Environment

In Washington, we take pride in the diversity of our natural resources and the quality of life they provide us. Clean energy, climate change, water and natural resources are some of our top priorities.

We recognize the era when environmental interests and economic interest must compete is over. Today, it is possible to make progress on our economic goals while making progress on our environmental goals. We passed legislation with the intent to capitalize on the fact that some of the fastest growing opportunities for economic prosperity are in the renewable energy sector.

Our efforts have been recognized nationally by Forbes.com, which ranked Washington as America’s third “greenest” state. The following bills will continue the effort to make Washington a leader.

Energy

A bold weatherization effort will target the reduction of energy consumption by retrofitting 20,000 homes and buildings across the state. This will reduce heating bills and provide an estimated 8,000 living-wage jobs for skilled workers, apprentices, veterans and disadvantaged populations. (SB 5649)

We lowered energy costs by strengthening energy codes for new buildings and assessing energy performance through benchmarking. (SB 5854)

We took the steps to strengthen Initiative 937’s clean energy targets by making sure our utilities use various forms of clean energy rather than promoting just one source of renewable energy – without penalizing ratepayers. We expanded the geographic area from where qualifying renewable energy can be purchased (from four NW states to entire Western Power Grid) and helped promote solar and biomass use, not just wind. (SB 5804)

We repealed the sales exemption on hybrid vehicles and instead funded an extension of the sales tax exemption on equipment used to create renewable energy. To encourage local clean energy production, we lowered the B&O tax rate for solar manufacturing and extended the renewable energy cost recovery program to include community projects. We passed additional renewable energy incentives. (SB 6170)

We asked that state agencies lead by example in energy efficiency by phasing in fuel efficient state vehicles and making state buildings more energy efficient. By creating an integrated climate change response strategy we will ask selected state agencies to assess and gather information needed to develop a comprehensive and coordinated climate change response strategy. (SB 5560)

Climate Change

We passed the governor-request legislation to continue progress to develop a comprehensive approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to meet the state’s 2020 limits. (SB 5735)

Water

We now require large vessels such as oil tankers, cargo vessels and cruise ships to pay for the Neah Bay response tug — the first line of defense against a catastrophic oil spill on Washington’s coast or the Strait of Juan de Fuca. (SB 5344)

We addressed how to proceed with large court cases to determine water rights by modernizing the 1917 water code provision for general stream adjudication. (HB 1571, companion SB 5533)

Natural Resources

We were able to keep all the state parks open by creating a $5 opt-out option when you renew your vehicle license. (HB 2339)