Wins from Washington’s 2024 legislative session, plus a look ahead to next year

Washington’s Legislature alternates between long and short sessions. Long sessions, in odd-numbered years, are 105 days long. This is when lawmakers write the two-year budget. Short sessions, in even-numbered years, are 60 days long. This is when lawmakers adjust the budget as needed.

The 2024 short legislative session concluded on March 7. It was a brief session, but unusually busy. As the Policy Advocate for Earthjustice’s Northwest Office, I worked with Earthjustice’s attorneys and our partners to beat back damaging proposals — and support positive ones.

Overall, we can claim several significant wins this session as we begin planning for next year.

Wins: Here are policies from this year that deserve celebration

Electric School Buses: More than 1,000 Earthjustice supporters in Washington responded to our call to action and contacted their elected officials, urging lawmakers to fund and pass legislation to help Washington’s school districts transition from dirty polluting diesel buses to a clean, electric, zero-emission fleet.

Legislators responded by enacting a policy that mandates school districts purchase zero emission school buses when operating costs are equal to buses that run on fossil fuels. Lawmakers also injected nearly $40 million into the new program, partially with funding from Climate Commitment Act (CCA) revenue.

We could not have done this without the help of Earthjustice’s members and community-based organizations, plus our labor partners, and the broader environmental community. We especially want to thank Duwamish River Community Coalition for being at the forefront and working with us to ensure the grant program was restructured to prioritize funding for electric school buses for school districts that have higher rates of pollution, ensuring equity for Washington’s students and communities.

Snake River Funding to Study Recreation and Reclamation: Earthjustice, along with our partners — American Rivers, Save Our Wild Salmon, Nez Perce Tribe, Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, and Washington’s Office of the Governor — helped secure $600,000 in state funding, which will be matched 2:1 by the US Army Corps of Engineers, to study recreational and reclamation opportunities in preparation for possible future Congressional action to breach the four lower Snake River dams. The federal match is a direct result of federal commitments promised in December 2023 as part of a broad and comprehensive Columbia Basin Restoration agreement that Earthjustice helped shape alongside Tribes, the States of Oregon and Washington, and the conservation, fishing, and renewable energy groups we represent in our long-standing litigation to protect Snake River salmon. The new recreation study, which we advocated for and secured during the 2023 legislative session, to inform governing bodies and the public on infrastructure updates that could maintain and further develop energy, irrigation, and transportation options if breaching were to occur.

Protecting Water and Wetlands: On April 16, 2024, Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) declared a drought emergency throughout the state, excluding the Everett, Seattle, and Tacoma metro regions. This was the result of low winter snowpack and reports for dry and warm spring and summer. Despite persistent reports of water shortages, the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) pursued a strategy that could exacerbate drought.

Earthjustice and its tribal partners were successful in pushing back against Senate Bill 6062/House Bill 2299, a DNR request bill that would have given them legislative authority to lease DNR-held water rights as an independent asset to applicants regardless of where the water is collected or used. This ignores the ways in which water naturally flows and the urgency to conserve water. We were grateful to keep that bill at bay and to also have the Legislature and Ecology seek and secure $2 million in funding to allow the state to invest time and resources to study proposed projects that could impact Washington wetlands. Conducting a thorough and complete environmental review is important following the U.S. Supreme Court Sackett decision that gutted how we define and protect wetlands in the United States. We appreciate and thank the Legislature and Ecology for taking these proactive steps to protect our state’s water and wetlands.

Partial Wins: We’ll have more to do next year

Siting Facilities For Environmental Justice: Earthjustice engaged this session on the Cumulative Risk Burden Pollution Act (CURB), sponsored by Rep. Mena (D-Tacoma), which seeks to ensure proposed projects are not sited where they disproportionately impact the health of communities. This Washington state legislation is modeled after New York and New Jersey legislation. Despite the bill’s demise, we are glad that it was able to advance past the House Environment and Energy Committee, chaired by Rep. Doglio (D-Olympia). We believe CURB is consistent with progress the Legislature has made to ensure environmental justice in state policy making, investments, and planning, by addressing the disproportionate impact of pollution at the sources. We know preventative care is key in other policy spaces, and this bill exemplifies how that philosophy, backed by analysis and data, can also benefit the environment and communities of Washington. We look forward to continuing our work with our partner, Front & Centered, on this policy and other opportunities to advance this important conversation inside and outside the legislature.

Partial Decarbonization: The Washington Legislature, in passing House Bill 1589, took a step forward in decarbonizing our energy grid but missed an opportunity to affirm protections to low- and moderate-income ratepayers as Washington’s largest utility, Puget Sound Energy. Transitioning from fossil fuels to a clean, decarbonized energy economy is critical given the science and impact on communities with fewer available resources. Despite the shortfall, we believe the legislature will do more in the coming legislative sessions to ensure these missed opportunities are reconciled, overcoming some of the political challenges they faced in previous legislative makeups.

Looking Ahead: What can we expect next session?

Good Bills Coming: As we move toward the 2025 legislative session, we expect to see more legislation to help salmon thrive (e.g., concerning riparian buffer zones, regulating PFAS, 6PPD, biosolids, and more), to protect air quality, and establish robust permitting regulations aimed at undoing the harms of past government decisions on overburdened communities, low-income communities, and communities of color — entrenching environmental justice into our state laws. We are also committed to advancing “right to repair” legislation, similar to recently passed legislation out of Oregon, that helps reduce waste and save critical minerals from entering landfills.

November Election And Ballot Measures: Now that the state legislative session is over, we can expect Washington voters, like voters elsewhere nationally, will focus attention on November’s election.

In addition to the presidential race, Washington voters will be casting votes for a new governor, attorney general, public lands commissioner, and insurance commissioner, to highlight a few top leadership positions. These positions hold a lot of influence on how the state chooses to respond to climate crises and environmental injustices, and what to prioritize through a combination of administrative actions, executive orders, and legislative proposals.

Washington voters will also be voting on several key ballot initiatives that would roll back important policies that benefit Washington’s communities, mitigate environmental harms, and address social injustices.

One of the key initiative battles will be Washington Initiative 2117, which will decide whether to retain or reject the Climate Commitment Act (CCA), a market-based carbon cap and investment program, passed by the legislature in 2021 that went into effect on January 1, 2023. The CCA has generated more than two billion dollars in revenue from corporations who pollute to help address the urgent and rapidly increasing impacts of climate change. Without the revenue, of which 35% is directed to overburdened communities and tribes, and the mandate to reduce carbon emissions, our state will have a more difficult time mitigating and reducing the impacts of climate change. This fact sheet details investments made with CCA revenue, now in jeopardy.

Another initiative Earthjustice has been discussing with our partners is Washington Initiative 2066, funded primarily by the Building Industry Association of Washington and other powerful gas industry supporters. This initiative seeks to delay and disrupt Washington’s transition to a clean energy economy and would make homes less safe while also raising energy costs for customers. This initiative qualified for the ballot on July 19, and it will be important to get the word out on the harmful consequences if this initiative is passed; the misinformation campaign led by proponents of I-2066 is disturbing but not surprising.

The 2025 Washington Legislature session is scheduled to begin on Jan. 13, 2025. Until then, we’ll be focused, with our supporters, on the November election and these ballot measures. We’ll be sharing more information soon, so stay tuned.