Climate Action This Week: 
  • Transportation appropriations
  • District energy systems
  • “Buy Clean, Buy Fair”
  • Accelerating stability for people with disability
  • Lead impacts from aviation fuel
  • Closing a loophole in the Clean Energy
  • Transformation Act
  • Trust Land Transfer Program
  • Natural and working lands sequestration strategy
  • Frontline climate and environmental priorities

Today’s actions start and end with budget advocacy, with some bills in between. Budget items can be wonky, but it’s important for us to have a say on how we want our money spent. 

As always, you can do as many or as few actions as you like, and you can do a few and come back later for more. Just remember to scroll down and click “Done” when you stop.

If you're viewing this on a smartphone, make sure you're in your browser, and when calling or emailing, be sure to mention if you are in the representative or senator’s district. And, unfortunately, SurveyMonkey does not support copy and paste on mobile devices.

Question Title

* Your information

We expect these first three actions to take 10-15 minutes.
📜 1. Making transportation appropriations for the 2023-2025 fiscal biennium - SB 5162

Transportation is the #1 source of carbon emissions in Washington State, so wise spending in the transportation sector is critical to meeting our emission targets. As we’ve mentioned before, rail is a good alternative to regional airline flights. It could also be a good alternative to driving if the rail system were enhanced. There are detailed rail plans already developed. Now they need to be funded!

The Senate Transportation Committee has written a transportation budget bill that is good on ferry electrification, increased transit, bikes, and safe routes to schools. However, the Senate's bill is severely lacking in the area of regional passenger and freight transportation. It does not include: 
  1. Electrification of ports and rail yards;
  2. Funding for East-West Amtrak over Stampede Pass (Auburn - Ellensburg - Yakima - Pasco - Spokane); or
  3. North-South (Vancouver B.C. - Everett - Seattle - Tacoma - Portland/Eugene) via Amtrak Cascades.
The Senate bill will relegate us to only one train daily across the north of the state, and to limited North-South Amtrak travel that is not competitive with driving or flying.

Let the Senate Transportation Committee and your Senators know that you want a shift to rail by 2030, in time to move Washington closer to the IPCC's call for slashed emissions and energy consumption by 2030.

We are following the lead of the Climate Rail Alliance on this budget advocacy.

✏️ Please click here to contact your Senator using the “Comment on this bill” form for SB 5126 and press “Support” in the position button.
📑 Script: The first sentence of your comment should be “Please make sure the Senate’s Transportation Budget funds enhanced rail service.” Then you can choose additional points from below, or feel free to write your own.
  • The Transportation Budget needs to fund infrastructure upgrades on the North-South rail corridor so that we can travel more often and at faster speeds from Vancouver, B.C. to Seattle and Portland and the 11 stops in between. There are proposed projects to revise the Point Defiance curve and lay high-speed track south of it that would speed up trips. The Transportation Budget needs to fund these projects!
  • I'm very concerned that Washington is not on track to meet its 2030 emissions goals. Transportation is our state's #1 source of emissions. The budget bill must include robust funding for regional passenger and freight trains to take advantage of rail's energy efficiency and low emissions.
  • The budget should include: electrification of ports and rail yards; $500,000 for a benefit cost analysis of East-West service via Stampede Pass; and infrastructure projects on the North-South rail corridor via Amtrak Cascades to speed up travel times and increase frequency.
  • Electrification is important, not only for emissions but for health. I urge you to support the electrification of Class I rail yards and the publicly owned Tacoma Rail.

Question Title

* Did you contact your senator about SB 5162?

📜 2. Concerning district energy systems - 2SHB 1390

This bill requires owners of state campus district energy systems to develop a decarbonization plan by June 2024 and provide their final plan to the Department of Commerce for approval by June 2025 and every five years thereafter. It establishes an alternative compliance pathway to meet the state energy performance standard for an owner of a state or non-state campus district energy system if the owner: (1) is implementing an approved decarbonization plan; (2) meets benchmarking, energy management, and operations and maintenance planning requirements; and (3) gets a request approved by Commerce once every five years. It also provides non-state owners of campus district energy systems the option to pursue the alternative compliance pathway.

