2024 Washington Legislative Cycle:
Last Day March 7th, 2024
Each year, Earth Ministry/WA IPL raises up the moral voice for environmental justice in the Washington State Legislature. We give you the tools to speak up as a faithful advocate by sharing your story with legislators in support of strong policies for environmental justice.
This year’s “short” legislative session begins on January 9 and will go for 60 days. Public participation in the legislative process will continue to be hybrid, which means that faithful advocates from across the state can participate in passing important and critical legislation.
Earth Ministry/WA IPL values collaboration and our priorities are selected through participation in coalition spaces, such as the Environmental Priorities Coalition and in dialogue with partners, especially Front and Centered, who are leading the movement for environmental justice in Washington State.
Earth Ministry/WAIPL provides a wide range of opportunities for people of faith to get involved in faithful advocacy. We also teach congregational faithful advocacy trainings upon request. For more information or to get involved email emoffice@earthministry.org.
Sign up here to receive Earth Ministry/WAIPL’s weekly legislative action emails.
For more info on how to engage in the WA State Legislative Session, visit our Advocacy Tools webpage!
Top Priority Bills:
100% Clean (Zero Emissions) School Buses
PASSED IN THE LEGISLATURE!
GOING TO THE GOVERNOR’S DESK
Legislative Overview
2023 Session
- House Committee on Environment and Energy – passed
- House Committee on Appropriations – paused (did not pass in 2023)
2024 Session
- Jan 11 House Committee on Appropriations – hearing
- Jan 18 House Committee on Appropriations – no action
- Jan 29 House Committee on Appropriations – passed
- Jan 31 Referred to House Rules
- Feb 9 House floor – passed
- Feb 21 Senate Committee on Early Learning – passed
- Feb 24 Senate Ways and Means Committee – hearing
- Feb 26 Senate Ways and Means Committee – passed
- Mar 1 Senate floor – passed
- Mar 5 House concurrence – passed
- Mar 6 Speaker signed
- Mar 7 delivered to Governor
All school kids deserve healthy, safe rides to school, but almost all school buses in our state currently run on diesel. Diesel is a carcinogen, and children’s developing lungs are particularly susceptible to polluting hazards. To improve infrastructure and replace diesel buses, this bill presents both
- a switch to 100% clean, electric school buses
- a funding source, thanks to the Climate Commitment Act (CCA).
To improve healthy air for school children and communities, plus improve climate outcomes by major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, this bill would transition over 10,000 school buses, the largest transit network in the state, to 100% clean energy. CCA funds are already allocated for this type of transition, and we can enable health justice for young people without other ways to get to school.
This bill is a priority of the Environmental Priorities Coalition and Climate Solutions.
Re-WRAP Act
Did Not Pass –
We’ll continue working for shared waste management responsibility.
Legislative Overview
2024 Session
- Jan 9 House Committee on Environment & Energy – hearing
- Jan 18 House Committee on Environment & Energy – passed
- Jan 23 Senate Committee on Environment, Energy & Technology – hearing
- Feb 1 House Committee on Appropriations – hearing
- Feb 3 House Committee on Appropriations – passed
- Feb 5, 9, & 22 House Rules Committee – paused (did not pass)
Appearing in its 3rd year, this thoroughly vetted bill seeks to provide curbside recycling to all WA residents, adding incentives for sustainable packaging practices. From use through reuse, compost, recycling, or landfill/incineration, end-of-use responsibility would change from residents to producers through fees that favor sustainable product design.
- Rural areas with expensive or no recycling would receive free recycling pickup, paid for through manufacturer fees.
- Waste hauler jobs are safeguarded.
- The bottle bill has been removed from this version.
When over 50% of packaging and paper products (to the tune of $104 million in materials) are currently landfilled or incinerated, the WRAP Act would give product designers the chance to use their ingenuity to create with more sustainable and cost-effective materials. With plastics proliferating from product shelves to dumps and waterways, this bill would decrease dependence on extractive, fossil-fuel based plastics.
This bill is a priority of the Environmental Priorities Coalition.
Cumulative Risk Burden (CURB) Pollution Act
Unfortunately, CURB stalled in
Appropriations during the 2024 cycle.
While we did not achieve our goal this year, we will not stop working for healthy and sustainable communities for all Washingtonians.
