Week of March 23, 2009
For the seventh year in a row, the environmental community will be sending legislators and key stakeholders its weekly Environmental Community “Hot List” detailing positions on no more than ten of the highest priority issues for the upcoming week. Separate Hot Lists will be prepared for the House and Senate and distributed each Monday via email and in hard copy to your office. At the end of the document, you will find a list of environmental community organizations that contributed to the Hot List. We hope you find this communication helpful. Please feel free to contact me at clifford@wcvoters.org or 206-369-2235, if you have any questions.
HOUSE FLOOR ACTION
E2SSB 5138: Creating an integrated climate change response strategy.
Ecology & Parks Committee: Possible Executive Action
POSITION: SUPPORT
•Requires state agencies to develop an integrated climate change response strategy that incorporates adaptation plans.
•There are a number of cost effective actions state agencies can take to make our natural systems more resilient to climate change and reduce the potential for forest fires, flooding, crop failure, and water shortages.
E2SSB 5560: Regarding state agency climate leadership.
Ecology & Parks Committee: Possible Executive Action
POSITION: SUPPORT
•Requires state agencies to meet greenhouse gas emission limits and vehicle fuel economy standards.
•The state needs to show leadership in reducing energy consumption. Energy audits and other cost-effective energy conservation measures will stimulate our economy and reduce state expenditures.
ESSB 5583: Improving the effectiveness of water bank and exchange provisions.
Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee: Possible Executive Session
POSITION: SUPPORT
•A water bank, administered through the Trust Water Rights Program, is a mechanism that provides flexibility for supplying water to instream and out-of-stream demands and protects a water right holder from relinquishment while the water is managed through the bank.
•This bill clarifies how a water bank operates and provides a consistent statewide system for managing banked water.
E2SSB 5735 Reducing greenhouse gas emissions (a.k.a. formerly Cap and Invest).
Ecology and Parks Committee: Possible Executive Session
POSITION: SUPPORT
•This Governor's-request legislation was weakened in the Senate to the point of a study bill that does not accomplish any reduction in global warming pollution.
•The House can do better and still has the opportunity to move
forward with making enforceable the emission limits committed to in
last year's Climate Action and Green Jobs law.
ESSB 5840: Modifying the Energy Independence Act.
Technology and Energy & Communications Committee: Possible Public Hearing and Executive Session
POSITION: OPPOSE CURRENT VERSION OF BILL
•With leadership from Governor Gregoire, a new deal was presented to stakeholders on Friday. The environmental community believes the deal addresses stakeholder interests and significantly narrows the scope of the bill passed out of the Senate.
•If the Governor’s deal is presented in the bill, with the agreement to not amend it once it leaves the committee, it will meet the spirit of the law while addressing concerns from reasonable public and private utilities. This is an amazing turn of events.
2SSB 5854: Reducing climate pollution in the built environment (a.k.a. Efficiency First).
Technology, Energy & Communications Committee: Possible Public Hearing and Executive Session
POSITION: SUPPORT
• After working with various stakeholders, this bill has been amended and the fiscal note has been reduced to a minimal amount.
• A modest investment by the state will stimulate our economy and lead to continued reduction in energy use and on utility bills. It will also increase accountability that will help WA receive additional federal stimulus dollars.
SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION
2SHB 1172: Implementing a transfer of development rights program.
Government Operations & Elections Committee: Public Hearing & Possible Executive Session
POSITION: SUPPORT
•Washington is losing its farmland at a fast and alarming rate. Two Clark Counties or nearly one Walla Walla, that’s how much agricultural land WA lost in the last 10 years.
•This is the companion to SB 5165 which passed out of the committee with bipartisan support. The bill creates a voluntary tool to better focus growth in the central Puget Sound’s urban areas while permanently protecting the region’s rural and resource land from encroaching development. It’s based on the consensus of a two-year stakeholder process.
2SHB 1180: Regarding the use of bisphenol A.