350 WA CAT recommends this action.

Scheduled for Executive Session in the Senate Ways & Means Committee Tuesday, April 4, 10:00 AM.

Please call or email key committee members to ask them to vote to support the bill.

✏️ Prefer to email? Click here to send an email to key committee members before Tuesday, April 4, 10:00 AM.

If the above email link did not work on your device, you can also right click on the link and select “copy email address” in the drop down menu. This will allow you to paste the email addresses all at once into the recipient bar of your email.

📞 On your phone, and want to call? Just click on any phone number in the list!

If you’re calling and you reach voicemail, be sure to speak slowly and clearly and say the bill numbers.
Chair, Sen. Christine Rolfes (D-23) – (360) 786-7644 – christine.rolfes@leg.wa.gov
Vice Chair, Capital, Sen. Mark Mullet (D-05) – (425) 213 4146 – mark.mullet@leg.wa.gov
Vice Chair, Operating & Revenue, Sen. June Robinson (D-38) – (360) 786-7674 – june.robinson@leg.wa.gov
Ranking Member, Operating Sen. Lynda Wilson (R-17) – (360) 786-7632 – lynda.wilson@leg.wa.gov
Assistant Ranking Member, Operating, Sen. Chris Gildon (R-25) – (360) 786-7648 – chris.gildon@leg.wa.gov
Assistant Ranking Member, Capital, Sen. Ann Rivers (R-18) – (360) 786-7634 – ann.rivers@leg.wa.gov

📑 Script: The first sentence of your email should be “Please pass HB 1390, district energy systems.” Then you can add a sentence or two from the points below, or feel free to write your own. Don’t forget to mention if you are in a senator’s district. 
  • Upgrading existing district energy systems has great potential to increase efficiency, oftentimes more than by a building-by-building approach.
  • Upgrading and constructing district energy systems will employ skilled labor, including trades that have historically been employed in the fossil fuel sector. This work will be an important part of a just transition to a clean energy economy.
  • District energy policy could be used in coordination with future statewide building performance standards to reduce commercial and state building emissions.

Question Title

* Did you call or email for HB 1390?

  I called to support HB 1390 I emailed to support HB 1390
Chair, Sen. Christine Rolfes
Vice Chair, Capital, Sen. Mark Mullet
Vice Chair, Operating & Revenue, Sen. June Robinson
Ranking Member, Operating Sen. Lynda Wilson
Assistant Ranking Member, Operating, Sen. Chris Gildon
Assistant Ranking Member, Capital, Sen. Ann Rivers
📜 3. Requiring environmental and labor reporting for public building construction and renovation material - ESHB 1282

This bill, known as “Buy Clean, Buy Fair'', 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. This would improve human and environmental health, increase economic competitiveness, and promote high labor standards in manufacturing by incorporating climate and other types of pollution impacts and the quality of working conditions into the procurement process. The bill attempts to recognize and reward Washington manufacturers who promote high labor standards in manufacturing, and to preserve and expand low carbon materials manufacturing in Washington. For more information, see this factsheet from the Department of Commerce.

350 WA CAT recommends this action.

Scheduled for Executive Session in the Senate Ways & Means Committee Tuesday, April 4, 10:00 AM.

Please call or email key committee members to ask them to vote to support the bill.

✏️ Prefer to email? Click here to send an email to key committee members before Tuesday, April 4, 10:00 AM.

If the above email link did not work on your device, you can also right click on the link and select “copy email address” in the drop down menu. This will allow you to paste the email addresses all at once into the recipient bar of your email.

📞 On your phone, and want to call? Just click on any phone number in the list!

