2023 Legislative Update: Week 3

Weekly Update

Week three of session continued with a focus on policy committee activity that again included work sessions, hearings, and executive session. The first cutoff of session is quickly approaching.

All bills must pass out of their policy committee in their house of origin (in other words, the chamber in which they were introduced) by February 17. The exception to this are bills that are deemed necessary to implement the budget (NTIB). Bills considered NTIB are not subject to the cutoff calendar. With the house of origin policy cutoff getting closer, advocates and legislators are working hard to get their bills scheduled for hearings, work through any changes that need to be made through amendment and pass out of committee.

Both chambers were busy hearing bills related to reproductive rights, increasing housing supply, capping rent increases, and replacing the B&O tax with a margin tax. They also convened for floor action on Wednesday afternoon.

On Thursday, the Washington State Supreme Court heard arguments on capital gains tax. The State will start collecting the tax in February and applies to profits of more than $250,000 from selling assets like bonds and stocks. Legislators are anxiously waiting for a ruling as they write a new two-year budget that will dedicate the revenue from the capital gains tax for early-learning programs and K-12 school construction.

So far this session there have been 1,300 bills introduced (some of which are companion bills). For comparison, by the end of week 3 in 2021(the last long session), 889 bills had been introduced, and in 2019 (the last in-person long session), more than 1,700 bills had been introduced.

There are several bills scheduled for a hearing this coming week that may be of interest to the Bellevue Chamber:

• SB 5533 – Concerning the creation of a model vehicle pursuit policy
• HB 1413/SB 5424 – Concerning flexible work for general and limited authority Washington peace officers
• SB 5002 – Concerning alcohol concentration
• SB 5466/HB 1517 – Promoting transit-oriented development
• HB 1449 – Amending reporting requirement for the project permit application processing timeline
• HB 1363/SB 5352 – Concerning vehicular pursuits
• HB 1586 – Requiring the criminal justice training commission to establish a work group and grant program related to vehicular pursuits 
• HB 1343 – Providing local governments with options to grant rent relief and preserve affordable housing in their communities
• HB 1350 – Expanding the multifamily tax exemption program to include converting existing multifamily units
• SB 5456/HB 1351 – Prohibiting the imposition of minimum parking requirements except under certain circumstances.

TVW’s Legislative Review does clips each day highlighting some of the hot topics of the day. You can find links to the Legislative Review videos here.

Session Primers

Executive Session

Executive session is when members of a committee decide whether they think a bill should move out of committee and continue on through the legislative process. During executive session, amendments and substitute bills can be introduced and voted on by the committee.

The simple way of describing executive session is that the members of a committee vote and if a bill gets a simple majority in favor, it passes out of committee and is referred to the next appropriate step in the process. But, there is some terminology that is used that isn’t always clear what it means.

For example, in order for a bill to move out of committee, it must receive a “majority report”, which is when a majority of committee members sign off on a recommendation to the entire body of a chamber that the bill moves forward out of committee. This report contains a recommendation to the entire chamber that the bill “do pass” out of committee. Members of a committee might also vote that the bill “be referred without recommendation.” A member could make this vote for various reasons — for example a member might like the concept of a bill but don’t feel enough details have been ironed out for them to get to a “do pass” recommendation.

This allows a member to be able to not support a bill in it’s current form without having to vote against it. Dissenting committee members who do not support a bill moving forward out of committee can officially voice their opposition to a bill by giving a recommendation to the chamber that the bill “do not pass”. Dissenting votes are tallied up in a “minority report”.

You can see the official record of committee vote on the bill page. Under the line that says “Executive action taken in XX committee”, you will see up to three lines: ‘Majority; do pass’, ‘Minority; do not pass’, and ‘Minority; without recommendation’. There will be a hyperlink next to each of these lines that you can click on to see which members voted within each of these recommendations.

Upcoming Events Report

Community Safety, Justice, & Reentry (House) - HHR D and Virtual JLOB - 1/30 @ 1:30pm

HB 1380 - Public Hearing - Providing funding for the recruitment, retention, and support of law enforcement officers. (Remote Testimony Available).

HB 1413 - Public Hearing - Concerning flexible work for general and limited authority Washington peace officers. (Remote Testimony Available).

Environment & Energy (House) - HHR C and Virtual JLOB - 1/30 @ 1:30pm

HB 1544 - Public Hearing - Concerning shoreline master program review schedules. (Remote Testimony Available).

Housing (House) - HHR B and Virtual JLOB - 1/30 @ 1:30pm

HB 1252 - Public Hearing - Concerning impact fee deferrals. (Remote Testimony Available).

HB 1293 - Public Hearing - Streamlining development regulations. (Remote Testimony Available).

HB 1401 - Public Hearing - Allowing cities and counties to create a simple, standardized housing permit process for affordable housing units in areas designated for housing. (Remote Testimony Available).

HB 1611 - Public Hearing - Concerning local government permitting. (Remote Testimony Available).

Transportation (Senate) - SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg - 1/30 @ 4:00pm

SB 5002 - Public Hearing - Concerning alcohol concentration. (Remote Testimony Available).

