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This week brings us halfway through this rapid, short session. We’ve made it past the fiscal cutoff (phew!) and bills that survived that deadline now await a vote on the floor.
This will continue through February 17, the cutoff date for a bill to be voted out of its house of origin. Bills that started in the House must make it to the Senate, and vice versa.
Not only do they need the votes – they also need time. They are waiting in a long line with other bills up for consideration.
 It was great to bump into Rock Lake, Palouse, and Whitman Conservation Districts, along with WACD’s illustrious president, who were all in town to talk to their legislators.
Elections: SHB 2499 Stall in Committee
Last week, I shared that SHB 2499 would receive a public hearing sometime Friday - either before or after that newsletter arrived in your inboxes. Turns out I was wrong: the newsletter came out right in the middle of the hearing on the bill! At around 2 pm on Friday, after many hours of waiting for our turn, the State Conservation Commission (SCC), Washington Association of Conservation Districts (WACD), and several districts testified with concerns about this bill, sharing the very real impacts that will be felt by the conservation community by creating barriers for district supervisors to serve.
Members of the committee found the testimony compelling. While the bill was scheduled for a vote the following Monday, it was removed from the agenda on late Friday evening. Because it did not make it out of committee in time for the fiscal cutoff, and it is not necessary to implement the budget, we can safely say this bill is dead.
While this comes as welcome news, there are election reforms that SCC, WACD, and conservation districts would like to see. We will continue conversations with legislators about the changes needed, as reflected in the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Elections.
Wildfire Bills
Now that we’ve made it past a couple of cutoff dates, there are a few wildfire bills that are still active at the Legislature and may be of interest to the conservation community.
SB 5893: Directs an appropriation for long-term forest health and wildfire reduction of $65 million for this biennium from the Natural Climate Solutions Account (funded by the Climate Commitment Act) to the Wildfire Response, Forest Restoration, and Community Resilience Account (DNR’s 1168 account).
HB 2089: Requires high volume mortgage lenders to pay taxes on the interest they gain and directs that revenue to the Wildfire Response, Forest Restoration, and Community Resilience Account.
SB 6079: Creates the Strengthen Washington Homes Program at the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) to provide grants for wildfire risk mitigation efforts starting with pilot projects. Prohibits wildfire risk as a disqualifying factor for coverage eligibility if a property has a current wildfire prepared home, wildfire prepared neighbors, or an equivalent designation.
SB 5928: Specifies requirements for insurers in disclosing and revising wildfire risk scores and risk classifications, handling appeals, and using wildfire risk models, catastrophe models, or scoring methods in filing rates with the OIC.
SB 5919: Encourages fire districts and insurance providers to collaborate and develop incentives promoting wildfire mitigation best practices related to agricultural activities.
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