Dead & alive bills Last updated: Feb. 20, 2014
*Caveat: Some bills labeled as “dead” may be deemed “necessary to implement the budget” and be passed up until the last day of session (March 13).*
Categorized by committee:
Agriculture & Natural Resources
Appropriations
Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government & Information Technology
Community Development, Housing & Tribal Affairs
Capital Budget
Early Learning & Human Services
Education
Environment
Finance
Government Accountability & Oversight
Government Operations & Elections
Health Care & Wellness
Higher Education
Judiciary
Labor & Workforce Development
Local Government
Public Safety
Technology & Economic Development
Transportation
AGRICULTURE & NATURAL RESOURCES
GOOD:Identifying the science behind environmental policy. House Bill 2261 would require the Department of Fish and Wildlife to identify and categorize each source of information that it relies on in the course of preparing to take significant agency action. Passed House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee; passed House 98-0; in Senate Committee on Natural Resources & Parks – ALIVE
Derelict and abandoned vessels. House Bill 2457 would aim to speed up the removal of derelict vessels, increase accountability for owners of high-risk boats and encourage boat owners to dispose of vessels safely. Passed House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee; passed House Appropriations Committee; passed House 88-9; in Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Parks – ALIVE
Invasive species. House Bill 2458 would provide authority for the Department of Fish and Wildlife to effectively address invasive species using an integrated management approach. Passed House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee; on 2nd reading calendar – ALIVE
Wildlife conflict funding to encourage proactive measures. House Bill 2517 would address expenditures from the state wildlife account and the general fund for damage to commercial crops caused by wild deer or elk and injury or loss of livestock caused by large carnivores. Passed House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee; in House Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government & Information Technology – DEAD
Water quality determinations made by the DOE. House Bill 2472 would require certain determinations by the Department of Ecology to be based on a preponderance of actual site-based, source-specific environmental testing. Public hearing in House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee – DEAD
GOOD:
Use sales tax on transportation projects for future transportation projects. House Bill 2094 would transfer the sales tax paid on transportation projects into the motor vehicle account rather than the general fund. Referred to the House Appropriations Committee – DEAD
Addressing retire/rehire rules to avoid pension abuse within the LEOFF system. House Bill 2479 would respond to a number of issues regarding retirees in the Law Enforcement Officers’ and Fire Fighters’ (LEOFF) retirement system that return to work in positions ineligible for a pension due to a slight tweak in employment terms, which enables them to collect their full pension while also drawing a salary. Passed House Appropriations Committee; on 2nd Reading calendar – ALIVE
BAD:
Un-suspending certain benefits for educational employees. House Bill 2422 would un-suspend the cost of living adjustment provided under I-732 for educational employees for the 2014-15 fiscal year. The bill also un-suspends the inflation adjustment for the National Board Certification Bonus for the 2014-2015 school year. Public hearing in House Appropriations Committee – DEAD or could be “necessary to implement the budget” and passed later
APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE ON GENERAL GOVERNMENT & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
GOOD:
Allowing the Discover Pass penalty to be waived under certain circumstances. House Bill 2156 would allow the courts to waive the penalty for utilizing recreation lands without a valid Discovery Pass, access pass, or day-use permit upon proof that the individual had the Discover Pass or access pass on the date of the infraction. Public hearing in House Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government & Information Technology – DEAD
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, HOUSING & TRIBAL AFFAIRS
GOOD:
Establishing a new veterans’ home. House Bill 2129 would allow the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to operate a new veterans’ home in Walla Walla. This law would also allow parents of children killed while serving in the armed forces to qualify for admittance to any state veterans’ home. Passed House Community Development, Housing & Tribal Affairs Committee; referred to House Appropriations Committee – DEAD
Retaining eligibility for developmental disability services for dependents of military service members. House Bill 2363 would allow spouses and children of military service members who are eligible for developmental disability services to retain that eligibility while living out of state due to military assignment as long as they remain residents of the state. Passed House Community Development, Housing & Tribal Affairs Committee; passed House 96-0; in Senate Committee on Health Care – ALIVE
Pension Poacher Prevention Act. House Bill 2390 would protect veterans by establishing strict prohibitions and rules for people who claim to be helping veterans obtain their benefits. Violations of this act would be considered violations of the Consumer Protection Act. Passed Community Development, Housing & Tribal Affairs Committee; on 2nd Reading calendar – ALIVE
