state’s overall strategy.
HOUSE FLOOR ACTION
HB 1653: Clarifying the integration of the shoreline management act policies with the growth management act.
POSITION: SUPPORT THE SIMPSON SUBSTITUTE
•This bill would eliminate the confusion caused by a Supreme Court decision about how the state’s shorelands are governed. The bill creates no new protections, it simply clarifies how and when existing protections apply on the state’s shorelands.
•WA State Association of Counties, Association of WA Cities, WA Ports Association, environmental organizations, and Departments of Ecology and CTED support the substitute offered by Rep. Simpson.
HB 1967: Prohibiting urban growth area expansions in one hundred year floodplains.
POSITION: SUPPORT
•With limited exceptions, this bill will prohibit further urbanization of Western Washington’s floodplains. The bill only applies to future expansions of urban areas into the floodplains of the state’s largest rivers.
•From Skagit to Lewis Counties, extreme flood events are threatening lives and property and damaging the environment. This bill is trying to prevent future communities from being put in harm’s way.
SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION
SB 5384: Regarding high-performance public buildings.
Environment, Water and Energy Committee: Possible Executive Session
POSITION: OPPOSE
•This bill is a HUGE environmental rollback and weakens Washington’s first-in-the-nation green buildings law, which was a 2005 Environmental Priority. The law currently requires most public buildings to be built to the widely-used and highly-respected LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standard. The bill adds Green Globes as an allowable standard. The bill is opposed by the leading green builders organization, the Cascadia Region Green Building Council.
•The Green Globes standard is a less rigorous and transparent program than LEED. In addition, the bill would raise state costs for program implementation by requiring additional staff training around another standard. In 2005, the timber industry and environmental community were able to agree upon language which recognized Washington wood products, which led to the bill moving forward. This bill undermines that agreement.
SB 5418: Regarding electric vehicles. Environment, Energy and Water Committee: Possible Executive Session
POSITION: SUPPORT
•House version of the bill passed unanimously with every Member of the Technology Committee supporting the legislation.
•Legislation will attract a new industry to Washington state that will bring resources to create infrastructure for Electric Vehicles, new jobs (really), spur economic development, and reduce emissions.
SSB 5518: Reducing the amount of petroleum pollution in
stormwater (a.k.a. Invest in Clean Water, Sen. Pridemore, Prime
Sponsor).
Ways and Means Committee: Hearing and Possible Executive Session.
POSITION: SUPPORT
•One
of four environmental priorities for 2009, this bill would provide a
solution to part of the State's budget crisis by raising $100 million
in new funds that can be used for water quality infrastructure and to
offset over $35 million originally allocated for stormwater projects in
the Governor's proposed budget.
• This bill is carefully crafted as a fee (not a tax) on petroleum
products that contribute to stormwater pollution. This polluter-pays
approach would provide new money for jobs and would relieve financial
pressure on cash-strapped local governments which are obligated under
federal law to fund stormwater mitigation projects.
SSB
5687: Reducing greenhouse gas emissions through land use and
transportation requirements (a.k.a. Transit Oriented Communities, Sen.
Marr, Prime Sponsor).
Ways & Means Committee: Possible Public Hearing
POSITION: SUPPORT
•Washington state cannot afford to continue sprawling in a low density pattern. It is too costly for taxpayers to expand urban services to pave over the state’s rural and resource lands.
•The Transit-Oriented Communities bill incorporates climate change consideration into land use and transportation planning, helping to increase transportation choices, reduce traffic congestion, save taxpayer dollars, and significantly reduce the state's greenhouse gas emissions. The bill has no immediate fiscal impact to the state.
PSSB 5726: Clarifying the integration of the shoreline management act policies with the growth management act.
Environment, Water & Energy Committee: Executive Session
POSITION: SUPPORT THE AGENCIES’ SUBSTITUTE
•This bill would eliminate the confusion caused by a Supreme Court decision about how the state’s shorelands are governed. The bill creates no new protections, it simply clarifies how and when existing protections apply on the state’s shorelands.
•WA State Association of Counties, Association of WA Cities, WA Ports Association, environmental organizations, and Departments of Ecology and CTED support the substitute offered by the Agencies.
SB 5735: Reducing greenhouse gas emissions (a.k.a. Cap and Invest; Sen. Phil Rockefeller, Prime Sponsor)
Environment, Water and Energy Committee: Possible Executive Session
POSITION: SUPPORT
•This bill moves forward with action to enable Washington to achieve the emission limits enacted by the Legislature last year. Similar to the House bill, a draft Senate striker moves forward with implementing a cap on global warming pollution starting in 2012, and convenes a group to consider the “trade” component.
•Negotiations with many reasonable business interests are ongoing. A
new University of Oregon study issued this past week estimated the
costs of unmitigated climate change to Washington State at $3.8
billion/year by 2020, including costs related to human health impacts
and harm to the agriculture and forestry industries. It is important to
continue moving forward this year toward meeting our climate goals, and
this bill is the foundation of the state’s overall strategy.
SB 5854: Reducing climate pollution in the built environment (a.k.a. Efficiency First, Sen. Kilmer, Prime Sponsor).
Ways and Means Committee: Possible Public Hearing and Executive Session
POSITION: SUPPORT
•Supported by AIA
Washington, many individual Architects and other businesses around the
Sate, this job creator will assert Washington’s regional and national
clean-energy leadership by putting efficiency first by promoting
super-efficient, low-energy-use buildings.
•This bill requires super efficient energy codes, disclosure of buildings’ energy use scores to prospective buyers, makes our public buildings models of energy efficiency, and provides financing for energy-saving upgrades to existing buildings.
SB 6029: Eliminating certain tax incentives related to
nonrenewable energy and expanding tax incentives related to renewable
resources and energy efficient equipment.
Ways and Means Committee: Public Hearing
POSITION: SUPPORT
•The state currently provides about $30 million a year in tax incentives to big oil and coal, and those tax breaks will continue until the Legislature ends them. Tax incentives for clean, renewable energy expire this year.
•If the Legislature does nothing, it will become the policy of the state of Washington to provide tax incentives for big oil and coal but not for renewables. This bill takes the tax incentives for oil and coal and shifts them to clean renewables.
