From LWVWA 3/2/25 Legislative newsletter:
Friday was the cutoff for bills to pass from the fiscal and transportation committees. This meant that any bill assigned to one of those committees that was not passed by the committees became “dead” for the remainder of the session. The only exceptions are those considered “necessary to implement the budget” (NTIB)—but which ones those are will only be known once the budgets are prepared. The action moves to the floors of the House and Senate, where all of the legislators debate and vote on bills moved forward from their respective Rules Committees.
PRIORITY ACTIONS
Fix Our Broken Recycling System. The Recycling Reform Act (SB 5284/HB 1150), sponsored by Sen Liz Lovelett and Rep Liz Berry, would modernize our recycling system in Washington and establish extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging—which would improve recycling outcomes in our state. It would create a producer responsibility program in which manufacturers and brands come together to reduce unnecessary packaging and paper, fund statewide recycling services, and ensure that materials are actually recycled. Specific incentives are built in to reduce plastic packaging. Write to your Senator and Representatives HERE and tell them to bring these bills to a floor vote—and VOTE YES by March 12.
Increasing Transmission Capacity—Reconductoring. Advanced transmission conductors exhibit reduced resistance and can operate at higher temperatures than conventional high-voltage electrical transmission cables. When legacy transmission cables are replaced with advanced cables, more energy can move through the existing transmission corridors with less transmission loss, and save the time required to permit and construct additional transmission. SHB 1819 adds passages to existing law to incentivize utilities to invest in advanced transmission to increase our grid capacity. It exempts some environmental reviews when the installation work occurs in already permitted rights-of-way. We must invest in every available technology improvement to move the renewable energy from where we generate it to where we use it because our demand is growing. SUPPORT SHB 1819 HERE. Tell your representatives to get it to the House floor for a vote—and then VOTE YES. Use these talking points:
- Ask that SHB 1819 be scheduled for a floor vote.
- Such investments are required as we transition away from polluting fossil fuels and toward clean, renewable electricity.
- Reconductoring is a cost effective investment to increase our grid’s reliability and safety, even reducing risk of wild fires.
For additional action items, which help pass bills the League supports on specific issues, click on the see all action alerts, and take action on the ones you are most interested in.
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