Source: Brad Boswell, January 16, 2021
Week One
Today marks the end of the first week of the 2021 Legislative Session in Washington. On Monday several legislators came to a largely empty Capitol Campus to take an in-person vote to adopt rules to allow for a virtual session. Both the House and the Senate engaged in floor debates related to COVID-19 emergency rules, public access, and the legislative process in a virtual format. Ultimately both the House and the Senate passed rules to facilitate a virtual session. After Monday’s floor action the legislature adjourned to work remotely for the remainder of the session. On Tuesday virtual committee hearings in both the House and the Senate started.
Governor Jay Inslee delivered his third inaugural address on Wednesday January 13th via a pre-recorded video. Within that speech he talked about big ideas to move the state through the COVID-19 pandemic and stated that 2021 was time for “relief, recovery, and resilience.” Governor Inslee’s proposed Operating Budget was heard this week in the Senate Ways & Means Committee. Inslee’s budget priorities include continuing the covid-19 response, rebuilding the economy for those most impacted, protecting previous investments in key areas like education and homelessness and using an equity lens for all budget requests.
Democratic and Republican leaders held virtual press conferences this week to discuss their legislative goals for 2021. Democratic leaders in the house and the senate said that the first bill brought to the floor will be related to pandemic relief including bills that expand unemployment insurance and concern the allocation of federal relief funds. Republican leaders focused their press conference on their ideas to use the state’s rainy day fund, investing in foundational public health and the governor’s emergency powers.
Finally, newly elected statewide officials and members of the legislature were sworn in this week, including sixteen new representatives and five new senators. Despite the virtual format for committee hearings the legislature considered a myriad of important pieces of legislation in the first week including the governor’s UI bill, low carbon fuel standard, several police reform bills, data privacy, and more. As a reminder all bills without a fiscal impact need to be voted out of their policy committee by February 15th in order to stay alive this session.
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
Clean Tech Alliance Bill Status & Upcoming Events Report
Upcoming Events
Environment, Energy & Technology (Senate) – Virtual, – 1/19 @ 10:30am
- SB 5126 – Public Hearing – Concerning the Washington climate commitment act. (Remote testimony.)
Environment & Energy (House) – Virtual, – 1/21 @ 1:30pm
- HB 1091 – Exec Session – Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the carbon intensity of transportation fuel.
- HB 1125 – Public Hearing – 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. (Remote testimony.)
Transportation (House) – Virtual, – 1/21 @ 3:30pm
- HB 1135 – Public Hearing – Making transportation appropriations for the 2021-2023 fiscal biennium. (Remote testimony.)
Environment & Energy (House) – Virtual, – 1/22 @ 10:00am
- HB 1084 – Public Hearing – Reducing statewide greenhouse gas emissions by achieving greater decarbonization of residential and commercial buildings. (Remote testimony.)
- HB 1130 – Public Hearing – Concerning consumer affordability and reliability in energy supply. (Remote testimony.)
| Bill # | Abbrev. Title | Short Description | Status | Sponsor | Priority |
| HB 1036 | Transportation fuel/carbon | Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the carbon intensity of transportation fuel. | H Env & Energy | Fitzgibbon | |
| HB 1046 | Community solar programs | Concerning community solar programs. | H Env & Energy | Bateman | |
| HB 1050 | Fluorinated gases | Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from fluorinated gases. | H Env & Energy | Fitzgibbon | |
| HB 1080 (SB 5083) | Capital budget 2021-2023 | Concerning the capital budget. | H Cap Budget | Tharinger | |
| HB 1081 (SB 5084) | State gen. obligation bonds | Concerning state general obligation bonds and related accounts. | H Cap Budget | Tharinger | |
| HB 1084 (SB 5093) | Building decarbonization | Reducing statewide greenhouse gas emissions by achieving greater decarbonization of residential and commercial buildings. | H Env & Energy | Ramel | |
| HB 1091 (SB 5231) | Transportation fuel/carbon | Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the carbon intensity of transportation fuel. | H Env & Energy | Fitzgibbon | |
| HB 1093 (SB 5091) | Operating budget, 2nd supp. | Making 2019-2021 fiscal biennium second supplemental operating appropriations. | H Approps | Ormsby | |
| HB 1094 (SB 5092) | Operating budget 2021-2023 | Making 2021-2023 fiscal biennium operating appropriations. | H Approps | Ormsby | |
| HB 1103 | Building materials | Improving environmental and social outcomes with the production of building materials. | H Cap Budget | 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 | |
| HB 1135 (SB 5165) | Transp. budget 2021-2023 | Making transportation appropriations for the 2021-2023 fiscal biennium. | H Transportation | Fey | |
| HB 1204 | Transp. electrification | Concerning the electrification of transportation. | H Transportation | Macri | |
| SB 5083 (HB 1080) | Capital budget 2021-2023 | Concerning the capital budget. | S Ways & Means | Frockt | |
| SB 5084 (HB 1081) | State gen. obligation bonds | Concerning state general obligation bonds and related accounts. | S Ways & Means | Frockt | |
| SB 5091 (HB 1093) | Operating budget, 2nd supp. | Making 2019-2021 fiscal biennium second supplemental operating appropriations. | S Ways & Means | Rolfes | |
| SB 5092 (HB 1094) | Operating budget 2021-2023 | Making 2021-2023 fiscal biennium operating appropriations. | S Ways & Means | Rolfes | |
| SB 5093 (HB 1084) | Building decarbonization | Reducing statewide greenhouse gas emissions by achieving greater decarbonization of residential and commercial buildings. | S Environment, E | Liias | |
| SB 5126 | Climate commitment act | Concerning the Washington climate commitment act. | S Environment, E | Carlyle | |
| SB 5165 (HB 1135) | Transp. budget 2021-2023 | Making transportation appropriations for the 2021-2023 fiscal biennium. | S Transportation | Hobbs | |
| SB 5168 | Electric utility advisory | Concerning renewable and nonemitting resources analysis and advisory opinions. | S Environment, En | Short | |
| SB 5174 | Wind turbine blade recycling | Providing for the recycling of wind turbine blades. | S Environment, E | 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 (HB 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 |