2023 Legislative Update: Week 2
Weekly Update
The second week of the legislative session began with Martin Luther King Jr Day. Traditionally this is when the campus is busting with groups visiting the Capitol, but this year we saw smaller crowds as more groups are using virtual options.
The return to in-person kept a fast pace with many notable hearings on firearm safety, housing development, updating the state’s recycling system, and staffing ratios for hospitals. Week 2 was filled with many hearings, committee votes on bills (known as executive session), and some work sessions.
At this point we have seen over 1,000 bills introduced. Legislators, staff, lobbyists and advocates are all noting the pace of which bills are moving. During the Democratic press availability, Speaker Jinkins noted there might be floor action towards the end of week 3.
There are several bills scheduled for a hearing this week that may be of interest to the Bellevue Chamber:
- SB 5536 – Controlled substances, counterfeit substances, and legend drug possession and treatment
- SB 5467 – Treatment for possession of certain counterfeit drugs or controlled substances
- SB 5190/HB 1110 – Increasing middle housing in areas traditionally dedicated to single-family detached housing
- SB 5258/HB 1298 – Increasing the supply and affordability of condominium units and townhouses as an option for homeownership
- HB 1276 – Accessory dwelling units
- HB 1337 – Expanding housing options by easing barriers to the construction and use of accessory dwelling units
- HB 1388 – Protecting tenants by prohibiting predatory residential rent practices
- HB 1389/SB 5435 – Concerning residential rent increases
- SB 5412 – Reducing local government’s land use permitting workloads
Click here to watch this week’s TVW Week in Review, which provides a good wrap-up of the past week in Olympia.
Session Primers
In these primers we are diving into the different steps of the legislative process, but sometimes it’s helpful to take a step back and get an overview of the full process. If you want to understand the process of how a bill becomes a law, check out these resources:
- High level overview of how a bill becomes a law
- A longer version of how a bill becomes a law, which includes a helpful visual roadmap. Most bills right now are in step 2 (policy committee hearings) or 3 (policy committee executive session).
- A longer narrative version that explains each step in detail starting on page 16 through page 29 (lots of other good stuff in this guide as well)
The Spokesman newspaper also put together a really helpful guide to engaging in the legislative process. It covers everything from the legislature’s website (www.leg.wa.gov), to how to look up bill numbers and your legislators, and how to watch hearings online. We cover a lot of this in more detail in our session primers each week, but this piece is a handy tool that sums up a lot of key information in a concise piece.
Upcoming Events Report
Law & Justice (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 1/23 @ 10:30am
SB 5058 – Public Hearing – Exempting buildings with 12 or fewer units that are no more than two stories from the definition of multiunit residential building. (Remote Testimony Available).
SB 5258 – Public Hearing – Increasing the supply and affordability of condominium units and townhouses as an option for homeownership. (Remote Testimony Available).
SB 5361 – Public Hearing – Incentivizing cities and counties to increase employment of commissioned law enforcement officers. (Remote Testimony Available).
Environment & Energy (House) – HHR C and Virtual JLOB – 1/23 @ 1:30pm
HB 1329 – Public Hearing – Preventing utility shutoffs for nonpayment during extreme heat. (Remote Testimony Available).
Housing (House) – HHR B and Virtual JLOB – 1/23 @ 1:30pm
HB 1276 – Public Hearing – Concerning accessory dwelling units. (Remote Testimony Available).
HB 1337 – Public Hearing – Expanding housing options by easing barriers to the construction and use of accessory dwelling units. (Remote Testimony Available).
Local Government, Land Use & Tribal Affairs (Senate) – SHR 3 and Virtual JACB – 1/24 @ 8:00am
SB 5289 – Public Hearing – Concerning allowing the use of impact fees for law enforcement. (Remote Testimony Available).
SB 5290 – Public Hearing – Concerning consolidating local permit review processes. (Remote Testimony Available).
Labor & Commerce (Senate) – SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 1/24 @ 10:30am
SB 5217 – Public Hearing – Concerning the state’s ability to regulate certain industries and risk classes to prevent musculoskeletal injuries and disorders. (Remote Testimony Available).
Local Government (House) – HHR E and Virtual JLOB – 1/24 @ 10:30am
HB 1326 – Public Hearing – Waiving municipal utility connection charges for certain properties. (Remote Testimony Available).
Environment & Energy (House) – HHR C and Virtual JLOB – 1/24 @ 4:00pm
HB 1390 – Public Hearing – Concerning district energy systems. (Remote Testimony Available).
HB 1391 – Public Hearing – Concerning energy in buildings. (Remote Testimony Available).
HB 1433 – Public Hearing – Concerning energy labeling of residential buildings. (Remote Testimony Available).
Housing (House) – HHR B and Virtual JLOB – 1/24 @ 4:00pm
HB 1388 – Public Hearing – Protecting tenants by prohibiting predatory residential rent practices and by applying the consumer protection act to the residential landlord-tenant act and the manufactured/mobile home landlord-tenant act. (Remote Testimony Available).
