WAWG
By Diana Carlen
WAWG Lobbyist
On Wednesday, March 12, the Legislature reached a milestone — the deadline to pass bills out of their house of origin. Legislators worked several late nights and the weekend to pass as many bills as they could prior to cutoff. The Senate passed 273 bills, and the House passed 262 bills. Bills that did not meet that deadline are considered dead and ineligible to move forward this year unless considered necessary to implement the budget (NTIB). It is important to note, bills are never truly dead because their content can be amended into other legislation or rare procedural moves can occur to keep them alive. On Thursday, March 13, the focus of the Legislature shifted back to committees. Bills are again assigned to committees and have the same type of work sessions, public hearings, and debate as in the original chamber. The next legislative deadline is April 2 when all bills must pass out of their policy committee to remain alive.
The Economic & Revenue Forecast Council will release updated revenue and transportation projections on March 18. This will give budget writers a clearer picture of the revenue available as they craft their budgets. The House and Senate are expected to unveil their biennial budget proposals around Monday, March 24.
This past week, Senate Republicans released their 2025-2027 Operating Budget Proposal called “$ave Washington.” You can read more about their presentation and budget plan here. Their plan increases K-12 funding by $2 billion and allocates $100 million for hiring new law enforcement officers without any new taxes or rainy day fund transfers.
In a surprising turn of events, Gov. Ferguson’s legislative team has resigned. Legislative Director Joyce Bruce and Deputy Legislative Director Shawn Lewis resigned within two weeks of each other. Ferguson’s policy team will absorb the legislative work for the rest of the session. With only six weeks left of session, the departure comes at a critical time.
Notable Bills That Passed House of Origin This Past Week:
- Agricultural Fuel Exemptions (Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 1912), sponsored by Rep. Tom Dent (R-Moses Lake), seeks to ensure that farmers receive the exemptions they were promised under the Climate Commitment Act for fuel used for agricultural purposes. The bill would require Ecology to publish a directory by Oct. 1 to notify farmers of retail fuel sellers that sell exempt fuel used for agricultural purposes. The bill also declares it is the legislative intent to continue the rebate program similar to the budget proviso from last year through June of 2027 for farmers who are not able to get exempt fuel. Finally, it extends the exemption for fuel used to transport agricultural products on public highways until Dec. 31, 2029. A hearing is scheduled on March 19 in the Senate Environment, Energy & Technology Committee.
- Collective Bargaining Rights for Agricultural Cannabis Workers (Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1141), sponsored by Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self (D-Mukilteo), extends collective bargaining rights to agricultural workers in the cannabis industry. The bill passed the House on March 11 by a vote of 55-40 with an amendment that was important to agriculture. Specifically, the bill now states that the bill may not be interpreted by any court to apply to or otherwise extend any rights to any employee who does not meet the definition of employee in the underlying bill, which includes any employee employed by an employer to perform the work of cultivating, growing, harvesting, or producing cannabis, including defoliating, drying, bucking, precuring, curing, drying, trimming, sorting, and loading, if performed on a farm.
- Paid Family Leave Expansion (Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 1213), sponsored by Rep. Liz Berry (D-Seattle), expands worker protections under Washington’s Paid Family and Medical Leave program. Currently, small employers with fewer than 50 employees are exempt from providing job protection and health benefit continuation for employees on Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML). This bill eliminates these exemptions. In addition, employees could begin utilizing the benefits after 180 days of employment (current law requires you to have worked for the employer for a year before utilizing the benefits), regardless of the size of the employer. The bill passed the House on March 11 by a vote of 55-41 with a floor amendment. The adopted amendment requires the Office of Actuarial Services within the Employment Security Department to submit a report within 10 business days to the Paid Family and Medical Leave Advisory Committee and the appropriate committees of the Legislature if it projects that a deficit in the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Account will not be recovered through the next quarterly premium collections.
- Auction Price Containment CCA (Second Substitute House Bill 1975), sponsored by Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon (D-West Seattle), makes some modest adjustments to the Climate Commitment Act (CCA). For example, it sets the price ceiling for calendar years 2026 and 2027 at $80 (instead of $95). It also requires Ecology to increase the amount of allowances available at auction for the second compliance period. The bill passed the House on March 10 by a vote of 84-11. The bill is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Environment, Energy & Technology Committee on March 19.
