Legislative Update: Priority bills advance ahead of committee deadlines

— from Governor Inslee’s Office —

Legislators were working on deadline this week to get policy bills passed out of their committee of origin by 5 p.m. Friday. A number of bills requested by Gov. Jay Inslee were passed by their committees ahead of that cutoff.

The House and Senate versions of the Clean Air Rule both passed out of their respective committees on Thursday and now await appropriations hearings in both chambers. The bills clarify the Legislature’s intent when it passed the Clean Air Act in 1967 to let the Department of Ecology regulate both direct and indirect emitters of greenhouse gasses. The bills are in response to a recent Supreme Court ruling invalidating parts of Ecology’s Clean Air rule proposed in 2016.

House and Senate committees also approved their respective versions of the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. It requires domestic workers such as nannies, gardeners and house cleaners be paid the minimum wage and overtime, and be provided breaks for meals and rest. It also requires workers receive adequate notification prior to the termination of their employment and protects workers from employer retribution for exercising their rights.

A proposal that would expand capacity for homeless shelters in cities of more than 15,000 people and counties of more than 40,000 people was passed by the House of Representatives’ Housing, Community Development and Veterans Committee on Friday. The bill redirects funds from the Homeless Housing and Assistance Surcharge to assist cities and counties with those plans, with a goal of providing enough shelter for at least half of the homeless individuals in their local jurisdiction.

A bill to align greenhouse gas emission limits for state entities with the most current assessment of climate change science passed the House Committee on Environment and Energy. It now awaits action on the House Appropriations Committee. The last time the state updated its greenhouse gas emissions limits was 2008, but the latest science indicates the need for deeper cuts in emissions, according to a Department of Ecology report released in December.

The 60-day session is scheduled to run through March 12.