issue area reports | energy and environment off a federal rule , released in May , which also is looking to require Scope 3 reporting . Both the California and federal rule are the subject of ongoing litigation . AWB led the opposition on this bill and it did not pass the Senate .
environment bills
HB 1185 banning overhead fluorescent lights
Passed / AWB opposed sponsor : Rep . David Hackney , D-Tukwila
This bill bans the sale of fluorescent overhead lights containing mercury . AWB was concerned about this bill because the ban of these products does not fully account for the cost to replace the systems using them . Users of these fluorescent lights , which include many small and
midsize businesses and manufacturers , will no longer be able to purchase mercurycontaining lights and will have to rely on alternatives .
Unfortunately , many of those alternatives will also require replacing the lighting ballasts , which is a cost not accounted for in the bill . Additionally , the ban occurs before a report due to the Legislature this fall on the success of the ongoing mercury light recovery program , which AWB thought was premature . AWB advocated that the Legislature hold this bill for one year , wait to see what the report had to say , and then take action as directed by the report .
HB 2049 extended producer responsibility
Failed / AWB Opposed sponsor : Rep . Liz Berry , D-Seattle
This was the return of the WRAP Act , titled this year as the Re-WRAP Act , the comprehensive extended producer responsibility ( EPR ) bill . This bill made a number of changes from last year , notably by removing the bottle bill element . The bottle bill was run as a separate piece of legislation and would have instituted an Oregon-style bottle deposit and return system in the state of Washington . The bill still had a number of problems from AWB ’ s perspective , despite the minor changes that had been made over the interim , and AWB opposed the bill .
This year ’ s bill was still too large and unwieldy with too much bureaucratic oversight and double guessing in order to be effective . We also thought it was still premature ; AWB advocated that the state should have a needs assessment first to fully understand the scope of what waste is going where . Then policy should be based around those findings . As it did last year , the bill did not receive a vote on the House floor and died . This is the sixth year AWB has seen an EPR proposal and it is likely to return next session .
HB 1900 extended producer responsibility
Failed / AWB Other sponsor : Rep . Jake Fey , D-Tacoma
This is a much scaled down version of the EPR bill , which did include doing a needs assessment before implementing policy . This , in AWB ’ s mind , is the proper way to handle policy by finding the gaps and holes in the existing system and providing legislators information for how to construct a program to address specifically those holes without fundamentally changing how waste management is handled the state . The bill did not pass the House .
Rep . Chipalo Street , D-Seattle , is majority caucus vice chair . He is also vice chair of the House Finance Committee and serves on the Environment & Energy Committee as well as the Innovation , Community & Economic Development , & Veterans Committee .
Bill considered as part of AWB ’ s voting record
Favorable outcome for Washington businesses
Missed Opportunities
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