Climate Commitment Act 

In a huge win for children and for clean air, HB 1368 Requiring and funding the purchase of zero emission school buses, passed! This bill is connected to CCA spending and requires electric school bus purchases when total cost of ownership is at parity (amended from hard date requirements). This also set up $80m in funding for infrastructure and a grant program for districts to purchase buses, which come with a higher stricker price. 

We also secured $55M for Multifamily Building Efficiency Grants and $45,025,000 for School District Indoor Air Quality & Energy Efficiency. These will provide funding for schools to do emission free HVAC at schools and multi-family homes, and you can read more details about these below in the Built Environment section. 

(SB 6058) Linking the Washington Cap and invest program with California’s and Quebec’s also passed. Proponents of the CCA have always maintained that linking with California to create a larger carbon market will be more effective, even though expert studies dispute that assertion. This is agency-request legislation by the Department of Ecology, as required by the initial 2021 Climate Commitment act. This bill makes technical changes to Washington's cap and invest program in order to facilitate linkage with California and Quebec's cap and invest programs. The bill is not a linkage contract; it removes barriers to achieve a linkage contract, which the three jurisdictions have now agreed that they will explore.

Looking ahead to the 2025 WA Legislative session, here’s what we’re tracking:

Initiative 2117, which would repeal the Climate Commitment Act and prohibit state agencies from imposing any type of carbon tax credit trading, will be on the ballot in November.  Democratic leadership did not allow a hearing for this initiative, so it will be on the ballot for voters as originally written and will require active opposition to stop.

(SB 6052) Concerning petroleum products supply and pricing, would have put in place an independent Division of Petroleum Market Oversight with a director appointed by the Governor to oversee reporting and regulation that centers consumer protections in the transportation fuel industry. 

Housing

We saw some wins in Housing this year, but several really good bills struggled to make it. We’ll be back next year to push those across the finish line, and to keep advocating for housing as an essential element in a climate resilient future.

We won (HB 1998) Legalizing inexpensive housing choices through co-living housing. This bill makes it easier to build residential developments with units that are independently rented and provide private lockable living and sleeping space while residents share kitchen facilities, and it is a way of addressing the need for additional affordable housing options for a diversity of Washington residents.

We helped stop (HB 2126) — a bad bill for rural area Accessory Dwelling Units. This bill would have allowed for dangerous and unregulated growth in rural areas and was in conflict with climate elements of the Growth Management Act. 

Looking ahead to the 2025 WA Legislative session, here’s what we’re tracking:

We’ll be advocating again for Transit Oriented Development, (HB 2160). The bill would have mandated that municipalities allow for greater density of housing near transit. This would have included a mandatory 10% of units affordability component for 50 years. 

Rent Stabilization (HB 2114) This bill aimed to enhance housing stability by limiting rent and fee increases, ensuring transparent notices, and establishing a landlord resource center. It would have enabled renters to meet their basic needs, and would contribute to sustainable housing practices.

Increasing housing options through lot splitting (SB 5364 / HB 1245). These were bills introduced in 2023. In both the 2023 and 2024 sessions, HB 1245 stalled in the Senate. The companion bill SB 5364 did not gain traction in either session. We’ll also watch for a bill for Minimum Parking Requirements encouraging transit-oriented development through a prohibition on the imposition of minimum parking requirements except under certain conditions, SB 5334, providing a local government option for the funding of essential affordable housing programs, and HB 1628, modifying state and local real estate excise tax.

Transportation

A big win for kids and electric school buses with passage of HB 1368. HB 1368 strengthens an existing grant program that funds the purchase of zero-emission school buses, and will provide increased funding via the Climate Commitment Act for the purchase of buses and charging infrastructure to make this transition successful. It also mandates a switch to electric only when the upfront cost of an electric bus plus fuel and maintenance is less than diesel alternatives.

Plus we passed Salmon safe tires, SB 5931, which directs the State to do research into how to get 6PPD, a chemical that is toxic for salmon out of our car tires. Possibilities include alternative materials for the tires and ways to prevent the toxic dust in highway runoff from getting into streams.

And Connecting Communities, SB 6283, extends indefinitely the Sandy Williams Connecting Communities Program which funds active transportation projects all over Washington to reconnect communities that have been divided by highway projects.

We also helped stop a budget proposal that would have funded some Complete Streets road maintenance tasks from the Climate Commitment Act account.

Looking ahead to the 2025 WA Legislative session, here’s what we’re tracking:

There could be another try at decriminalizing Jaywalking, because although SB 5383 failed to pass, because jaywalking laws don’t keep people safe and can actually cause harm. These laws don’t protect people from getting hit by cars and are disproportionately enforced against low-income people, people of color, and unhoused individuals.

