Environment

passed · Washington · Senate Mar 12, 2026

SB 5838: Adding a tribal member to the board of natural resources.

SB 5838 amends Washington State law to add a seventh member to the Board of Natural Resources, specifically a tribal representative. This representative must be a member of a federally recognized tribe in Washington, appointed by the governor after consulting with tribes, and serve a four-year term. The change directly affects the board's composition and decision-making process regarding natural resources management. The bill requires the governor to collaborate with tribes during the appointment and specifies that the tribal representative joins existing members like the governor's designee and county representatives. This adjustment aims to integrate tribal perspectives into natural resource decisions, as stated in the bill's findings.

Topics ✓ EnvironmentSupports EnvironmentAdds tribal representative to natural resources board, enhancing environmental decision-making through inclusive representation75% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Environment

Track

passed · Washington · Senate Mar 12, 2026

SB 5919: Encouraging fire districts and insurance providers to develop voluntary incentives to promote best practices.

SB 5919 encourages fire districts and insurance companies to voluntarily create incentives for farmers in wildfire-prone unincorporated areas to adopt wildfire safety practices. The bill allows insurers to offer discounts or other benefits for specific actions like maintaining defensible space, properly storing equipment, installing water tanks, or heeding red flag warnings. These incentives would be optional for insurance providers to offer and for farmers to accept. The law aims to promote wildfire mitigation through collaboration, without mandating participation from either insurers or farmers.

Topics ✓ EnvironmentSupports EnvironmentEncourages wildfire safety practices (defensible space, equipment storage) to protect natural resources and reduce fire risks in vulnerable areas, aligning with environmental conservation goals.85% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Environment

Track

passed · Washington · Senate Mar 12, 2026

SB 5928: Concerning wildfire risk models and score disclosure.

SB 5928 requires Washington insurers to disclose wildfire risk scores and key factors affecting them to homeowners for residential property insurance. Insurers must provide the current score, score range, model creator, date of evaluation, and actionable steps to improve scores - such as fire safety measures - within 15 days of coverage decisions or renewals. Homeowners can appeal inaccurate scores within 30 days, and insurers must offer actuarial discounts for verified property or community wildfire mitigation efforts. The bill aims to increase transparency in how insurers assess wildfire risk, directly affecting homeowners seeking or renewing home insurance policies.

Topics ✓ EnvironmentSupports EnvironmentRequires insurers to disclose wildfire risk factors and promote fire safety measures, aligning with environmental protection by reducing wildfire risks.85% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Environment

Track

passed · Washington · Senate Mar 12, 2026

SB 5203: Ensuring connectivity for Washington wildlife through safe passages.

SB 5203 requires Washington's Departments of Fish and Wildlife and Transportation to develop and implement a statewide plan for protecting wildlife habitat corridors and building safe crossings (like overpasses and underpasses) to reduce animal-vehicle collisions. The bill creates a dedicated funding account, the Washington wildlife corridors account, which uses state funds and private donations to support projects such as land conservation, habitat restoration, and removing barriers like fences in key corridors. It mandates collaboration with tribes, federal agencies, and conservation groups, and requires annual reports on spending and progress toward reducing collisions (which cost over $74 million yearly). The law aims to protect habitats fragmented by development and climate change while improving highway safety.

Topics ✓ EnvironmentSupports EnvironmentBill mandates habitat corridor protection, funds conservation/restoration, and reduces wildlife collisions through infrastructure projects, directly advancing environmental conservation.95% confidence ✓ TransportationSupports TransportationRequires safe crossings (overpasses/underpasses) to reduce animal-vehicle collisions, directly enhancing road safety infrastructure and transportation safety.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Environment

Track

signed · Washington · House Mar 11, 2026

HB 2367: Eliminating preferential treatment related to a coal-fired electric generating plant.

HB 2367 eliminates special reporting exemptions for coal-fired power plants in Washington State's emissions tracking system. It amends reporting thresholds to remove preferential treatment, requiring coal plants to follow the same emissions reporting rules as other large emitters (like natural gas suppliers or railroads) once they exceed 25,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent annually. The bill repeals previous sections (RCW 82.08.811 and 82.12.811) that provided this preferential treatment, directly affecting coal-fired electricity generators by ending their distinct reporting pathway. This change ensures coal plants are subject to the same compliance obligations as other covered entities under the state's emissions program.

Topics ✓ EnergySupports EnergyEliminates exemptions for coal plants, requiring emissions reporting like other large emitters, reducing fossil fuel advantages and aligning with cleaner energy standards.95% confidence ✓ EnvironmentSupports EnvironmentRemoves preferential emissions reporting exemptions for coal plants, requiring full tracking like other large emitters, strengthening environmental oversight and transparency.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Environment

signed · Washington · House Mar 11, 2026

HB 2554: Recognizing judicially affirmed and treaty-reserved fishing rights and promoting state-tribal cooperative agreements in the management of salmon, trout, and steelhead resources.

