March 28th Hot List - State House

POSSIBLE HOUSE FLOOR ACTION

SSB 5356: Allowing the use of dogs to hunt cougars.

POSITION: OPPOSE

• Sport hound hunting disproportionately kills older cougars, undermining the natural age/gender structure of the population and causing a negative impact throughout the entire ecosystem.
• Hound hunting of cougars creates more dangerous conditions for people. Culling older cougars allows the more aggressive juvenile population to thrive and take over territory, causing increased threats to both humans and livestock.
  

HOUSE COMMITTEE ACTION

HB 2008: Regarding the administration of natural resources programs.

General Government Appropriations & Oversight: Possible Executive Session
POSITION: OPPOSE

• This bill reduces environmental protection while combining two types of forestry-related permits and raising fees.
• We are concerned that the bill will require understaffed agencies to take on major new administrative work “integrating” the hydraulics code into the forest practices regulations; that the agency with the expertise to determine what’s needed to protect fish loses its ability to ensure that protection; and four-year logging permits weaken the foundation of the state’s Forests and Fish Habitat Conservation Plan.

ESSB 5253: Concerning landscape conservation and local infrastructure.

Ways & Means: Public Hearing & Possible Executive Session
POSITION: SUPPORT

• Will empower our cities to make much-needed infrastructure improvements in exchange for working together to conserve potentially hundreds of thousands of acres of working farm and forest land.
• Brought forward by Cascade Land Conservancy, the bill is supported by a broad coalition including the environmental community, various cities & counties, Master Builders Association of King & Snohomish, Weyerhaueser, etc.

ESSB 5457: Providing a congestion reduction charge to fund the operational and capital needs of transit agencies.

Transportation: Possible Executive Session
POSITION: SUPPORT

• This bill preserves jobs, reduces congestion, and protects the environment by authorizing King County to impose a temporary congestion reduction charge to provide emergency funding for our critical transit service.
• Transit service faces a funding crisis in Washington State. Plummeting sales tax revenue is forcing transit agencies to slash service despite record-setting ridership.

E2SSB 5769: Regarding coal-fired electric generation facilities.

Capital Budget: Public hearing
POSITION: SUPPORT

• With this bill the TransAlta coal plant will significantly cut its air pollution in 2013 and permanently shut its two boilers in 2020 and 2025. The bill is supported by TransAlta, the labor community, the Governor and environmental groups.
• The bill also commits TransAlta to invest in Lewis County's economic development and in local energy efficiency projects. Gradually increased funding from CERB and PWB will contribute to community redevelopment, including reuse of reclaimed coal mine lands.