If the I-2117 ballot initiative goes through, it would whack off 1/3 of the transportation budget and cause the Move Ahead Washington Transportation Package to be litigated. Everything related to multi-modal transportation, kids ride free, and new ferries would be called into question. This is a problem! Unless all of these are canceled in favor of road projects, some of the road projects may have to get canceled as well. The No on I-2117 efforts are beginning to take shape to stop this initiative in the November ballot, outside of the legislative session. 

Recycling/Waste Reduction 

We were happy to see two important wins in Recycling and Waste Reduction, but there is still work to be done to pass several others – including the ReWRAP Act and the Right to Repair bill, which are critical for establishing producer responsibility and consumer rights. 

Producer responsibility for mercury-containing lights (HB 1185). This bill extends the existing producer-provided recycling program for mercury-containing lights and phases out the sale of mercury-containing fluorescent lights in 2029. It will reduce exposure to toxic mercury from broken bulbs and lead to the use of new types of lights that are much more energy efficient.

Improving food recovery & composting (HB 2301). This bill provides tools and resources to reduce and rescue food waste. It also improves organic materials management and decreases the disposal of organics in landfills where it degrades into methane, a potent GHG. It will move excess food to hungry people while avoiding methane generation at landfills.

Looking ahead to the 2025 WA Legislative session, here’s what we’re tracking:

Improving Washington's solid waste management outcomes (HB 2049 / SB 6005) The ReWRAP Act would have established a producer responsibility system for packaging and paper products. By shifting the cost of recycling to the companies that make packaging decisions, it would have incentivized them to reduce unnecessary single-use packaging and use greener, more recyclable materials.

Reclaiming refrigerants from appliances (HB 2401) This bill would have established a producer responsibility program for refrigerants from appliances, and reduced GHG emissions from hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and other refrigerants which are extremely potent greenhouse gasses.

Right to Repair (HB 1933 / SB 6276) The Right to Repair bill would have required manufacturers of digital electronic products to make parts, tools and repair information available to independent repair providers and owners so we can more easily get those products repaired. This bill will get used computers and cell phones into the hands of people who need them, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and support local businesses and jobs. 

Beverage container recycling and reuse through a deposit return system (HB 2144) This "bottle bill" would create a deposit return system for most glass, metal, and plastic beverage containers. It would have greatly increased the recovery, recycling and reuse of beverage containers and reduced GHG emissions.

Built Environment 

We were disappointed that the Energy Navigator bill failed to pass. However, we did win two powerful policies and three budget provisos related to the built environment, including one that provides funding to much of the programming that the Energy Navigator would have enacted. 

Known as “Buy Clean, Buy Fair” (HB 1282), this bill establishes environmental and labor reporting requirements for the construction or renovation of large public buildings with an emphasis on optimizing the embodied carbon throughout the lifecycle of the structure.

Incentivizing the Energy Transition for Tier 1 and Tier 2 Buildings (HB 1976) The bill will allow the Department of Commerce to provide higher incentive payments (than currently specified under existing law) for certain building upgrades that comply with the State Energy Performance Standard to encourage earlier adoption.

Capital Budget Provisos. $55M for Multifamily Building Efficiency Grants (original ask was $50M). Full proviso is on page 67 of the Capital Budget. $45,025,000 for School District Indoor Air Quality & Energy Efficiency (original ask was $40M) – this is what we kept referring to as “HVAC”. Full proviso is on page 127 of the Capital Budget.Operating Budget Proviso. $3.5M for Energy Navigator (roughly the same as the original bill’s fiscal note). This was in place of HB 1391 which did not pass (see below). Full proviso is on page 147 of the Operating Budget.

Looking ahead to the 2025 WA Legislative session, here’s what we’re tracking:

We’ll be back to advocate for HB 1391, the Energy Navigator bill! The goal of this bill is to create an information hub to make it easier to access the array of energy efficiency and weatherization programs available and to conduct outreach to educate Washington residents about their options.

And we’ll be tracking HB 1433 - Energy Labeling of Residential Buildings. This bill would have created a state-wide system that homeowners may use to obtain a “home energy score.” 

Energy: Solar, Utilities, Nuclear

We expanded our coverage of energy policies in CAT this year to include more advocacy on solar and on utilities, and we saw two wins! We also ramped up our opposition to nuclear energy, and you can learn more about why we consider this a false solution here. 

Solar 

Solar Consumer Protection Bill (HB 2156/SB 6256) This bill creates solar consumer protections so that solar energy installation contracts must contain specific provisions, fully disclose complete costs and responsibilities including necessary upgrades and the anticipated performance. It is an important bill because consumers transitioning to solar will more likely be facilitated if there is consumer confidence in the solar industry.