GOOD:
Reversing fund sweeps from the Public Works Assistance Account and Lottery. House Bill 2244 would undo a series of “fund sweeps” enacted last year to help balance the operating budget. Revenues that would normally go into the Public Works Assistance Account to finance loans to local governments for critical infrastructure projects will be swept into the operating budget for the next two biennia under current law. This bill also reinstitutes the requirement that $204 million per biennia be transferred to the capital budget for school construction. Passed the House Capital Budget Committee; passed House 87-11 – ALIVE
Protecting the Public Works Assistance Account from future fund sweeps. House Joint Resolution 4215, if adopted by the voters, would amend the state constitution to protect the Public Works Assistance Account from future “fund sweeps” by the Legislature to help balance the operating budget. More than $1.028 billion has been swept from the PWAA to the operating budget since the 2009-2011 biennium. Public hearing in the House Capital Budget Committee – DEAD
EARLY LEARNING & HUMAN SERVICES
GOOD:
Public-private financing for social or health care services/social impact bonds. House Bill 2337 would establish a steering committee to develop an implementation plan for at least one pilot program that uses social impact bonds or other public-private financing mechanism to finance and deliver prevention-focused social or health care services. Passed House Early Learning & Human Services Committee; in House Appropriations Committee – DEAD
GOOD:
Implementing selected education reforms based on recommendations from the Quality Education Council. House Bill 2242 would promote instructional programs to prevent summer learning loss, directs the State Board of Education to implement a 24-credit graduation requirement framework, and ensures students in grades 7-12 are provided increased instructional time. Public hearing in House Education Committee – DEAD
Improving educational outcomes for homeless students. House Bill 2373 would improve data collection on student homelessness and require additional training and informational materials be developed and disseminated. Public hearing in House Education Committee; no executive session; passed House Appropriations Subcommittee on Education; passed House 92-4; public hearing in Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education – ALIVE
Student privacy. House Bill 2133 would require the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC) to conduct a thorough study of how students in Washington state are having their personally identifiable information released without their approval or knowledge. Public hearing in House Education Committee – DEAD
GOOD:
Collected compostable waste. House Bill 2072 would require, through a phased approach, all cities and counties that mandate compostable waste collection as part of their level of curbside residential solid waste service to provide for the storage and processing of at least 50 percent of all collected compostable waste in the county where the waste is collected. Public hearing in House Environment Committee – DEAD
Identifying the science behind environmental policy. House Bill 2262 would require the Department of Ecology to identify and categorize each source of information that it relies on in the course of preparing to take significant agency action.Passed House Environment Committee; passed House 98-0; public hearing in Senate Committee on Energy and Environment and Telecommunications – ALIVE
Reducing air pollution associated with diesel emissions. House Bill 2569 would require the Department of Ecology to use the money in the account to provide loans with low or no interest and grants to eligible partners for the purpose of reducing exposure to diesel emissions and improving public health by investing in diesel idle emission reduction technologies and infrastructure. Passed House Environment Committee; passed House Capital Budget Committee; passed House 92-5 – ALIVE
SEPA exemptions. House Bill 2090 would create a categorical exemption under the State Environmental Protection Act (SEPA) for projects deemed consistent with a locally-adopted comprehensive plan, development regulations and shoreline master programs. Public hearing in House Environment Committee – DEAD
Creating mitigation banks for transportation projects. House Bill 2095 would create a ‘mitigation bank’ from lands previously purchased by state agencies to mitigate transportation construction projects. Public hearing in House Environment Committee – DEAD
Creating mitigation banks for infrastructure projects. House Bill 2269 would create a ‘mitigation bank’ from lands previously purchased by state agencies to mitigate all infrastructure construction projects. Public hearing in House Environment Committee – DEAD
Providing technical assistance to achieve voluntary compliance with water pollution control statutes. House Bill 2478 would require the Department of Ecology, if it determines that a water quality violation has occurred, to first attempt to achieve voluntary compliance by offering information and technical assistance to the person in violation and if that fails to remedy the problem, the Department may then issue a notice of violation. Public hearing in House Environment Committee – DEAD
BAD:
Paint stewardship. House Bill 1579 would create an architectural paint recovery program to be enforced by the Department of Ecology. Passed House Environment Committee; in House Appropriations Subcommittee on General
Government and Information Technology; on 2nd Reading calendar – ALIVE
