Washington Business 2019 Legislative Review & Vote Record | Page 20

2019 legislative review
2SHB 1444
appliance efficiency
standards
Passed/AWB Supported
Kevin Messner, senior vice president of policy & government relations for the Association of Home
Appliance Manufacturers, testifies on Senate Bill 5115 (companion to HB 1444), concerning
appliance efficiency standards.
SB 5981
cap and trade
Failed/AWB Opposed
Senate Bill 5981 was introduced by Sen.
Reuven Carlyle, D-Seattle, after several
weeks of engagement with businesses
and environmental groups. The bill would
have created a cap and trade program in
Washington state with the eventual goal of
linking it with the California and Oregon
programs. The bill did not advance out
of committee, but discussions will be
taking place over the interim to further
refine the bill for likely introduction next
session. AWB testified before the Senate
Energ y Committee with concerns over
the complexity of the bill and will remain
involved in f ut ure discussions. AW B
opposed the bill.
2SSB 5489/EHB 2009
environmental justice
Failed/AWB Opposed
Se cond Subst it ute Sen ate Bi l l 5489,
spon sored by Sen . Rebecca Sa lda ña ,
D-Seattle, would have created a task force
made up of state agencies and environmental
justice advocates to evaluate how to use a
18 association of washington business
map of environmental health disparities to
inform public policy and regulation. The
map was the result of a partnership with
Washington departments of Ecology and
Health, the University of Washington, and
an environmental social justice advocacy
group. It ranked, by census tract, the risk of
poor health outcomes as a result of exposure
to air pollutants. In addition to using this
map to drive state policy, the bill also
directed state agencies to use “all practicable
means to promote environmental social
justice and fair treatment” and allowed this
task force to make changes to other state
environmental policies such as SEPA. AWB
expressed concerns over the unbalanced
makeup of the task force, the lack of any
legislative oversight of the task force, and
the bias toward urban representation.
An additional concern was the lack of
any legislative review of the task force
recommendations which would have been
directly implemented if the bill had passed.
After passing in the Senate, the bill died
coming out of the House. However, parts of
the task force were funded in the Operating
Budget and will be operating in a limited
form. AWB will continue to monitor and
remain very engaged in this issue. AWB
opposed this bill.
Second Substit ute House Bill 1444, a
governor-requested bill sponsored by Rep.
Jeff Morris, D-Mount Vernon, is a return
bill from last year’s session. This bill
implemented and updated energy standards
for appliance efficiency in Washington
state, including standards for water heaters,
computers, restaurant equipment, and
portable air conditioning units. The bill also
increased the efficiency standards for tub
and shower faucets. Earlier drafts of the
bill included standards on some appliances
which were impossible to meet and would
have prevented over 90% of the available
products on the market from being sold
in Washington state. AWB worked with
the Department of Commerce staff and
legislators to add key protections for these
products. AWB supported this bill.
HB 1597
incorporating
comprehensive measures of
greenhouse gas emissions
from certain fossil fuels
into state environmental
laws
Failed/AWB Opposed
House Bill 1597, sponsored by Rep. Gerry
Pollet, D-Seattle, would have directed the
Department of Ecolog y to establish an
emissions rate to capture the emissions
from the production, gathering, processing,
transmission, storage, and distribution
of nat ura l ga s ser ved to Wa shing ton
customers. The bill also directed that
the Department of Ecology use a 20-year
t i mef ra me to accou nt for t he g loba l
warming potential of these emissions
and develop an “Emissions Rule” which
would be used to inform all state agency
decision making related to permitting,
rev iew, a nd reg ulator y act iv it ies for
projects that use natural gas. The use of a
20-year timeframe is extremely aggressive
and exaggerates the impact of natural gas