Climate Action This Week:
  • Input from you!
  • Reducing Plastic Pollution
  • Evaluating Compostable Product Usage in Washington
  • Climate in the Growth Management Act
  • Solitary Confinement
  • Urban Forest Management
  • Local Government Design Review
Thank you for taking action with the Civic Action Team!

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* Your information

Before we get started we’ve got a couple of quick questions for you.

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* 🫵 1. Your input!

Here are the legislative priorities we’re following. Which issues do you want to learn more about? Check all that apply.

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* Please let us know what, if any, other priorities we should be tracking?

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* Is this your first year with CAT or are you returning?

We already have bills! Here are some quick actions to take.
Priority 1: We think these two actions should take around 5-10 minutes.

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* 📜 2. Reducing Plastic Pollution - HB 1085

The Reducing Plastic Pollution bill will decrease unnecessary plastic by:
  1. Requiring a water bottle filling station wherever a drinking fountain is required in new buildings;
  2. Phasing out mini toiletries plastic packaging (including shampoos, conditioners, lotions and soaps) at hotels and other lodging establishments;
  3. Banning foam-filled dock floats (which are a major source of plastic pollution in lakes and marine waters).
There is a critical connection between climate change and plastics. Plastics are made from oil and gas and are energy-intensive to make. The petrochemical industry plans to greatly increase plastic production to offset a decline in burning fossil fuel. We need to turn off the plastics tap, not increase the amount of plastics made! Decreasing the need to extract new resources also helps frontline communities who often bear the brunt of environmental impacts from resource extraction, refining and transportation.

We are following the lead of Zero Waste Washington on this bill.

Scheduled for a public hearing in the House Committee on Environment & Energy on Tuesday, January 10, 4:00 PM.

✏️ Please sign in here to support HB 1085 before Tuesday, January 10, 3:00 PM and select “Pro” in the position button. The time isn’t a typo - the sign-in must be sent at least one hour BEFORE the hearing.

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* 📜 3. Evaluating compostable product usage in Washington - HB 1033

This bill will establish an advisory committee to make recommendations to the legislature on standards for managing compostable products, especially food service containers and utensils, at composting and other organic materials management facilities. The committee must consider the state's goals of managing organic materials, including food waste, in an environmentally sustainable way, customer confusion regarding non-compostable products and the need to ensure that finished compost is clean and marketable.

Organic material like food waste and yard debris in landfills are a huge source of methane. As we ramp up important composting efforts to decrease those emissions, this bill will reduce consumer confusion and help ensure that compost is not contaminated with non-compostable plastics.

We are following the lead of Zero Waste Washington on this bill.

Scheduled for a public hearing in the House Committee on Environment & Energy on Tuesday, January 10, 4:00 PM.

✏️ Please sign in here to support HB 1033 before Tuesday, January 10, 3:00 PM and select “Pro” in the position button.

All done? Don’t forget to scroll to the bottom and click the orange “DONE” button to submit your actions!
Priority 2: We think these two actions should take around 5-10 minutes.

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* 📜 4. Improving the state's response to climate change by updating the state's planning framework - HB 1181

This is a resuscitated and updated version of last session’s HB 1099 which almost passed the legislature but failed at the eleventh hour. Like last year’s version, HB 1181 will ensure that our cities reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation and protect communities and natural resources from the accelerating impacts of a changing climate. This update to the Growth Management Act (GMA) will support Washington’s biggest counties as they plan for a resilient future. HB 1181 emphasizes environmental justice and the need to support vulnerable communities.

We are following the lead of Futurewise on this bill.

We know that the most effective strategy for making our voices heard is by contacting our own legislators. Simply put, legislators care what their constituents think.

✏️ Please contact all three of your legislators using this comment form on the state website and let them know that this impactful climate bill needs to pass this year. When you “verify” your district, you can select which of your elected leaders to communicate with. Although this is a house bill, select all three of your legislators.

“Position” - please select “Support.” The first sentence of the written comment should be: I support HB 1181. Please do all you can to make sure this bill is given a hearing and passed out of committee.”