If you’re calling and you reach voicemail, be sure to speak slowly and clearly and say the bill numbers.
Chair, Sen. Christine Rolfes (D-23) – (360) 786-7644 – christine.rolfes@leg.wa.gov
Sen. Steve Conway (D-29) – (360) 786-7656 – steve.conway@leg.wa.gov
Sen. Bob Hasegawa (D-11) – (360) 786-7616 – bob.hasegawa@leg.wa.gov
Sen. Karen Keiser (D-33) – (360) 786-7664 – karen.keiser@leg.wa.gov
Sen. Lisa Wellman (D-41) – (425) 301-8578 – lisa.wellman@leg.wa.gov

📑 Script: The first sentence of your email should be “Please pass “Buy Clean, Buy Fair”, HB 1282.” Then choose a sentence or two from below, or feel free to write your own. Don’t forget to mention if you are in a senator’s district!
  • Buy Clean and Buy Fair policies are foundational for industrial decarbonization because they increase demand for low-carbon building materials and incentivize manufacturers to make those products.
  • This bill attempts to recognize and reward Washington manufacturers who promote high labor standards in manufacturing, and to preserve and expand low carbon materials manufacturing in Washington.
  • Washington is the only West Coast state without an embodied carbon policy. It’s time to remedy that, and take the lead with this bill that also includes labor standards.

Question Title

* Did you call or email for HB 1282?

  I called to support HB 1282 I emailed to support HB 1282
Chair, Sen. Christine Rolfes
Sen. Steve Conway
Sen. Bob Hasegawa
Sen. Karen Keiser
Sen. Lisa Wellman
All done? Don’t forget to scroll to the bottom and click the orange “DONE” button to submit your actions!
We think these next three will take about 10 minutes.
📜 4. Accelerating stability for people with a work-limiting disability or incapacity - HB 1260

Current state law requires that people who receive assistance through the aged, blind, and disabled (ABD) cash assistance program are required to pay back a portion of the assistance they receive while they are waiting for their federal supplemental security income (SSI) benefits to be approved. This bill would remove that payback requirement, among other changes to the program.

We are following the lead of the Low Income Housing Alliance on this bill.

Scheduled for Executive Session in the Senate Ways & Means Committee Tuesday, April 4, 10:00 AM.

Please call or email key committee members to ask them to vote to support the bill.

✏️ Prefer to email? Click here to send an email to key committee members before Tuesday, April 4, 10:00 AM.

If the above email link did not work on your device, you can also right click on the link and select “copy email address” in the drop down menu. This will allow you to paste the email addresses all at once into the recipient bar of your email.

📞 On your phone, and want to call? Just click on any phone number in the list!

If you’re calling and you reach voicemail, be sure to speak slowly and clearly and say the bill numbers.
Chair, Sen. Christine Rolfes (D-23) – (360) 786-7644 – christine.rolfes@leg.wa.gov
Vice Chair, Operating & Revenue, Sen. June Robinson (D-38) – (360) 786-7674 – june.robinson@leg.wa.gov
Ranking Member, Operating Sen. Lynda Wilson (R-17) – (360) 786-7632 – lynda.wilson@leg.wa.gov
Assistant Ranking Member, Operating, Sen. Chris Gildon (R-25) - (360) 786-7648 – chris.gildon@leg.wa.gov

📑 Script: The first sentence of your email should be “Please vote for HB 1260 to remove an undue burden from vulnerable ABD assistance recipients.” Don’t forget to mention if you are in a senator’s district.

Then you can add a sentence or two from those below, or feel free to write your own: 
  • Repaying cash assistance that recipients have received through the aged, blind and disabled cash assistance program is an unfair and unreasonable requirement that for decades has penalized those who are extremely low income and disabled.
  • Often, recipients are not aware that they will have to pay back a portion of this assistance and have already used the money for rent, groceries, utilities, and medical bills. Receiving this notice of payback often forces them into a situation where they have to choose which bills to pay, and can push these very low income and disabled people into homelessness.
  • The state currently collects $40 million each year in payback funds. This is a small amount for the state, but a major problem for the low-income people, by definition unable to work, who are required to pay.

Question Title

* Did you call or email for HB 1260?

