Climate Action This Week:  Starting the second half of session
  • Transportation Resources
  • Strengthening Energy Codes
  • Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions in Public Buildings
  • Closing a loophole in the Growth Management Act
  • Organic Materials Management
  • Building Performance Standards
  • Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
  • Solar Canopies Tax Referral
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* Your information

Here are our first three actions. We think these will take about 10-15 minutes.

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* 📜 1. Transportation Resources - HB 2119

Also known as Move Ahead Washington, this is the House version of the big $16 billion, 16-year transportation package that spends more on transit than any previous package. That’s great! But there are drawbacks to the bill that we need to point out to legislators.

We are following the lead of the 350 WA Just Transition in Transportation campaign.

Scheduled for a public hearing in the House Transportation Committee, Thursday, February 17, 3:30 PM.

✏️ Please sign in here to provide a written comment for HB 2119 before Friday, February 18, 3:30 PM and select “Other” in the position button.

📑 Choose 1-2 sentences from the options below or feel free to write your own.
  • The highway expansion projects in Move Ahead Washington could add 9 million metric tons of additional climate pollution. The bill should be amended to require that the state calculate such impacts and that legislators consider them before voting on highway expansion projects.
  • The expansion projects in this bill, especially in north Pierce and south King County, and in Spokane, would disproportionately impact BIPOC and lower income communities, who have higher rates of asthma and other respiratory diseases.  Expanding highway capacity is not the answer.
  • It’s time to stop treating non-drivers as second class citizens.  25% of Washingtonians don’t drive, yet the state transportation budget has historically only allocated 4% to public transportation and bike/pedestrian infrastructure. While this bill is an improvement, active transportation and transit should be funded at an even higher rate than Move Ahead Washington provides.
  • It is time to stop expanding roads for single occupancy vehicles. Adding general vehicle lanes will only induce more car travel, increase climate emissions, local air pollution, safety problems, and inequality in mobility options. Any additional highway lanes should be dedicated to high capacity transit, such as bus rapid transit, or for freight.
  • Is it a good idea to spend the next 16 years of Climate Commitment Act money dedicated to reducing transportation emissions in just one package? The funding in Move Ahead Washington for active transportation and transit is only a downpayment on repairing decades of underinvestment.
  • Replace Ultra High Speed Rail with “High Speed Rail - Regional,” for long-overdue improvements to our Regional Rail Amtrak System. Those improvements can reduce trip times between Portland and Seattle to 2.5 hours. Modernizing our existing regional rail system will help get 10,000 cars off the road this decade, reduce vehicle emissions, and improve freight transport. That is a much more appropriate investment, with more immediate benefits, than Ultra High Speed Rail.
  • Move Ahead Washington removes the Climate Commitment Act’s requirement that the legislature define a compliance pathway for large polluters by April 1, 2023.  Are you kidding? That deadline should be restored!

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* 📜 2. Strengthening Energy Codes - HB 1770

This bill would create a residential reach code for local jurisdictions and a net-zero ready deadline for new construction by 2030.  Local jurisdictions in Washington state are currently restricted from passing residential energy codes that are stronger than the state code set every three years by the State Building Code Council (SBCC). To address this problem, this bill would require the SBCC to develop an optional residential reach code for energy use and efficiency in new single-family and small multi-family buildings. 

Strong energy codes signal to manufacturers that demand will be consistent; they drive technology innovation and reduce costs. This will help lower greenhouse gas emissions and improve the air quality both inside and out, particularly for lower income communities.

This House bill is now making its way through the Senate. 

We are following the lead of Shift Zero on this bill.

Scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Environment, Energy & Technology, Thursday, February 17, 10:30 AM.

✏️ Please sign in here to support HB 1770 before Thursday, February 17, 9:30 AM and select “Pro” in the position button.

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* 📜 3. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions in Public Buildings - HB 1280

This bill declares that it is the public policy of the state to ensure that greenhouse gas emissions reduction practices are included in the design of major publicly-owned or leased facilities, and that the use of all-electric energy systems as well as one renewable energy system is considered in the design.

This House bill is now making its way through the Senate, which is where it died last year. It needs to get scheduled for a vote before next Thursday, February 24 -- the opposite policy chamber cut off. 

We’re following the lead of Shift Zero on this bill. 

Please call or email the Senate Committee on Environment, Energy & Technology and ask that they give it a vote ahead of the next cut off.

✏️ Click here to send an email to these members of the Senate committee.