Legislative Overview
2024 Session
- Jan 16 House Committee on Environment & Energy – hearing
- Jan 29 House Committee on Environment & Energy – passed
- Jan 30 Senate Committee on Environment, Energy, and Technology – hearing
- Jan 31 Referred to House Appropriations Committee – paused (did not pass)
No matter who you are or where you live, we all deserve to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and be safe from toxic pollution. But across Washington State, communities of color and Indigenous peoples carry the greatest burden when it comes to environmental pollution, affecting their health, well-being, and life expectancy. This bill applies the HEAL Act to health-impacting pollutants in overburdened communities. It creates a mandate to
- Measure health-affecting pollutants across the state, by
- Locating communities with greater pollution burdens and
- Requiring the Department of Ecology to block or condition permits for new pollution in overburdened areas, and
- Provides for participation of frontline community members in planning and permitting.
The Heal Act funded and applied the Environmental Health Disparities Map, to identify cumulative impacts and overburdened communities and develop additional tools to measure the link between environmental quality and human health, disaggregated by race.
The result from CURB overtime would be reducing health impacts and lowering pollution, prioritizing places and people subject to higher pollution burden, applying environmental justice principles to pollution permitting.
This bill is led by Front and Centered.
Additional Policies
Earth Ministry/WA IPL Supports
Clean Buildings Navigator Bill
HB1391 (Ramel, Doglio, Duerr, Berry, Pollet, Reed)
Passed as a Budget Proviso!!!
HB 1391 Passed House, Paused in Senate Ways and Means
With significant new clean energy incentives coming to Washingtonians from federal investments and the Climate Commitment Act, it is critical that the incentives are accessible, understandable, and that there is significant community outreach and input. This bill would create a one-stop shop and outreach campaign to do just that.
With real money available for Washingtonians both from federal investments and the WA Climate Commitment Act, it is critical that energy upgrade grants are accessible, applying is understandable, and community outreach and input is thorough. Reintroduced from prior years, this bill creates a one-stop shop and outreach program to do just that.
Legislative Overview
2023 Session
- House Committee on Environment & Energy – passed
- House Committee on Appropriations – passed
- House Rules Committee – passed, returned to Rules
2024 Session
- Feb 8 House Floor – passed
- Feb 16 Senate Committee on Environment, Energy & Technology – hearing
- Feb 21 Senate Committee on Environment, Energy & Technology – passed
- Feb 24 Senate Committee on Ways & Means – hearing
- Feb 26 Senate Committee on Ways & Means – no action in Executive Session
Holding Oil Companies Accountable
HB2232 / SB 6052
Did Not Pass in either chamber
We are grateful for the educational aspect of this bill to bring attention to gas pricing decisions that occur among oil companies behind closed doors without adequate consumer protection. Without protections like this bill, there is no legal mechanism to check the difference between what oil companies say about their pricing and what factors actually influence prices.
Random gas price changes hurt us all, but harm our state’s vulnerable most intensely. This bill creates transparency for oil pricing, in order to protect consumers from the wild ride of gas prices we have experienced recently, and end price gouging.
We all need affordable ways to get around, but oil companies are price gouging anyone fueling up a vehicle with gas. While we struggled through the pandemic and inflation, oil companies made over $200 billion in profits in 2022 alone and then tried to blame climate policy for high prices at the pump to deflect attention from their profits.
Instead of investing in clean energy, they are pursuing oil and gas expansion and spending money on lobbying and misleading ads to fight cleaner options. We need transparency around how oil companies set their prices as well as accountability to stop their greenwashing and price gouging. Our legislators need to protect Washingtonians by requiring oil industry transparency and accountability.
This bill is a priority of the Environmental Priorities Coalition.
Fair Access to Community Solar HB 2253 / SB 6113
Community Solar Vote Deferred until 2025
Despite the advantages of solar energy, a vast majority of Washingtonians lack access to it.
- Community solar is a proven, cost- effective solution that broadens access to clean energy and utility bill savings for families, small businesses, farms, Tribes, and public service organizations.
- Community Solar stimulates local investment in solar projects and increases energy independence while promoting local economic development, reducing energy burden, and increasing environmental benefits.
This bill is a priority of Olympia Community Solar and the Washington Community Solar Alliance.
Read more about a Community Solar Program here.