Audubon's Warbler by Laurel Parshall
By the end of bill cutoff day, bills must have moved out of the State Senate or House to remain active. For more background on each of these bills, see details in section II below.
Futurewise was successful in passing several bills in the legislature before the March 8th cutoff deadline. These included:
Passed SB 5466, the Transit-Oriented Development bill out of the Senate on March 1.
Passed HB 1181, the bill to add climate planning to the Growth Management Act out of the House into the Senate.
Remaining to be passed by Wednesday March 8 was HB 1110, the Affordable Housing Bill.
Audubon Washington was successful in passing the following bills before the cutoff deadline:
HB 1170 & SB 5093, Climate Strategy Response,
HB 1192 & SB 5165, Electric Transmission Planning,
SB 5104, Puget Sound Shoreline Protection (Updating Marine Surveys of Puget Sound regularly),
HB 1181, Climate and Growth Management, climate resiliency added to Growth Management Plans,
HB 1216, Climate & Clean Energy, which creates a coordinating council to designate clean energy projects.
Note: The effort to increase funding for non-listed species in the Department of Fish and Game is a budget issue and will probably be decided in the last weeks of the legislature when the governor releases his budget.
2023 Legislative Session Priorities January, 2023, by Kirk Kirkland
Bottle Bill and WRAP Act to increase recycling in the state
The WRAP Act SB 5154 / HB 1131 – Washington Recycling And Packaging Act. Championed by Senator Christine Rolfes and Representative Liz Berry, these bills call for recycling of packaging and printed paper, including recycling and reuse, and has accurate labeling provisions, with requirements for post-consumer recycled content in plastic tubs, thermoform containers and single-use cups.
Importantly, the WRAP Act includes a “bottle bill” section. If passed, consumers will pay a 10 cent fee on beverage containers and then redeem the 10 cents at drop locations. When people return their bottles and cans, the redemption is credited to their online account and the funds can be redeemed for cash, put into a college savings account, or donated to nonprofits across the state, including schools and clubs.
The legislation is sponsored by Zero Waste Washington.
Audubon Washington - Increasing funding for non-game wildlife at WDFW
Our state is experiencing unprecedented losses of biodiversity, habitat loss, degradation and pollution that are threatening fish and wildlife.
Although WDFW has a comprehensive State Wildlife Action Plan, it addresses the needs for 268 species. The agency lacks the resources to implement conservation actions for 95% of those species with the greatest need. This budget request will come toward the end of the legislative session.
Futurewise Priorities
Over the years, Futurewise has been our major partner in saving wildlife habitat, preserving working forests and farmland in our county. This year they are integrating Climate Change Goals into the Growth Management Act.
They are also concerned with Affordable Housing and improving the quality of transportation, which reduces greenhouse gases, by promoting Transit Oriented Development. The connection of zoning and urban planning advocacy to wildlife habitats and bird flyways may not be obvious at first glance. But if you take look at a Google Map of the county, you'll see how successful we have been in confining recent urban growth of 300,000 people to compact cities. You’ll also notice the rural valley farmlands and the forests extending like a green carpet around Mount Rainier.
Futurewise is deeply committed to ensuring that Washington communities are thriving, healthy and resilient. Here are the bills we'll track and ask our legislators to support.
HB 1110, sponsored by Rep. Bateman and Rep. Barkis, is middle housing legislation that would allow 4-plexes in every neighborhood currently zoned for single-family residential, and to allow 6-plexes in areas near transit.
HB 1181 is sponsored by Rep. Duerr and Rep. Fitzgibbon, is our climate planning bill to add a climate element to the Growth Management Act. Back for its third year, we know that this is the year we’re going to win on climate in the GMA, especially now that we have Gov. Jay Inslee joining the fight to see this bill pass.
Nisqually Tribe to stop 6PPD - tire chemical killing salmon in our rivers and streams
The Nisqually Tribe of Indians has asked the governor to prohibit the use o6PPD in tire manufacturing. This contaminant in tire dust is washed from roads into storm water drains. When the polluted water flows into Clover Creek and other urban streams, salmon diNisqually Tribe and the county have been experimenting with filtering systems but we need to go to the source, the tire manufacturers. Once the governor's priorities are introduced, we'll have a bill number for you to track.