Health and Long-Term Care Committee: Possible Executive Session
POSITION: SUPPORT
•The Safe Baby Bottle bill protects children's health by banning the toxic chemical—bisphenol A (BPA)—in baby bottles, sippy cups, sports water bottles, and other food and beverage containers intended for children 3 and under. The top 6 major baby bottle manufactures recently announced they would stop making their products with BPA and chemical giant SUNOCO is now requiring customers to guarantee that BPA manufactured by SUNOCO is not being used in food and water contact applications for children under 3 years of age.
• Please oppose any amendments to establish a de minimus standard or further limit the ban.
2SHB 1481: Regarding electric vehicles.
Environment, Water, and Energy Committee: Executive Session
POSITION: SUPPORT
•Passed out of the House 71-23. Promotes the use of electric vehicles through the creation of an electric infrastructure that will support the use of electric vehicles. This approach was recommended by the Governor’s Climate Advisory Team (CAT) and will spur economic development while reducing emissions.
•One element of the bill is to promote having the state motor pool switch to electric vehicles in the future and to provide electric infrastructure at all of the state owned motor pool lots.
ESHB 1571: Regarding the adjudication of water rights.
Environment, Water, and Energy Committee: Possible Executive Session
POSITION: SUPPORT
•Adjudication is a critical tool for understanding how much water is actually used in a basin and the amount of water available. Unfortunately, only a small fraction of water rights in Washington have been adjudicated, leaving the state unable to adequately manage its rivers and streams.
•This bill modernizes the adjudication process, promotes efficiency, and provides certainty for water users.
2SHB 1580: Establishing a pilot local water management program in one qualified jurisdiction.
Environment, Water, & Energy Committee: Possible Executive Session
POSITION: SUPPORT
•Water is a limited and publicly owned resource that is asked to meet many demands. Water policies must fairly balance multiple needs for critical fish habitat, agriculture, industry, and use in our homes.
•This bill establishes a pilot project for collaborative water management in the Walla Walla basin to enhance instream flows for fish while also providing flexibility and certainty to water users.
E2SHB 1747: Reducing climate pollution in the built environment (a.k.a. Efficiency First).
Environment, Water & Energy Committee: Public hearing and possible executive session.
POSITION: SUPPORT
•After working with the business community and many stakeholders this bill passed out of the House with bipartisan support. Its companion (2SSB 5854) passed off the Senate floor with a vote 44-5.
•This bill is a balanced approach to achieve energy efficiency in new and existing buildings, which will stimulate our economy and save residents and businesses money through energy savings.
SHB 1774: Excluding certain state forest land revenues from the basic education allocation.
Ways and Means Committee: Possible Public Hearing
POSITION: OPPOSE
•This bill makes school funding more reliant on logging by allowing a select group of school districts to receive additional state allocations simply because they have Department of Natural Resources Forest Board lands within their boundaries. Meanwhile, all other school districts will receive less state funds unless the state compensates by increasing overall funding.
•By more directly tying the funding of specific school districts to the logging of state forest, the balance of legal standing and interests in those forests could shift, limiting the discretion of the state to manage public forests in the public interest.
EHB 1967: Relating to prohibiting urban growth area expansions in one hundred year floodplains.
Government Operations & Elections Committee: Public Hearing & Possible Executive Session
POSITION: SUPPORT
•Just in the past two years, flooding has caused over $1 billion dollars damage to the state, not to mention threatening lives and property and damaging the environment. With limited exceptions, this bill will prohibit further urbanization of Western Washington’s floodplains.
•The bill - supported by the associations of cities and counties - will help prevent future communities from being put in harm's way and reduce the costs to the state and taxpayers.
SHB 2010: Concerning state funding for local projects.
Ways & Means Committee: Public Hearing & Possible Executive Session
POSITION: SUPPORT
•By 2020, the state must reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels. The state capital budget spends billions of dollars on infrastructure that if not spent properly could make it more difficult to achieve the greenhouse gas reductions required by state law.
•This bill requires that state infrastructure funds be spent in ways that will help the state achieve its greenhouse gas reduction targets.
