2024 Legislative Update: Week 3
The first cut-off of session is quickly approaching on Wednesday, January 31st, which means all bills must pass out of their house of origin policy committees or they will be considered dead unless deemed ‘Necessary to Implement the Budget’ (NTIB). A reminder that policy committees are things like health care, education, and environment where the focus is on the substance of a bill rather than the fiscal impact. Because this week is leading up to policy cutoff, committee agendas will be filled with mostly executive sessions where committees consider potential amendments and vote bills out of committee.
The next cutoff date is just a few days later on Monday, February 5th. By this date all bills referred to fiscal committees must pass out of their house of origin fiscal committee (Appropriations, Finance and Capital Budget Committees in the House, Ways & Means in the Senate, and both Transportation Committees). Because of the short turnaround between these two cutoffs, some of the fiscal committees will convene this Saturday, February 3rd.
This week the House passed HB 1589, which bans Puget Sound Energy from providing natural gas service to any commercial or residential location that has not received gas service or filed an application for gas service as of June 30, 2023. The House passed the bill last year, but it faced strong opposition in the Senate. A couple of changes were made to the version this year, with many more to come, but it still faces strong opposition from the business community. It is scheduled for a public hearing on Wednesday in the Senate Environment & Energy committee.
The episode of Inside Olympia includes an interview with the two leaders of the House of Representatives, House Speaker Laurie Jinkins and House Minority Leader Drew Stokesbary, where they offer their views of the state of the state. Speaker Jinkins believes the state is going in the right direction, but there is more to do. She also spoke to the six initiatives to the legislature, which have now all been verified by the Office of the Secretary of State Elections Division using a state-mandated process of examining a 3% random sample of submitted signatures. Jinkins stated that her caucus is looking at each individual initiative and whether each one will receive a hearing. Minority Leader Stokebary is focused on funding police recruitment and retention. His caucus believes the initiatives take precedence over bills and that the initiatives should receive a hearing.
This week the focus will largely be on moving bills out of committee by Wednesday’s policy cutoff. Then attention will quickly shift to fiscal committees, which are expected to convene over the weekend so they can hear and move bills out of committee by next Monday’s fiscal cutoff.
Upcoming Dates:
• January 31st – House of Origin Policy Cutoff
• February 5th – House of Origin Fiscal Cutoff
• February 13th – House of Origin Floor Cutoff
• February 21st – Opposite House Policy Cutoff
• February 26th – Opposite House Fiscal Cutoff
• March 1st – Opposite House Floor Cutoff
• March 7th – Sine Die
Upcoming Events Report
Labor & Commerce (Senate) – SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 1/29 @ 10:30am
SB 6299 – Public Hearing – Protecting employee rights in the workplace with regards to the use of digital technology. (Remote Testimony Available).
SB 6192 – Exec Session – Addressing additional work and change orders on public and private construction projects.
Environment & Energy (House) – HHR C and Virtual JLOB – 1/29 @ 1:30pm
HB 2070 – Exec Session – Integrating environmental justice considerations into certain project decisions.
Housing (House) – HHR B and Virtual JLOB – 1/29 @ 1:30pm
HB 2452 – Public Hearing – Addressing the impacts of certain codes on manufactured housing inventory. (Remote Testimony Available).
HB 2474 – Public Hearing – Concerning compliance with siting requirements for transitional housing, permanent supportive housing, indoor emergency shelters, and indoor emergency housing. (Remote Testimony Available).
HB 2270 – Exec Session – Creating a Washington state department of housing.
HB 2308 – Exec Session – Concerning housing affordability tax incentives for existing structures.
Health & Long Term Care (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 1/30 @ 8:00am
SB 6295 – Exec Session – Creating a path to recovery for high users of behavioral health crisis and criminal justice systems.
Local Government, Land Use & Tribal Affairs (Senate) – SHR 3 and Virtual JACB – 1/30 @ 8:00am
SB 6061 – Exec Session – Concerning exemptions for housing development under the state environmental policy act.
SB 6150 – Exec Session – Extending the comprehensive plan revision schedule for select local governments.
SB 6152 – Exec Session – Requiring certain counties to measure the gap between estimated existing housing units and existing housing needs.
Civil Rights & Judiciary (House) – HHR A and Virtual JLOB – 1/30 @ 10:30am
HB 1877 – Exec Session – Improving the Washington state behavioral health system for better coordination and recognition with the Indian behavioral health system.
Labor & Commerce (Senate) – SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 1/30 @ 10:30am
SB 6299 – Exec Session – Protecting employee rights in the workplace with regards to the use of digital technology.
Law & Justice (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 1/30 @ 10:30am
HB 1054 – Public Hearing – Addressing the authority of owners’ associations in common interest communities to regulate or limit occupancy by unrelated persons. (Remote Testimony Available).
HB 1530 – Public Hearing – Expanding eligibility for employment of certain law enforcement and prosecutor office positions. (Remote Testimony Available).