Utilities

Greenhouse Gas Disclosures (HB 1955) Each retail supplier of electricity must disclose to its customers the percentage of each electricity product that is generated by coal, hydroelectric, natural gas, nuclear, petroleum, solar, wind, other sources, and unspecified sources.This bill would remove a duplicative reporting requirement under the Clean Energy Transformation Act. The Climate Commitment Act introduced more rigorous greenhouse gas reporting requirements in 2021 than those under the Clean Energy Transformation Act introduced in 2019. 

Last session’s “PSE bill” (HB 1589) returned and while we did not take a formal position in support of the bill due to concerns from our policy team, the bill made steady progress thanks to the leadership of Rep. Beth Doglio and advocacy from our partner organizations. HB 1589 was designed to get PSE on the path to decarbonizing its methane gas pipeline infrastructure. But a last-minute amendment gave corporate handouts at the expense of everyday Washingtonians, weakening this important climate policy. Our partners at Sierra Club WA organized and delivered a powerful letter to Inslee against this last-minute amendment and we mobilized support for their call to action, but Inslee ultimately passed the bill.

Nuclear

A number of bills supported nuclear fission projects, which 350 WA opposes as a false climate solution. None of them passed, but we expect pro-nuclear bills to be considered again next year. Unfortunately, a $25 million capital budget appropriation passed for Energy Northwest to support building up to 12 small modular nuclear reactors near the Columbia River at Hanford. The 350 WA CAT opposed that appropriation. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation have submitted letters opposing this appropriation.

Police Accountability

We included Policy Accountability and Criminal Legal Reform again this year as part of our climate justice policy platform. Connecting the dots between police accountability, criminal justice reform, and climate change reveals a complex interplay. In many instances, marginalized communities bear the brunt of both environmental injustices and unfair policing practices. 

It was a very challenging year for policies in this category, thanks to long-term organizing by the opposition, partially in response to the 2020 uprising for justice for Black lives and the call for defunding the police. 

We had one big win! SB 6009 prohibits law enforcement from using the practice of hogtying. Hogtying is a cruel, dehumanizing practice, and causes unnecessary risk of injury or death. Thanks to our CAT advocacy we were able to amplify the efforts of the Washington Coalition of Police Accountability (WCPA) and pass this legislation! 

Looking ahead to the 2025 WA Legislative session, here’s what we’re tracking:

Juvenile Points Retroactivity (HB 2065) HB 1324 was passed in 2023 which stopped the practice of punishing people twice for crimes committed as children. HB 2065 would have made HB 1324 retroactive. This means people who are currently incarcerated and serving overly long sentences will have the opportunity for their sentences to be reviewed and potentially adjusted – an important step in addressing the significant disproportionalities created by past sentencing laws.

Independent Prosecutor (HB 1579) Prosecutors, exercising prosecutorial discretion, often fail to file charges even when unarmed citizens are killed at the hands of law enforcement. HB 1579 would have appointed an Independent Prosecutor to cases of deadly use of force by law enforcement. 

Traffic Safety (HB 1513) Reduces stops for low-level traffic violations that do not affect public safety; would have allowed law enforcement to focus on addressing real hazards such as impaired, distracted, or reckless driving; and creates resources for public safety programs such as helmet vouchers or tail light workshops.

Forestry

Our big three Forestry wins were appropriations from the Supplemental Capital Budget (SB 5949).

Revitalizing Trust Land Transfers. We sought $8M from the Climate Commitment Act’s Natural Climate Solutions Account to fund the Trust Land Transfer program. CAT advocated to re-prioritize the projects for stronger carbon sequestration. Check out the 6 projects in Morning Star, Blakely Island, Hamma Hamma Balds, Stavis Creek, Trout Lake, Middle Fork Snoqualmie. In the final Supplemental Capital Budget (SB 5949), the House and Senate reconciled by adopting each others’ different project lists and fully funding all of them, increasing the overall amount to $10.8M! Who’d have thought?

Encumbered Lands - Acquisition. We advocated for $25M from the CCA’s Natural Climate Solutions Account for state forests conservation; initially this effort lacked a legislative sponsor but it was included in the House Capital Budget (HB 2089), thanks to lobbying by our partners. CAT then advocated for the Senate to concur with the House. Partners tell us that the American Forest Resource Council fought hard to remove the funding in the House budget entirely, and given that dynamic, achieving the $15M in the reconciled version (SB 5949) is a good outcome.

Quinault Legacy Forest Acquisition. We caught on to this late in session and advocated for the House to concur with the Senate’s Supplemental Capital Budget proviso for $25M to purchase 11,000 acres (HB 2089, SB 5949). And the House did! 