HB 1389 – Public Hearing – Concerning residential rent increases under the residential landlord-tenant act and the manufactured/mobile home landlord-tenant act. (Remote Testimony Available).
Ways & Means (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 1/24 @ 4:00pm
SB 5387 – Public Hearing – Concerning property tax relief for homeowners and renters. (Remote Testimony Available).
SB 5495 – Public Hearing – Concerning property tax rebates for homeowners and renters. (Remote Testimony Available).
SJR 8206 – Public Hearing – Concerning property tax rebates. (Remote Testimony Available).
Civil Rights & Judiciary (House) – HHR A and Virtual JLOB – 1/25 @ 8:00am
HB 1025 – Public Hearing – Creating a private right of action for harm from violations of the state Constitution or state law by peace officers. (Remote Testimony Available).
HB 1445 – Public Hearing – Concerning law enforcement and local corrections agency misconduct through investigations and legal actions. (Remote Testimony Available).
Local Government (House) – HHR E and Virtual JLOB – 1/25 @ 8:00am
HB 1181 – Exec Session – Improving the state’s response to climate change by updating the state’s planning framework.
HB 1296 – Public Hearing – Concerning consolidating local permit review processes. (Remote Testimony Available).
HB 1351 – Public Hearing – Prohibiting the imposition of minimum parking requirements except under certain circumstances. (Remote Testimony Available).
Housing (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 1/25 @ 1:30pm
SB 5045 – Exec Session – Incentivizing rental of accessory dwelling units to low-income households.
SB 5190 – Public Hearing – Increasing middle housing in areas traditionally dedicated to single-family detached housing. (Remote Testimony Available).
Appropriations (House) – HHR A and Virtual JLOB – 1/25 @ 4:00pm
HB 1218 – Exec Session – Adding a new caseload for the official caseload forecast for the number of people eligible for the working families’ tax credit under RCW 82.08.0206.
Housing (House) – HHR B and Virtual JLOB – 1/26 @ 8:00am
HB 1074 – Exec Session – Addressing documentation and processes governing landlords’ claims for damage to residential premises.
HB 1124 – Exec Session – Protecting tenants from excessive rent and related fees by providing at least six months’ notice for rent increases over a certain amount, allowing tenants the right to terminate a tenancy without penalty, and limiting late fees.
HB 1167 – Exec Session – Concerning residential housing regulations.
HB 1245 – Public Hearing – Increasing housing options through lot splitting. (Remote Testimony Available).
HB 1367 – Public Hearing – Eliminating unnecessary homeless funding budget and auditing requirements. (Remote Testimony Available).
Labor & Commerce (Senate) – SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 1/26 @ 8:00am
SB 5259 – Public Hearing – Ensuring commerce and workplaces are safe from product theft. (Remote Testimony Available).
SB 5310 – Public Hearing – Defining attending provider and clarifying other provider functions for workers’ compensation claims, and adding psychologists as attending providers for mental health only claims. (Remote Testimony Available).
Law & Justice (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 1/26 @ 8:00am
SB 5058 – Exec Session – Exempting buildings with 12 or fewer units that are no more than two stories from the definition of multiunit residential building.
SB 5258 – Exec Session – Increasing the supply and affordability of condominium units and townhouses as an option for homeownership.
SB 5361 – Exec Session – Incentivizing cities and counties to increase employment of commissioned law enforcement officers.
Local Government, Land Use & Tribal Affairs (Senate) – SHR 3 and Virtual JACB – 1/26 @ 10:30am
SB 5235 – Public Hearing – Concerning accessory dwelling units. (Remote Testimony Available).
SB 5364 – Public Hearing – Increasing housing options through lot splitting. (Remote Testimony Available).
SB 5412 – Public Hearing – Reducing local governments’ land use permitting workloads. (Remote Testimony Available).
Environment, Energy & Technology (Senate) – SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 1/27 @ 8:00am
SB 5391 – Public Hearing – Modeling, measurement, and reporting embodied carbon emission reductions from structural building products in state-funded projects. (Remote Testimony Available).
Civil Rights & Judiciary (House) – HHR A and Virtual JLOB – 1/27 @ 10:30am
HB 1080 – Exec Session – Concerning body worn cameras.
HB 1178 – Exec Session – Concerning local government authority to regulate firearms.
Housing (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 1/27 @ 10:30am
SB 5386 – Public Hearing – Reducing administrative complexity by increasing transparency of revenue flows for activities funded by document recording fees. (Remote Testimony Available).
SB 5435 – Public Hearing – Concerning residential rent increases under the residential landlord-tenant act and the manufactured/mobile home landlord-tenant act. (Remote Testimony Available).
Local Government (House) – HHR E and Virtual JLOB – 1/27 @ 10:30am
HB 1296 – Exec Session – Concerning consolidating local permit review processes.
HB 1326 – Exec Session – Waiving municipal utility connection charges for certain properties.
HB 1351 – Exec Session – Prohibiting the imposition of minimum parking requirements except under certain circumstances.