If the above link did not work, please address your emails to:

Chair Sen. Reuven Carlyle (D-36) – (360) 786-7670 – Reuven.Carlyle@leg.wa.gov
Vice Chair Sen. Liz Lovelett (D-40) – (360) 786-7678 – Liz.Lovelett@leg.wa.gov
Ranking Member Sen. Shelly Short (R-07) – (360) 786-7612 – Shelly.Short@leg.wa.gov

If you’re calling and you reach voicemail, be sure to speak slowly and clearly and say the bill number. And be sure to let them know if you are a constituent of their district!

Script: I’m writing to ask Senator [Name] to support HB 1280 and schedule it for a vote.

📑Then choose 1-2 additional sentences from the options below or feel free to write your own.
  • This bill adds an important public policy of ensuring that greenhouse gas emissions reduction practices are included in the design of major publicly-owned or leased facilities.
  • All-electric buildings are an important option for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. HB 1280 requires medium and larger-size state building projects to study the life-cycle costs and savings of using clean-sourced electricity instead of fossil fuels in a building’s pre-design phase.
  • The bill allows the state to lead by example by encouraging designers and building developers to find cost-effective solutions to transition to all-electric systems.

  I called I emailed
Chair Sen. Reuven Carlyle
Vice Chair Sen. Liz Lovelett
Ranking Member Sen. Shelly Short
All done? Don’t forget to scroll to the bottom and click the orange “DONE” button to submit your actions!
If you have a little more time, these next three actions will take about 5-10 minutes.

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* 📜 4. Concerning the effective date of certain actions taken under the Growth Management Act - SB 5042

This important bill would close a ‘sprawl loophole’ in the GMA and protect farmland, forests, and critical habitats from unnecessary and harmful development and sprawl. The loophole allows developers to go ahead with irreversible destruction of the land even while their permits are being challenged through the appeals process. 

This Senate bill is now making its way through the House. 

We are following the lead of Futurewise on this bill.

Scheduled for a public hearing in the House committee on Environment & Energy on Thursday, February 17, 1:30 PM. 

✏️ Please sign in here to support SB 5042 before Thursday, February 17, 12:30 PM and select “Pro” in the position button.

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* 📜 5. Concerning Organic Materials Management - HB 1799

This bill establishes goals to reduce organics disposed of in landfills by 75% by 2030 and to recover for human consumption by 2025 at least 20% of edible food currently wasted (both goals are relative to 2015). To get there: it requires separate organics collection in certain jurisdictions; reduces legal liability risks of donating edible food; sets up new funding and financial incentives to increase the use of compost; and more. 

This House bill is now making its way through the Senate. 

We are following the lead of Zero Waste Washington on this bill.

Scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Environment, Energy & Technology on Thursday, February 17, 10:30 AM.

✏️ Please sign in here to support HB 1799 before Thursday, February 17, 9:30 AM and select “Pro” in the position button.

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* 📜 6. Building Performance Standards - SB 5722

This bill would set smaller commercial and multi-family buildings on a path to better optimize their energy use and reduce energy costs and pollution. It will provide owners of these buildings access to technical and financial assistance, with priority to frontline and low-income communities.

This Senate bill is now making its way through the House.

We are following the lead of Shift Zero on this bill.

Scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Environment & Energy on Thursday, February 17, 1:30 PM in anticipation of other legislative action.

✏️ Please sign in here to support SB 5722 before Thursday, February 17, 12:30 PM and select “Pro” in the position button.

All done? Don’t forget to scroll to the bottom and click the orange “DONE” button to submit your actions!
If you have a little more time, these last two actions will take about 5 minutes.

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* 📜 7. Electric vehicle charging stations and Owner Associations - HB 1793

This bill prohibits an association of unit owners, such as a homeowners association, from prohibiting or unreasonably restricting the installation or use of an electric vehicle charging station (EVCS) within the boundaries of an owner's unit or in a designated parking space.  The bill requires an association to approve an application to install an EVCS if the unit owner meets reasonable specified requirements.
 
This House bill is now making its way through the Senate.

We’re following the lead of NW Energy Coalition on this bill.

Scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Law & Justice on Thursday, February 17, 10:30 AM.

✏️ Please sign in here to support HB 1793 before Thursday, February 17, 9:30 AM and select “Pro” in the position button.

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* 📜 8. Solar Canopies Tax Deferral - SB 5714

This bill would incentivize the construction of solar canopies on large-scale commercial parking lots by deferring and, if certain practices are followed, potentially reducing the sales and use tax. This would both contribute to the state's goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector and boost overall electricity supplies as the state increases the electrification of transportation and buildings.

We are following the lead of 350 WA on this bill.

Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means on Thursday, February 17, 4:00 PM.

✏️ Please sign in here to support SB 5714 before Thursday, February 17, 3:00 PM and select “Pro” in the position button.

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* Thank you for making your voice heard on important legislation in WA state! How did that go?

-- The 350 WA Civic Action Team

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