Forestry and forestry management are critical elements of a climate resilient future. However, forestry sequestration science is hotly debated. Timber industry science advocates for “grow fast, cut young, sequester in wood products” while independent scientists point to operational and biogenic emissions from logging operations, and the better carbon storage and ecological services provided by older trees. We believe the latter are correct and the former are corrupt. Timber industry opponents will argue that anything less than current harvest levels will cost jobs in rural communities. Our position is that a just transition is needed to achieve ecologically restorative, economically sustainable forestry practices.

Looking ahead to the 2025 WA Legislative session, here’s what we’re tracking:

Ecosystem Services HB 1789, an effort to monetize state lands for carbon offsets, stayed on the shelf for the 2024 session, consistent with a 2023 budget proviso’s study being completed by June 2025. However, the prime sponsor sought to expand the analysis to non-state lands in 2024 (via HB 2333), and is likely to come back with a new proposal. 

We’ll also advocate for continued funding of Trust Land Transfer to protect heavily forested areas. The Department of Natural Resources and a not-yet-formed advisory committee is vetting project applications. If the Climate Commitment Act survives the repeal challenge of I-2117, the legacy forest community will definitely seek additional Natural Climate Solutions Account funding for conserving structurally complex, carbon dense forests on state lands.

Air & Water & Salmon

This year we expanded our coverage of policies supporting clean air and water and salmon habitat. Our four big wins were all in the budgets! 

We advocated for and won two Supplemental Operating Budget (SB 5950) provisos – one to study 6PPD-Q toxin in the secondary tire market and one to assess the need for and feasibility of a statewide low-income assistance program for water utility customers. And in the Supplemental Capital Budget (HB 2089), one for the Salmon Recovery Funding Board and one for the Washington Coastal Restoration and Resiliency Initiative.

Supplemental Operating Budget proviso to study 6PPD-Q toxin in secondary tire market  In 2020, researchers in Washington state discovered that 6PPD-Q, a chemical in tires, is responsible for killing coho salmon before they can spawn. Long-term there are efforts to find alternative chemicals. In the meantime, this budget proviso provides $300,000 for the Department of Ecology to research how more than 100,000 metric tons of waste tires may contribute to the problem and potential management actions to protect marine life. 

Supplemental Operating Budget proviso to assess the need for and feasibility of a statewide low-income assistance program for water utility customers. CAT’s advocacy helped to successfully secure $300,000 for the Department of Health and Department of Commerce, to assess the need for and feasibility of a statewide low-income assistance program for water utility customers. Currently, most utility assistance programs are limited to low-income seniors or disabled residents and do not support low-income households more broadly. A state-wide assistance program has the potential to better serve low-income households while reducing the administrative burden on utilities and reducing risk particularly for communities that have higher proportions of low-income households.

Supplemental Capital Budget proviso for the Salmon Recovery Funding Board. Our iconic Puget Sound salmon are struggling. CAT’s advocacy helped secure an additional $25 M for vetted projects that protect and restore salmon habitat. The Salmon Recovery Funding Board has provided grants since 1999. Increased funding not only advances climate resiliency and healthier habitats, but can also save on costs for larger restoration by investing now. 

Supplemental Capital Budget proviso for the Washington Coastal Restoration and Resiliency Initiative. The Washington Coastal Restoration and Resiliency Initiative supports rural economies by investing in restoration projects that not only restore habitat, but improve infrastructure, increase climate resiliency, and provide critical employment opportunities in historically underfunded communities. Coastal communities this program serves are all identified as disadvantaged by the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool and have a ‘moderate to high’ of ‘high’ level of vulnerability according to the CDC Social Vulnerability Index. CAT’s advocacy helped secure $7.928 M. 

Looking ahead to the 2025 WA Legislative session, here’s what we’re tracking:

We’re going to be watching out for recurring programs and funding for the Salmon Recovery Funding Board and the Washington Coastal Restoration and Resiliency Initiative. We also plan to keep an eye out for bills related to 6PPD-Q, PFAS, and other contaminants of emerging concern. We also advocated for the CURB Act in 2024 and we hope to see this policy return and pass next year.

Economic Justice

We were excited to see a bill come forward on Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI), SB 6196. This policy focused on supporting low-income mothers with children under 3. Although it didn't pass this year we hope to see it back again in 2025. GBI is a proven strategy for improving climate resilience and efforts are being built at the city and state levels to gain support for this kind of policy.  

And last but not least, (HB 2405) Concerning sustainability factors in investment strategies and proxy voting by the Washington state investment board did not pass, but we will be working on this one over the summer. This bill would be a critical step forward in a national context where the response to the financial and corporate sector beginning to make moves toward lowering emissions was met by the fossil fuel industry and their republican allies with a barrage of proposed and passed laws in red states that limit public pension funds from being able to consider climate and social risk factors, and succeeded in getting major asset managers to back off from their tepid moves toward more sustainable investing.