  I called to support HB 1260 I emailed to support HB 1260
Chair, Sen. Christine Rolfes
Vice Chair, Sen. June Robinson
Ranking Member, Sen. Lynda Wilson
Assistant Ranking Member, Sen. Chris Gildon
📜 5. Reducing public health and environmental impacts from lead - HB 1554

While private jets and commercial airliners use unleaded fuel, smaller aircraft still use leaded fuel and are the largest single source of lead in the air in the US. Unfortunately this substitute bill has been weakened by, among other things, eliminating the requirement to phase out leaded aviation fuel which might have stepped into federal jurisdiction. However, it still requires Washington’s Department of Transportation to issue guidance to airport operators and pilots to decrease lead exposure, make a formal request to the FAA to evaluate lead exposure and prioritize eliminating lead from aviation fuel, and issue updated guidance to healthcare professionals on testing the blood lead levels of children living near airports.

We are following the lead of 350 Seattle Aviation Team, and King County International Airport Community Coalition (KCIACC) on this bill.

Scheduled for executive session in the Senate Committee on Transportation on Tuesday April 4, 11:30 AM.

Please call or email key committee members to ask them to vote to support the bill.

✏️ Prefer to email? Click here to send an email to key committee members before Tuesday, April 4, 11:30 AM.

If the above email link did not work on your device, you can also right click on the link and select “copy email address” in the drop down menu. This will allow you to paste the email addresses all at once into the recipient bar of your email.

📞 On your phone, and want to call? Just click on any phone number in the list!

If you’re calling and you reach voicemail, be sure to speak slowly and clearly and say the bill numbers.
Chair, Sen. Marko Liias (D-21) – (360) 786-7640 – Marko.Liias@leg.wa.gov
Vice Chair, Sen. John Lovick (D-44) – (360) 786-7686 – john.lovick@leg.wa.gov
Vice Chair, Sen. Sharon Shewmake (D-42) - (360) 786-7682 – sharon.shewmake@leg.wa.gov
Ranking Member, Sen. Curtis King (R-14) – (360) 786-7626 – Curtis.King@leg.wa.gov
Assist. Ranking Member, Sen. Jeff Holy (R-6) - (360) 786-7610 – jeff.holy@leg.wa.gov

📑 Script: The first sentence of your email should be “Please pass HB 1554, Lead impacts”, then add a sentence or two from below, or feel free to write your own. Don’t forget to say if you are in a senator’s district.

Then you can add a sentence or two from those below, or feel free to write your own: 
  • This bill requires Washington’s Department of Transportation to issue guidance and education on lead pollution mitigation and take other steps towards its reduction. We need to take these essential common sense steps to protect our children.
  • Recent studies have found elevated levels of lead in the blood of residents of general aviation airport communities, and particularly worryingly, in the blood of children, for whom lead is especially harmful. This bill updates the guidance for health care providers to ensure testing the blood levels of children near airports.
  • There is consensus among the medical and scientific communities that the levels of lead detected in children living around general airports similar to those in Washington are hazardous. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in 2015 concluded that lead "is a well known air pollutant that can lead to a variety of adverse health impacts, including neurological effects in children that lead to behavioral problems, learning deficits, and lowered IQ."
  • The federal EPA is taking steps towards making an endangerment finding that may result, through a complex federal regulatory process, in the elimination of lead from aviation gasoline. Our state needs to move that process along by making a formal recommendation to the FAA to prioritize eliminating leaded aviation gas emissions as part of the FAA reauthorization process and to update its advisory circular on leaded aviation gas emissions.

Question Title

* Did you call or email for HB 1554?

  I called to support HB 1554 I emailed to support HB 1554
Chair, Sen. Marko Liias
Vice Chair, Sen. John Lovick
Vice Chair, Sen. Sharon Shewmake
Ranking Member, Sen. Curtis King
Assist. Ranking Member, Sen. Jeff Holy
📜 6. Applying the affected market customer provisions of the Washington clean energy transformation act to nonresidential customers of consumer-owned utilities - HB 1416

In 2019, the WA state legislature passed the Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA) which requires our electric utilities to eliminate carbon emissions from their energy resources by certain deadlines. This bill will close a loophole by extending CETA’s provisions to certain non-residential customers. The Department of Commerce requested this legislation because they've seen interest from companies looking for power from somewhere other than their local utilities.