- Clean Fuels Program (Second Substitute House Bill 1409), sponsored by Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon (D- Burien), proposes significant amendments to Washington’s Clean Fuels Program (i.e. Washington’s low carbon fuel standard for transportation fuels). The bill adjusts the reduction schedule to achieve a 45% decrease in carbon intensity by 2034. The bill was amended to specify that Clean Air Act civil and criminal penalties no longer apply to violations of the Clean Fuels Program, but establishes penalties and other enforcement powers specific to the CFP program. The bill also prohibits Ecology from increasing the carbon intensity standards beyond 20% beginning in 2030 unless Ecology determines that one new or expanded biofuel production facility has received a siting, operating, or environmental permit after Jan. 1, 2025. The bill passed the House on March 10 by a vote of 54-41. The bill is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Environment, Energy & Technology Committee on March 19.
- Safety of Working Minors (Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1644), establishes minimum penalties for employers who violate laws and rules governing the employment of minors. It requires the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) to conduct a safety and health consultation at a worksite before granting a student learner variance allowing a minor to perform work typically prohibited based on the minor’s age. It also requires L&I to revoke an employer’s minor work permit for certain violations of the Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act or laws pertaining to the employment of minors. The bill passed the House by a vote of 60-35. The bill is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee on March 18.
- Supply Chain Infrastructure (Senate Bill 5649), sponsored by Sen. Marko Liias (D-Lynnwood), establishes the Washington State Supply Chain Competitiveness Infrastructure Program to enhance the state’s global trade competitiveness by funding and prioritizing supply chain infrastructure projects. The program, administered by the Department of Transportation (DOT) in collaboration with stakeholders such as the Department of Commerce, public ports, tribal governments, and industry representatives, would provide grants and loans to public ports and tribal governments with public port operations. The bill passed the Senate unanimously on March 12. The bill is scheduled for a hearing in the House Committee on Technology, Economic Development, & Veterans on March 19.
Notable Bills That Did Not Make House of Origin and are Dead:
- County Utility Tax Authorization (Substitute House Bill 1702), sponsored by Rep. Sharon Wylie (D-Vancouver), would have authorized counties in Washington state to impose a public utility tax on businesses providing utility services. The bill authorized counties to levy an excise tax up to 3% on the gross income of utilities, with the tax required to be itemized on consumer bills. The business community is strongly opposed to these additional tax increases. The bill had been amended in the fiscal committee to require 0.2% of the tax revenues be used for utility assistance for low-income residents. It also clarified that the county PUT applies only to unincorporated areas of the county (i.e. to prevent double taxation by a city and county) and that the state PUT may not be imposed on the taxes collected by a county public utility tax.
- Environmental Justice Integration (Substitute House Bill 1303), sponsored by Rep. Sharlett Mena (D-Tacoma), would have integrated environmental justice (EJ) considerations into certain projects by adding it as an element of the environment and a part of the SEPA checklist. The bill was amended significantly to simply require Ecology to undertake rulemaking to implement the environmental justice component and develop mitigation guidance, but was not brought up for a vote by the deadline.
Notable Hearings This Past Week in Opposite Chamber:
- Environmental Crimes (Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5360), sponsored by Sen. Yasmin Trudeau (D-Tacoma), increases criminal penalties for environmental crimes. The bill would update the state’s criminal penalties for violations of the Clean Air Act, the Hazardous Waste Management Act, and the Water Pollution Control Act to more closely align with current federal penalties. The bill was amended on the Senate floor to clarify that people doing normal agricultural practices or necessary agency activities, like burnings for forest health that have been approved and permitted by the Department of Natural Resources, are not subject to prosecution and to clarify that the standard of negligence requires a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise. The bill had a hearing in the Senate Environment, Energy & Technology Committee on March 13. Stakeholders continue to have concerns about the bill and have been working as a coalition to make sure there are further amendments to the bill if it moves forward in the House. The bill is excessively punitive, and it would invite prosecutors to file multiple felony charges whenever there is a violation — even if there is no appreciable impact or harm to the environment — of any provision within Washington’s environmental statutes.