Finance (House) - HHR A and Virtual JLOB - 1/31 @ 8:00am

HB 1000 - Public Hearing - Providing sales tax relief by expanding the working families' tax credit. (Remote Testimony Available).

HB 1075 - Public Hearing - Expanding eligibility for the working families' tax credit to everyone age 18 and older. (Remote Testimony Available).

HB 1477 - Public Hearing - Making changes to the working families' tax credit. (Remote Testimony Available).

Local Government, Land Use & Tribal Affairs (Senate) - SHR 3 and Virtual JACB - 1/31 @ 8:00am

SB 5312 - Public Hearing - Creating a residential property assessed clean energy and resiliency program. (Hearing is on the Proposed Substitute.) (Remote Testimony Available).

SB 5334 - Public Hearing - Providing a local government option for the funding of essential affordable housing programs. (Remote Testimony Available).

SB 5466 - Public Hearing - Promoting transit-oriented development. (Remote Testimony Available).

SB 5473 - Public Hearing - Concerning project permit timelines. (Remote Testimony Available).

Local Government (House) - HHR E and Virtual JLOB - 1/31 @ 10:30am

HB 1449 - Public Hearing - Amending reporting requirements for the project permit application processing timeline. (Remote Testimony Available).

HB 1468 - Public Hearing - Concerning impact fee deferrals. (Remote Testimony Available).

Environment, Energy & Technology (Senate) - SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg - 1/31 @ 1:30pm

SB 5366 - Public Hearing - Preventing utility shutoffs for nonpayment during extreme heat. (Remote Testimony Available).

Community Safety, Justice, & Reentry (House) - HHR D and Virtual JLOB - 1/31 @ 4:00pm

HB 1132 - Public Hearing - Concerning oversight and training requirements for limited authority Washington peace officers and agencies. (Remote Testimony Available).

HB 1363 - Public Hearing - Concerning vehicular pursuits. (Remote Testimony Available).

HB 1579 - Public Hearing - Establishing a mechanism for independent prosecutions within the office of the attorney general of criminal conduct arising from police use of force. (Remote Testimony Available).

Environment & Energy (House) - HHR C and Virtual JLOB - 1/31 @ 4:00pm

HB 1391 - Public Hearing - Concerning energy in buildings (continuation of Public Hearing on 1/24/23). (Remote Testimony Available).

Housing (House) - HHR B and Virtual JLOB - 1/31 @ 4:00pm

HB 1343 - Public Hearing - Providing local governments with options to grant rent relief and preserve affordable housing in their communities. (Remote Testimony Available).

HB 1350 - Public Hearing - Expanding the multifamily tax exemption program to include converting existing multifamily units. (Remote Testimony Available).

HB 1569 - Public Hearing - Protecting unit owners in common interest communities. (Remote Testimony Available).

Regulated Substances & Gaming (House) - HHR E and Virtual JLOB - 1/31 @ 4:00pm

HB 1650 - Public Hearing - Requiring voter approval for local government prohibitions on cannabis businesses. (Remote Testimony Available).

Local Government (House) - HHR E and Virtual JLOB - 2/1 @ 8:00am

HB 1402 - Public Hearing - Adjusting urban growth boundaries to account for situations where property owners have not developed property as expected in comprehensive plans and development regulations. (Remote Testimony Available).

Housing (Senate) - SHR 4 and Virtual JACB - 2/1 @ 1:30pm

SB 5609 - Public Hearing - Establishing housing approval requirements that will eliminate Washington's housing shortage. (Remote Testimony Available).

Local Government, Land Use & Tribal Affairs (Senate) - SHR 3 and Virtual JACB - 2/2 @ 10:30am

SB 5456 - Public Hearing - Prohibiting the imposition of minimum parking requirements except under certain circumstances. (Remote Testimony Available).

SB 5491 - Public Hearing - Allowing for residential buildings of a certain height to be served by a single exit under certain conditions. (Remote Testimony Available).

Capital Budget (House) - HHR B and Virtual JLOB - 2/2 @ 1:30pm

HB 1342 - Public Hearing - Modeling, measurement, and reporting embodied carbon emission reductions from structural building products in state-funded projects. (Remote Testimony Available).

Finance (House) - HHR A and Virtual JLOB - 2/2 @ 1:30pm

HB 1005 - Public Hearing - Concerning employer tax incentives for the support of veterans and military families. (Remote Testimony Available).

Ways & Means (Senate) - SHR 4 and Virtual JACB - 2/2 @ 4:00pm

SB 5303 - Public Hearing - Creating the public works assistance revolving account. (Remote Testimony Available).

Consumer Protection & Business (House) - HHR C and Virtual JLOB - 2/3 @ 8:00am

HB 1634 - Public Hearing - Concerning residential insurance policies. (Remote Testimony Available).

State Government & Tribal Relations (House) - HHR E and Virtual JLOB - 2/3 @ 8:00am

HB 1541 - Public Hearing - Establishing the nothing about us without us act. (Remote Testimony Available).