HB 1416 has passed to the Senate Rules Committee.

350 WA CAT recommends this action.

✏️ Please click here to contact your Senator using the “Comment on this bill” form for HB 1416 and press “Support” in the position button.

📑 The first sentence of your comment should be: “Please support HB 1416 by placing it on second reading, pulling it to the floor, and voting yes.”

Then choose 1-2 additional sentences from the options below, or feel free to write your own:
  • This bill will prevent companies from side-stepping the provisions of the Clean Energy Transformation Act by turning to consumer-owned utilities instead of investor-owned utilities.
  • This bill will prevent non-residential customers from avoiding CETA’s greenhouse gas neutral standard and the 100 percent clean electricity standard.

Question Title

* Did you contact your senator about HB 1416?

All done? Don’t forget to scroll to the bottom and click the orange “DONE” button to submit your actions!
These last three actions might take 10-15 minutes.
📜 7. Concerning the department of natural resources land transactions, revenue distributions, and creation and management of a trust land transfer program - HB 1460

This bill will authorize the Department of Natural Resources to create a Trust Lands Transfer program to transfer underperforming public lands back to local communities and acquire new land for working forests. HB 1460 will bolster rural communities, protect Washington wildlife, and help put public lands back into public hands. It will help protect vulnerable flora and fauna by allowing counties to replace working land occupied by protected species with productive land outside of their boundaries.

We are following the lead of the Trust Lands Transfer Revitalization Group, WA State Lands Working Group, and the Center for Responsible Forestry on this bill.

Scheduled for executive session in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means on Monday, April 3, 10:00 AM.

We don’t have time to impact the vote in the Senate Ways & Means Committee this morning, so we are asking you to take two actions by contacting your own legislators: 1) thank your Representatives, then 2) ask your Senator to support the House funding level.

✏️ Please click here to send a message to your own legislators using the Comment on this bill form for HB 1460 and choose “Support” in the position button.

First, select both of your representatives. The first sentence of your comment should be: “Thank you for supporting full funding for Revitalizing Trust Land Transfers.” Go ahead and complete the form.

✏️ Next, using the same form, just select your senator. The first sentence of your comment should be: “Please support this bill when it comes up for a floor vote and support the House funding level of $23.8 million for Revitalizing Trust Land Transfers.” Feel free to add additional comments based on the bill description above, or feel free to write your own.

Question Title

* Did you send your district legislators a comment for HB 1460?

  I sent comment to support HB 1460
I contacted my Senator
I contacted both my Representatives
📜 8. Budget advocacy - Natural and Working Lands Sequestration Strategy

Funding for a Natural and Working Lands Sequestration strategy of $1.6 million to the Department of Ecology and $400,000 to the Department of Natural Resources has been removed from the Senate’s proposed Operating Budget but retained in the House version. We support the House position.

We are following the lead of the Environmental Priorities Coalition and the WA State Lands Working Group.

A final Operating Budget must be passed by both the House and Senate by Sunday, April 23.

✏️ Please click here to use the “Comment on this bill” form for SHB 1140, Fiscal biennium operating appropriations and ask all three of your legislators to make sure that Natural and Working Lands Sequestration strategy is fully funded in the final Operating Budget.

📑 The first sentence of your comment should be “Please fully fund the Natural and Working Lands Sequestration strategy by providing $1.6 million to the Department of Ecology and $400,000 to the Department of Natural Resources.” 

Then choose 2-3 additional sentences from the options below, or feel free to write your own:
  • We need a plan to utilize environmental carbon storage! Natural climate solutions are essential for meeting carbon reduction goals. This funding would create the first ever state-wide roadmap with metrics for carbon sequestration and storage across the landscape (agricultural lands, forests, aquatic lands, & shrub steppe), and designed to help meet the state’s GHG targets.
  • This is a historic opportunity and we need to get it right. This budget appropriation provides the resources needed to establish and carry out a clear plan. The strategy should provide a centralized and shared approach across agencies to provide consistency and verifiable results.
  • The final product must provide a foundation for Natural Climate Solutions Account spending that maximizes return on investment and clarity for carbon sequestration, and storage work moving forward.