📑 Here are some talking points you can add as to why you support the bill.
  • We need to take climate change into account as we manage our growth. If Washington state is truly serious about taking climate action, this bill in its strongest form, needs to pass this year.
  • Last year’s failure to pass 1099 was unacceptable; this year the policy must pass.
  • Transportation is our biggest source of climate pollution. We need an updated GMA to reduce sprawl.  
  • Updating the GMA to provide better land use and transportation planning will result in more livable communities and reduce climate pollution at the same time. 
  • This bill will promote environmental justice and update the GMA to protect vulnerable communities.
  • Cities and counties need to use smart planning to reduce and prevent the impacts of wildfire, drought, sea level rise and flooding. We need to identify the “hot spots” where these disasters are more likely to happen.

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* 📜 5. Concerning Solitary Confinement - HB 1087

Almost 600 adults are held in solitary confinement in our state’s correctional facilities. This bill will significantly limit the circumstances and duration of involuntary Solitary Confinement in prisons and jails. The bill will also regulate voluntary solitary confinement in a more humane manner. Solitary confinement has been shown to create significant and lasting psychological impacts. To quote from the American Journal of Psychiatry and the Law: “Solitary confinement is recognized as difficult to withstand; indeed, psychological stressors such as isolation can be as clinically distressing as physical torture.”  Long-term solitary confinement may cause severe psychological consequences including depression, anxiety, paranoia, PTSD, psychosis, self-harm and even suicide.  It is disproportionately used against people of color and those with disabilities.   

Washington ended solitary confinement for juveniles in 2020. Now we should drastically limit its use against adults.

We are following the lead of Disability Rights WA and the ACLU on this bill.

Scheduled for a public hearing in the House Committee on Community Safety, Justice, & Reentry on Tuesday, January 10, 4:00 PM.

✏️ Please sign in here to support HB 1087 before Tuesday, January 10, 3:00 PM and select “Pro” in the position button.

All done? Don’t forget to scroll to the bottom and click the orange “DONE” button to submit your actions!
Priority 3: Do you have time for more? We think these last two actions should take about 5-10 minutes.

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* 📜 6. Concerning Urban Forest Management - HB 1078

This bill will require jurisdictions that regulate tree removal to establish tree bank priority areas that developers would plant to reduce urban heat islands and increase canopy cover.  The tree banks will offset the removal of trees in proposed developments located in non-critical urban growth areas. The intent is to remove barriers to the building of affordable housing in the non-critical areas, while promoting tree cover in areas where it is needed. The state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will develop guidelines to assist local governments in identifying and establishing critical tree bank areas.

We are following the lead of 350 WA on this bill.

Scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Local Government on Wednesday, January 11, 8:00 AM

✏️ Please sign in here to support HB 1078 before Wednesday, January 11, 7:00 AM and select “Pro” in the position button.

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* 📜 7. Concerning Local Government Design Review - HB 1026

This bill provides that housing projects will only undergo an “administrative design review” (that is, by a government employee). In larger cities, many housing projects currently go through community-based Design Review Boards which focus on the aesthetics of the project and often lead to delay and increased costs while projects are required to make small cosmetic design changes. These reviews are separate from the cities’ safety and building standards reviews. Unlike building and safety standards, it is hard for designers to know what Design Review Boards will find aesthetically pleasing and Boards use “neighborhood character” to justify blocking projects.

Administrative design review is a less subjective process where a government employee compares project plans to city-based design standards. It tends to be quicker, requires many less modifications, and is more objective. During Covid, Seattle implemented this policy for affordable housing projects and saw projects move much more quickly through the review process.

We are following the lead of Homes4WA on this bill.

Scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Housing on Tuesday, January 10, 4:00 PM

✏️ Please sign in here to support HB 1026 before Tuesday, January 10, 3:00 PM and select “Pro” in the position button.

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* There, you did it! Welcome to the 2023 legislative session!  

One last question, we’re collecting fun facts about the natural world to include in future emails -- do you have one to share?

-- The 350 WA Civic Action Team

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