2009-2010 Environmental Priorities

Each year, Washington Conservation Voters helps lead the effort to bring together the environmental community to select a limited set of legislative Priorities. This common agenda maximizes our resources and provides legislators with a clear roadmap for success. Our electoral expertise and full time lobbying presence in Olympia help position the Priorities for success and lay the foundation for future policy work. Although we had measurable achievements in 2009 and 2010, we did not see significant movement on a number of key environmental issues.   

2009 Priorities

 

Cap and Invest. By putting a cap on greenhouse gas emissions, this bill would have reduced fossil fuel dependence, spurred investment in new clean-tech innovation, and created new green jobs. Did not pass.

Efficiency First. This Priority provides incentives to maximize energy efficiency; requires energy use information on buildings offered for sale or lease; and makes our public buildings models of energy efficiency. This policy also helps to ensure that low-income consumers can cope with rising energy costs. Success. 

Transit-Oriented Communities. This bill would have revised the state’s transportation and land-use planning framework to help local jurisdictions plan for growth in a sustainable and climate-friendly way. Did not pass.

Invest in Clean Water. By imposing a per-barrel fee on petroleum, this bill would have raised $100 million annually to fund clean water infrastructure projects that would have significantly reduced stormwater pollution. Did not pass. 

2010 Priorities

 

Safe Baby Bottle Act. Phases out chemical bisphenol A (BPA) in baby bottles, sports water bottles, and other consumer products, thus protecting children from this chemical that is harmful to their health. Success.

Working for Clean Water. Through a polluter-pay approach, this bill would have funded local projects to stop toxic stormwater contamination in Puget Sound, the Spokane River, and other waterways across the state by increasing the Hazardous Substance tax for the first time in two decades. Did not pass.   

Sustain Environmental Protections in the Budget. This Priority ensured that our state budget preserved the core environmental protections we depend on to keep our communities healthy and safe: clean water to drink, clean air to breathe, and the clean-up of toxic contaminations. Success.

In addition to the three 2010 Priorities, the environmental community worked to:

Protect the Integrity of the Citizen's Clean Energy Initiative, I-937. This effort maintained the strength of I-937, which requires the state's major utilities to gradually increase the amount of new renewable resources in their electricity supply to 15 percent by 2020.  Success.