Environmental Lobby Days will be held on February 14, 15, and 16, 2023. Register today to take action for the environment this Legislative Session!
Legislative Session begins on January 9, 2023 and lasts for 105 days. During this time, there will be many opportunities to advocate for environmental priorities. This year, we have adopted four priorities to support healthy communities and a thriving environment.
Investing in Climate Action
The climate crisis means we need to cut pollution fast and while investing wisely to expand clean energy solutions as quickly as possible. In early 2023, Washington State will begin generating revenue from The Climate Commitment Act, our comprehensive, economy-wide carbon reduction program. Our Legislature must make smart investments in climate solutions that cut pollution and transition communities to a clean and equitable economy at the speed and the scale required to align with climate science. This session, the Legislature will start making the largest investments in clean energy, air quality, natural resource resiliency, and benefits to tribal nations and overburdened communities in state history. It is critical for our legislators to invest these funds equitably and strategically to provide the greatest benefits to all Washington residents.
Investing in Salmon Habitat
Salmon runs continue to dwindle throughout the state – across the Columbia Basin, throughout southwest Washington, and around the Puget Sound region. Fortunately, experts know what it takes to protect and improve habitat for salmon: preserving streamside vegetation to keep water cool, decreasing stormwater and sewage pollution, removing or avoiding fish passage barriers like dams and culverts, maintaining healthy nearshore and estuarine areas. However, every year, lack of funding stalls most locally-vetted, and regionally-prioritized, salmon recovery projects. For the past several budget cycles, only 15 percent of the need has been funded. Now is the time to right-size salmon investments for the future.
Planning for a Climate Friendly Future
Planning for a Climate Friendly Future requires the largest and fastest-growing counties and cities within them to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and vehicle miles traveled through land use planning. It requires all counties planning under the Growth Management Act (GMA) to plan for resilience and to address the impacts of climate change in land use plans. In addition, it updates the transportation element of the GMA by incorporating transit and bike/pedestrian planning.
Washington Recycling and Packaging Act
All across Washington, plastic waste litters Washington’s shorelines and waterways, filling landfills to capacity, and harming wildlife. Our recycling system needs to be modernized so packaging can actually be recycled, composted, or reused. The Renew Recycling Act addresses this waste by creating a set of graduated fees on packaging manufacturers based on how readily reusable, compostable, or recyclable their products are. These fees will be used to fund improvements in infrastructure, uniform access for residents across the state, and a clear list of what people can recycle. This bill will have the added benefit of shifting recycling costs away from ratepayers and onto the manufacturers.