HB 2554 repeals five sections of Washington State law (RCW 77.110.010-040 and 900) that conflicted with judicially confirmed tribal fishing rights and existing state-tribal cooperative agreements. The bill directly affects tribal nations and state fisheries management by removing outdated legal barriers. It eliminates provisions that declared state policy on fish management, denied rights based on cultural heritage, and required congressional transmittal, aligning state law with treaty obligations and current cooperative agreements for salmon, trout, and steelhead resources.

Topics ✓ EnvironmentSupports EnvironmentBill removes legal barriers to tribal-state cooperative management of salmon/trout resources, directly conserving natural fish populations through aligned fisheries management.85% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Environment

signed · Washington · House Mar 9, 2026

HB 2199: Reducing impacts from derelict vessels.

This bill gives Washington state agencies and local governments authority to remove abandoned or hazardous vessels (like those sunk, obstructing waterways, or endangering property) after a 7-day notice period. It directly affects vessel owners who leave boats unattended and local entities managing aquatic lands. Key provisions require authorities to prioritize environmentally sound disposal, sell vessels at auction if possible, and use sale proceeds first to cover removal costs, environmental damages, and administrative fees before addressing liens. The law also establishes clear procedures for owners to contest removal decisions or costs through hearings.

Topics ✓ EnvironmentSupports EnvironmentPrioritizes environmentally sound disposal of derelict vessels, preventing waterway pollution and ecological harm from abandoned boats.85% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Environment

signed · Washington · House May 20, 2025

HB 2077: Establishing a tax on certain business activities related to surpluses generated under the zero-emission vehicle program.

House Bill 2077 establishes a new tax on certain vehicle manufacturers. This tax applies to profits generated from surplus zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) credits, which are earned when a manufacturer exceeds the state's ZEV sales requirements. The bill requires the Department of Ecology to share manufacturers' ZEV credit activity with the Department of Revenue, and manufacturers must report the prices of ZEV credit transactions. The collected tax revenue is intended to be reinvested into programs that further promote cleaner vehicles.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesCreates new tax on ZEV credit profits, with revenue reinvested into programs, aligning with funding public initiatives per topic indicators.90% confidence ✓ EnergySupports EnergyTax on ZEV credit surpluses funds clean energy programs, advancing renewable energy infrastructure per bill's reinvestment intent.90% confidence ✗ EnvironmentOpposes EnvironmentTax on ZEV credit profits reduces manufacturer incentive to exceed ZEV requirements, weakening program effectiveness despite revenue reinvestment into environmental programs.85% confidence ✓ TransportationSupports TransportationBill taxes ZEV credit profits and reinvests revenue to promote zero-emission vehicles, a sustainable transportation initiative.90% confidence | Rep's Stance ✗ Voted No ✓ Supports Environment

signed · Washington · Senate May 20, 2025

SB 5194: Concerning state general obligation bonds and related accounts.

SB 5194 authorizes the state of Washington to issue nearly $4.7 billion in general obligation bonds. These bonds will finance various state capital projects outlined in the 2023-2025 and 2025-2027 fiscal biennia and future biennia. The proceeds are deposited into state building construction accounts and then transferred to specific accounts, including those for outdoor recreation, habitat conservation, farm and forest preservation, and early learning facilities. The state pledges its full faith and credit for repayment, using general state revenues to cover the principal and interest on these bonds.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesAuthorizes $4.7B in bonds to fund capital projects including recreation, conservation, and education facilities, advancing state budget priorities through targeted appropriations.95% confidence ✓ EducationSupports EducationFunds early learning facilities, a direct educational infrastructure investment under bond proceeds for state capital projects.85% confidence ✓ EnvironmentSupports EnvironmentFunds habitat conservation, farm/forest preservation, and outdoor recreation accounts from bond proceeds, directly advancing environmental protection priorities.90% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Environment

signed · Washington · House May 19, 2025

HB 1837: Establishing intercity passenger rail improvement priorities.

HB 1837 establishes specific improvement priorities for the Amtrak Cascades intercity passenger rail service, aiming to enhance the state's transportation system. It mandates the Washington State Department of Transportation to work towards target goals by 2035, including increasing on-time performance to 88% and boosting daily round trips between Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver, British Columbia. The department must also improve multimodal connections at stations and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, the bill requires the department to report annually on its progress and directs the Joint Transportation Committee to conduct an independent review of the Amtrak Cascades service development plan.

Topics ✓ EnvironmentSupports EnvironmentBill explicitly mandates GHG emissions reduction through rail service improvements, aligning with environmental protection goals.95% confidence ✓ TransportationSupports TransportationMandates improved Amtrak Cascades rail service goals, including increased daily trips, 88% on-time performance, and reduced emissions, directly advancing public transit infrastructure.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Environment