Priorities for a Healthy Washington Legislative Update
For the third consecutive year, the environmental community developed and put forward four legislative priorities. This year’s effort is again beginning to bear fruit and progress through the many hurdles of the legislative process. The cut-off date for bills to have passed out of the House (for a House bill) or Senate (for a Senate bill) has come and gone. And still three out of four Priorities for a Healthy Washington proposals are moving along toward becoming law.
High Performance Green Building
(HB 1272) has passed out of House on a strong bi-partisan vote of 78-18. The Senate version (SB 5509) passed out of the Senate on a 32-16 vote. The legislation requires state buildings, schools, and universities to be built and certified as high performance, green buildings. This will result in buildings that save energy and water, are cheaper to operate, and improve student learning and employee performance.
Cleaner Air - Cleaner Cars
The Cleaner Air-Cleaner Cars legislation (SHB 1397) passed out of the House on a 53-42 vote. The Cleaner Air - Cleaner Cars bill will reduce cancer-causing auto emissions, increase consumer choice for new cars, and save people money at the gas pump through increased fuel-efficiency.
Sound Solutions
Sound Solutions - Saving Hood Canal and Puget Sound also saw progress last week. Part of the Sound Solutions package would reduce water pollution from leaking septic systems (HB 1458) passed out of the House on a 56-41 vote and has now moved over to the Senate.
Phasing out Toxics
This proposal would prohibit the sale of products that contain toxic flame retardants (PBDEs) which harm people and wildlife. Work is underway to keep this proposal moving despite the bills not passing out of the House and Senate before a legislative cut-off.
Washington Environmental Council is working closely with Washington Conservation Voters and our other conservation partners on all four priorities to help move them forward. As bills make it out of their current committees, the full floor votes for them could happen anytime in the next few weeks.
More Information:
Priorities for a Healthy Washington:
http://www.environmentalpriorities.org/
Washington Environmental Council:
http://www.wecprotects.org/
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#1801 - Rick Butzberger
Re: Green state buildings, why not building codes that require green design for all buildings? When we purchased our condo in the middle of winter, we had no idea how hot it would get during the summer, due to a lot of unshaded, west-facing glass. We can’t always leave the windows open, as the eaves are insufficient to shelter them from the rain. These are factors that should be addressed during the design phase, as they can add tremendously to the heat load. I would much rather use shade and natural ventilation than high-energy air conditioning…
#1828 - William Borden
According to Earth Share of Washington board member David Goldberg, senior architect at Mithun, “green buildings” are the rage these days. Business is brisk at Mithun, which has designed many “green buildings” across the country. REI’s flagship stores are examples of this in the retail sector.
Rick Buzberger is correct: while some homebuilders, such as Bigelow, integrate energy and resource efficiency into the design of their homes, the industry as a whole can learn much from progressive corporations that utilize LEED designs.