Question Title

* Did you contact your legislators about funding a carbon sequestration strategy?

📜 9. Budget advocacy - Frontline Climate and Environmental Priorities

The HEAL Act and the Climate Commitment Act require that at least 35% – with a goal of 40% – of climate and environmental funds benefit overburdened communities. Yet only a small fraction of the budgets released so far are explicitly directed to “overburdened communities.” 

We are following the lead of Front and Centered on this budget request.

Final Capital, Operating and Transportation budgets must be passed by both the House and Senate by Sunday, April 23.

✏️ Prefer to email? Click here to email the six budget writers in both chambers.

If the above email link did not work on your device, you can also right click on the link and select “copy email address” in the drop down menu. This will allow you to paste the email addresses all at once into the recipient bar of your email.

📞 On your phone, and want to call? Just click on any phone number in the list!

If you’re calling and you reach voicemail, be sure to speak slowly and clearly and say the bill numbers.
Sen. Mark Mullet (D-05) – (425) 213-4146 – mark.mullet@leg.wa.gov
Sen. Christine Rolfes (D-23) – (360) 786-7644 – christine.rolfes@leg.wa.gov
Sen. Marko Liias (D-21) – (360) 786-7640 – Marko.Liias@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Steve Tharinger (D-24) – (360) 786-7904 – Steve.Tharinger@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Timm Ormsby (D-03) – (360) 786-7946 – Timm.Ormsby@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Jake Fey (D-27) – (360) 786-7974 – Jake.Fey@leg.wa.gov
📑 Script: We would like you to include the first three specific budget bullet points:
  • I applaud the following Senate budget proposals and ask the House to adopt them too:
    • $26.3 million toward capacity grants to engage in the HEAL Act through the Environmental Justice Participation Fund
    • $38.6 million for the Participatory Budget Grant Program
  • I applaud the following House budget proposals and ask the Senate to adopt it also:
    • $10 million toward the Community Assembly Pilot Program
  • In your final budget, I encourage you to include:
    • $5.5 million to build environmental justice into the Growth Management Act (GMA), currently in the Senate operating budget, and $41 million for climate planning in the GMA, reflected in the House budget
    • $300,000 to develop recommendations on a design for a statewide energy assistance program that is in the House operating budget
    • Full funding for agencies engaged in the HEAL Act as reflected in the Senate operating budget
Then choose 2-3 of the remaining bullet points, or feel free to write your own:
  • The HEAL Act and the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) require that at least 35% – with a goal of 40% – of climate and environmental funds benefit overburdened communities. Yet only a small fraction of the proposed budgets are explicitly directed to “overburdened communities.” Please ensure that the final biennial budget follows through on your legal obligations and funds strategies designed to address the needs of those hit first and worst by environmental harms and risks in Washington State.
  • Please clearly and explicitly label all funds that are intended to benefit vulnerable populations in overburdened communities and please require CCA Expenditures Tracking, i.e. require detailed tracking and reporting on which communities are intended to benefit and how. This will support the long term goal of more direct participation in decision making by those communities.
  • Each two-yearly budget cycle presents a powerful opportunity for the Washington State Legislature to reflect its values. I appreciate that some of your budget proposals fund important frontline priorities, but there’s work to be done to ensure the final budget meets obligations under law to benefit overburdened communities.

Question Title

* Did you call or email to support funding frontline environmental priorities?

  I called to support funding frontline environmental priorities I emailed to support funding frontline environmental priorities
Sen. Mark Mullet
Sen. Christine Rolfes
Sen. Marko Liias
Rep. Steve Tharinger
Rep. Timm Ormsby
Rep. Jake Fey

Question Title

* That’s it for today. Thanks so much for taking action with us!

Please let us know if you had any issues.

-- The 350 WA Civic Action Team

P.S. Not on the CAT email list? Sign up here!

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