2023 Legislative Update: Week 9

March 12, 2023

By Lyset Cadena

Contract Lobbyist, Bellevue Chamber

Weekly Update

The beginning of the week focused on getting bills passed off the floor by house of origin cutoff on Wednesday. Legislators worked long hours with some floor debates going late into the night. Bills that did not pass out of the chamber in which they were introduced by that day are considered dead unless they are deemed necessary to implement the budget (NTIB).

The House concluded their business after 8pm once the debate on HB 1240, which prohibits the sale of assault weapons, ended. The “5 o’clock” bill in the Senate was SB 5600, which extends the expiration date for state universal communications services programs.

Prior to the Senate “5 o’clock” bill, the Senate moved to bring up SB 5352, vehicular pursuits, which never had a hearing or moved out of the Senate Law & Justice committee. The bill was amended and passed with 26-23 vote count; this was another unusual split of Senators voting for and against.

For those that like to keep track of the number of bills moving through the legislative process, the chart below details the number of bills introduced and the bills passed by their respective chamber.

After Wednesday’s House of origin cutoff, hearings resumed as policy committees considered bills that have been sent over from the opposite house. Bills have until March 29th to pass out of their opposite house policy committee.

This coming week the focus will continue to be on policy committee hearings and executive sessions as they work towards the opposite house policy cutoff. We are also inching closer to budget time. On March 20th the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council will release the next quarterly revenue forecast. While we won’t know the budget landscape with certainty until that comes out, folks in Olympia are expecting a fairly flat forecast, which won’t provide a lot of funding for new or increased investments.

The Senate and House budget proposals are expected to come out in the week after the forecast is released.

TVW’s Legislative Review does clips each day highlighting some of the hot topics of the day. You can find links to the Legislative Review videos here.

There are several bills that are still alive that may be of interest to the Bellevue Chamber:

SB 5536: concerning controlled substances, counterfeit substances, and legend drug possession and treatment
HB 1110: Increasing middle housing in areas traditionally dedicated to single-family detached housing
SB 5290: Concerning consolidating local permit review processes
HB 1245: Increasing housing options through lot splitting
HB 1143: Concerning requirements for the purchase or transfer of firearms
HB 1238: Providing free school meals for all
HB 1181: Improving the state’s response to climate change by updating the state’s planning framework
SB 5466: Promoting transit-oriented development
HB 1589: Supporting Washington’s clean energy economy and transitioning to a clean, affordable, and reliable energy future
SB 5236: Concerning hospital staffing standards
SB 5499: Concerning the multistate nurse licensure compact

The bills below did not survive and are considered dead for this session:

SB 5002: Concerning alcohol concentration
HB 1513: Improving traffic safety
HB 1389: Concerning residential rent increases under the residential landlord-tenant act and the manufactured/mobile home landlord-tenant act
HB 1124: 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 1389: Concerning residential rent increases under the residential landlord-tenant act and the manufactured/mobile home landlord-tenant act
HB 1025: Creating a private right of action for harm from violations of the state Constitution or state law by peace officers

Upcoming Events Report

Community Safety, Justice, & Reentry (House) – HHR D and Virtual JLOB – 3/13 @ 1:30pm

SSB 5424 – Public Hearing – Concerning flexible work for general and limited authority Washington peace officers. (Remote Testimony Available).

Housing (House) – HHR B and Virtual JLOB – 3/13 @ 1:30pm

SSB 5235 – Public Hearing – Concerning accessory dwelling units. (Remote Testimony Available).

Ways & Means (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 3/13 @ 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.

2SHB 1477 – Public Hearing – Making changes to the working families’ tax credit. (Remote
Testimony Available).

Local Government, Land Use & Tribal Affairs (Senate) – SHR 3 and Virtual JACB – 3/14 @ 8:00am

E2SHB 1167 – Public Hearing – Concerning residential housing regulations. (Remote Testimony Available).

E2SHB 1181 – Public Hearing – Improving the state’s response to climate change by updating the state’s planning framework. (Remote Testimony Available).

ESHB 1245 – Public Hearing – Increasing housing options through lot splitting. (Remote Testimony Available).

Labor & Workplace Standards (House) – HHR D and Virtual JLOB – 3/14 @ 10:30am

ESSB 5217 – Public Hearing – Concerning the state’s ability to regulate certain industries and risk classifications to prevent musculoskeletal injuries and disorders. (Remote Testimony Available).

SSB 5286 – Public Hearing – Modifying the premium provisions of the paid family and medical leave program. (Remote Testimony Available).

Housing (House) – HHR B and Virtual JLOB – 3/14 @ 4:00pm

E2SSB 5045 – Public Hearing – Incentivizing rental of accessory dwelling units to low-income households. (Remote Testimony Available).

ESSB 5197 – Public Hearing – Addressing landlord-tenant relations by providing technical changes to eviction notice forms and modifying certain eviction processes. (Remote Testimony Available).

Health Care & Wellness (House) – HHR A and Virtual JLOB – 3/15 @ 1:30pm

2SSB 5120 – Public Hearing – Establishing crisis relief centers in Washington state. (Remote Testimony Available).

Housing (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 3/15 @ 1:30pm

SHB 1074 – Public Hearing – Addressing documentation and processes governing landlords’ claims for damage to residential premises. (Remote Testimony Available).

Housing (House) – HHR B and Virtual JLOB – 3/16 @ 8:00am

SSB 5235 – Exec Session – Concerning accessory dwelling units.

SSB 5386 – Public Hearing – Reducing administrative complexity by increasing transparency of revenue flows for activities funded by document recording fees. (Remote Testimony Available).

ESSB 5466 – Public Hearing – Promoting transit-oriented development. (Remote Testimony Available).

Labor & Commerce (Senate) – SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 3/16 @ 8:00am

ESHB 1106 – Public Hearing – Concerning qualifications for unemployment insurance when an individual voluntarily leaves work. (Remote Testimony Available).

Local Government, Land Use & Tribal Affairs (Senate) – SHR 3 and Virtual JACB – 3/16 @ 10:30am

E2SHB 1167 – Exec Session – Concerning residential housing regulations.

E2SHB 1181 – Exec Session – Improving the state’s response to climate change by updating the state’s planning framework.

ESHB 1245 – Exec Session – Increasing housing options through lot splitting.

SHB 1326 – Exec Session – Waiving municipal utility connection charges for certain properties.

Housing (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 3/17 @ 10:30am

E2SHB 1110 – Public Hearing – Increasing middle housing in areas traditionally dedicated to single-family detached housing. (Remote Testimony Available).

Labor & Workplace Standards (House) – HHR D and Virtual JLOB – 3/17 @ 10:30am

ESSB 5217 – Exec Session – Concerning the state’s ability to regulate certain industries and risk classifications to prevent musculoskeletal injuries and disorders.

SSB 5286 – Exec Session – Modifying the premium provisions of the paid family and medical leave program