Local Government (House) – HHR E and Virtual JLOB – 1/30 @ 10:30am
HB 2465 – Public Hearing – Streamlining the state building code council operating procedures by establishing criteria for statewide amendments to the state building code. (Remote Testimony Available).
HB 2428 – Public Hearing – Allowing cities to voluntarily share certain sales and use tax revenue. (Remote Testimony Available).
HB 2451 – Public Hearing – Increasing the consistency and transparency of impact fees. (Remote Testimony Available).
HB 2468 – Public Hearing – Concerning the siting of child care facilities. (Remote Testimony Available).
Consumer Protection & Business (House) – HHR C and Virtual JLOB – 1/30 @ 1:30pm
HB 2329 – Exec Session – Conducting a study of the insurance market for housing providers receiving housing trust fund resources.
HB 2437 – Exec Session – Incentivizing retirement savings options for Washington businesses and their employees.
Environment, Energy & Technology (Senate) – SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 1/30 @ 1:30pm
SB 6052 – Exec Session – Concerning petroleum products supply and pricing.
SB 5990 – Public Hearing – Integrating environmental justice considerations into certain project decisions. (Remote Testimony Available).
Health Care & Wellness (House) – HHR A and Virtual JLOB – 1/30 @ 1:30pm
HB 2467 – Exec Session – Increasing access to the long-term services and supports trust.
HB 2271 – Exec Session – Promoting access to information regarding the long-term services and supports trust program.
State Government & Elections (Senate) – SHR 2 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 1/30 @ 1:30pm
SB 6291 – Exec Session – Streamlining the state building code council operating procedures by establishing criteria for statewide amendments to the state building code.
Housing (House) – HHR B and Virtual JLOB – 1/30 @ 4:00pm
HB 2452 – Exec Session – Addressing the impacts of certain codes on manufactured housing inventory.
HB 2474 – Exec Session – Concerning compliance with siting requirements for transitional housing, permanent supportive housing, indoor emergency shelters, and indoor emergency housing.
Transportation (Senate) – SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 1/30 @ 4:00pm
SB 5872 – Public Hearing – Concerning vehicle and operator requirements for autonomous vehicles. (Remote Testimony Available).
Ways & Means (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 1/30 @ 4:00pm
SSB 5923 – Public Hearing – Addressing fentanyl and other substance use prevention education. (Remote Testimony Available).
SSB 5838 – Public Hearing – Establishing an artificial intelligence task force. (Remote Testimony Available).
Environment, Energy & Technology (Senate) – SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 1/31 @ 8:00am
ESHB 1589 – Public Hearing – Supporting Washington’s clean energy economy and transitioning to a clean, affordable, and reliable energy future. (Hearing is on the Proposed Striking Amendment.) (Remote Testimony Available).
Higher Education & Workforce Development (Senate) – SHR 2 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 1/31 @ 8:00am
SB 6296 – Exec Session – Establishing a retail industry work group.
Local Government (House) – HHR E and Virtual JLOB – 1/31 @ 8:00am
HB 2465 – Exec Session – Streamlining the state building code council operating procedures by establishing criteria for statewide amendments to the state building code.
HB 2428 – Exec Session – Allowing cities to voluntarily share certain sales and use tax revenue.
HB 2451 – Exec Session – Increasing the consistency and transparency of impact fees.
HB 2468 – Exec Session – Concerning the siting of child care facilities.
Housing (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 1/31 @ 10:30am
SB 5899 – Exec Session – Adding to the list of provisions prohibited from rental agreements.
SB 5989 – Exec Session – Confirming property ownership or owner authorization for short-term rentals.
Consumer Protection & Business (House) – HHR C and Virtual JLOB – 1/31 @ 1:30pm
HB 2430 – Exec Session – Waiving business licensing handling and delinquency fees for eligible businesses.
HB 1934 – Exec Session – Establishing an artificial intelligence task force.
State Government & Tribal Relations (House) – HHR E and Virtual JLOB – 1/31 @ 1:30pm
HB 2250 – Exec Session – Increasing representation and voter participation in local elections.
Transportation (Senate) – SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 2/1 @ 1:30pm
SB 6304 – Public Hearing – Implementing certain recommendations of the transportation electrification strategy. (Remote Testimony Available).
Ways & Means (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 2/1 @ 1:30pm
SB 6285 – Public Hearing – Ensuring the timely and balanced use of impact fees. (Remote Testimony Available).
SB 5839 – Exec Session – Modifying the working families’ tax credit by clarifying the refundable nature of the credit, the application requirements, and the eligibility verification process.
SB 6301 – Public Hearing – Concerning basic law enforcement academy. (Remote Testimony Available).
SSB 5118 – Public Hearing – Modifying the multifamily property tax exemption to promote development of long-term affordable housing. (Remote Testimony Available).
SB 6076 – Public Hearing – Granting local taxing authority to fund criminal justice. (Remote Testimony
Available).
