January 25 - Hot List for State Senate

POSSIBLE SENATE FLOOR ACTION

SB 6248: Regarding the use of bisphenol A. (a.k.a. Safe Baby Bottle Act)

Senate Health and Long Term Care: Possible Executive Session

POSITION: SUPPORT

• The Safe Baby Bottle bill protects children's health by banning the toxic chemical—bisphenol A (BPA)—in baby bottles, sippy cups, sports water bottles, and other food and beverage containers intended for children 3 and under.
• The Food and Drug Administration recently reversed its opinion on the safety of BPA and is now concerned about the hormone disrupting chemical's use in baby bottles. In its new opinion on BPA, the agency cited the potential for effects on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and young children among the reason for their concern.

SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION

SB 5518: Reducing the amount of petroleum pollution in stormwater. (a.k.a. Working for Clean Water)

Senate Ways and Means Committee: Possible public hearing

POSITION: SUPPORT

• This bill will put Washington back to work. A per-barrel oil fee imposed upon refineries will directly fund $120 million each year in local projects to clean up petroleum pollution in our water, creating thousands of new jobs across the state.
• By volume, petroleum is the most significant contaminant in stormwater that runs into our lakes, rivers and streams. A priority for local governments, labor and environmentalists, this polluter-pays bill will help rebuild local economies and clean up polluted waterways from Puget Sound to the Spokane River.

SB 6214: Restructuring three growth management hearings boards into one board.

POSITION: SUPPORT 

• This bill consolidates the 3 growth management hearings boards into 1 board and reduces the number of board members from 9 to 7. This bill will save the state nearly $800,000 a biennium and is supported by a broad range of stakeholders, including interests representing cities, counties and the environmental & business communities.
• The proposed substitute provides flexibility to the GMHB but directs them to, when possible, create future panels in a way that reflects the qualifications and makeup of the entire board.
  

SB 6289: Protecting lake water quality by reducing phosphorus from lawn fertilizers.

Environment, Water, and Energy: Possible Executive Session

POSITION: SUPPORT

• Phosphorous from residential lawn fertilizers is a major water quality problem that, if not limited, will require local governments to spend millions on wastewater treatment plant upgrades.
• This bill limits phosphorous in fertilizers applied to established residential lawns, unless the soil is deemed to be phosphorous deficient.

SB 6343: Establishing the Washington food policy council.

POSITION: SUPPORT

• A State Food Policy Council would bring together a broad group of stakeholders and agencies to better coordinate with the goal of increasing the production, sales, and consumption of Washington-grown foods, and to promote programs that bring healthy Washington grown foods to low income people.

SB 6489: Adding products to the energy efficiency code.

POSITION: SUPPORT

• This bill adopts efficiency standards for televisions.
• In 2020, these efficiency standards will save Washington energy consumers about $24.8 million per year. Energy savings will be an estimated 45 annual average megawatts – equal to the average output of about 60 wind turbines.

SB 6536: Regarding the withdrawals of waters of the state from additional appropriations.

POSITION: OPPOSE

• Water is a finite resource, and senior water rights and in-stream flows face tremendous uncertainty with the proliferation of permit-exempt wells and impacts due to climate change. Currently, the Department of Ecology has the authority to withdraw waters from further appropriation when it lacks information to make responsible water management decisions. This bill places an unreasonable burden on Ecology by requiring the agency to prove impairment of a water right with peer reviewed science before it can stop new appropriations, which effectively removes the agency's ability to exercise precaution in an over-appropriated basin.
• Senior water right holders, which may include in-stream flows, have limited tools available to address impairment concerns in a timely manner. This bill would dramatically weaken one of the strongest tools available to address impairment, collect needed information, and find balanced solutions for conflicting water uses.

SB 6547 and EHB 2561: Funding construction of energy cost saving improvements to public facilities.

POSITION: SUPPORT

• We can put Washingtonians back to work while giving our children better places to learn and saving our schools money. This bill is a referendum to the voters to authorize the state to issue bonds for building upgrades and energy conservation retrofits in schools across the state.
• The JOBS Act will create about 40,000 new jobs while saving school districts millions in energy costs--that's money that can be used for our teachers and improving instruction.

SB 6656: Authorizing a local financing tool to fund energy efficiency upgrades and removing financial barriers to implementing conservation programs.

Environment, Water and Energy: Public hearing

POSITION: SUPPORT 

• This bill unlocks the full job-creating potential of making our homes and businesses more energy efficient by allowing municipalities to set up revolving loan programs that overcome the biggest barrier to money-saving conservation projects in Washington- the lack of up-front financing. Conservation loans are paid back with energy savings through utility or property tax bills.
• The bill also allows utilities to recover investments made to make our homes and businesses more energy efficient.

SB 6672: Modifying the energy independence act.

POSITION: CONCERNS

• This bill amends I-937, the citizens’ Clean Energy Initiative, passed by the voters in 2006.
• This bill is a result of negotiations during the interim with utilities, industry and the environmental community.