Financing for stewardship of mercury-containing lights. House Bill 2246 would state that additional flexibility is needed for mercury containing light manufacturers to comply with certain requirements in order to provide a sustainable funding mechanism and provide effective state protections to producer-operated product stewardship programs. Passed House Environment Committee; passed House 56-41; in Senate Committee on Energy, Environment and Telecommunications – ALIVE
Environmental decision making. House Bill 2312 would require state agencies to make achieving environmental justice part of their mission by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, the disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of their programs, policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income populations in the state.Passed House Environment Committee; in House Appropriations Committee – DEAD
Transportation of oil. House Bill 2347 would give the Department of Ecology broad authority to establish measures to “reduce the risk” of oil spills from vessels. Passed House Environment Committee; passed House Appropriations Committee; passed House 57-37 – ALIVE
GOOD:
Re-enacting the Rural County Tax Incentive Program. House Bill 2204 would diversify the rural economy by granting a deferral and waiver of certain taxes to businesses who locate in one of 31 rural counties and who engage in manufacturing, computer related services, or research and development. Public hearing in House Finance Committee – DEAD
Increasing Flexibility in Property Tax Payments. House Bill 2309 would make several taxpayer-friendly reforms to the laws regarding County Treasurer authorities in order to increase flexibility for payments of property taxes, and allow waivers of certain penalties. Passed House Finance Committee; passed House 97-0 – ALIVE
Raising the Filing Threshold for Certain Taxpayers. House Bill 2678 (governor’s request legislation with bipartisan support), would create a uniform gross income threshold for businesses to qualify for active non-reporting status, increasing the threshold to $50,000 a year for both B&O and Public Utility Tax purposes. Public hearing in House Finance Committee – DEAD
BAD:
Requiring Public Disclosure of Taxpayer Information. House Bill 2201 would require increased public disclosure of employer tax information. It would also fail to implement recommendations by the Department of Revenue such as eliminating redundant reporting. Public hearing in House Finance Committee; passed House 52-45 – ALIVE
GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY & OVERSIGHT
GOOD:
Preventing spirits theft from retailers. House Bill 2155 would help address theft issues with certain retailers by allowing local law enforcement to consult with the retailer to address unacceptable rates of theft. Passed Government Accountability & Oversight Committee; passed House 93-4; in Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor – ALIVE
GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS & ELECTIONS
GOOD:
Permit timeliness. House Bill 2192 would improve the predictability and efficiency of permit decisions by making information about permitting assistance and timelines more readily available to the public. Passed House Committee on Government Operations & Elections; in House Appropriations Committee; passed House 96-0; in Senate Committee on Trade and Economic Development – ALIVE
BAD:
Motor voter. House Bill 1279 would allow 16- and 17-year olds to preregister to vote when they apply for a driver’s license or identification card. Passed the House 54-42; public hearing in Senate Government Operations Committee – ALIVE
Ballot drop boxes. House Bill 1290 would require county auditors to place ballot drop boxes at various locations throughout the county, including colleges/universities and high schools. Passed House Committee on Government Operations & Elections; on 2nd Reading calendar – ALIVE
Voting Rights Act. House Bill 1413 would allow a voter of a protected class to bring a lawsuit to force changes to districts in cases where polarized voting occurs. Bill would prohibit at-large elections and district-based elections to be imposed in a manner that denies a protected class an equal opportunity to influence the outcome of an election. Passed the House 53-43; public hearing in Senate Government Operations Committee – ALIVE
Public funding for Supreme Court campaigns. House Bill 2525 would allow candidates for the state Supreme Court to use public money to fund their campaigns. Public hearing in House Committee on Government Operations & Elections – DEAD
BAD:
Mandating health insurance coverage for abortions. House Bill 2148 would require private health insurance plans that provide coverage for maternity services to provide coverage for abortions. Passed House Health Care & Wellness Committee; Passed House 54-44; in Senate Health Care Committee – ALIVE
Employer penalty for employees enrolled in Medicaid. House Bill 2588 would require employers (excluding state and local governments) with 500 or more employees to pay a penalty for each employee that works at least 104 hours per quarter (8 hours a week) and is enrolled in Medicaid. Public hearing in House Health Care and Wellness Committee – DEAD
GOOD:
Awarding academic credit for military training. House Bill 1858 would require public institutions of higher education to adopt a policy to award academic credit for military training and provide a copy of this adopted policy to enrolled students who listed military service in their application. Passed House 95-0; in Senate Higher Education Committee – ALIVE
Increasing transparency by requiring certain departmental budget detail be posted online. House Bill 2336 would require public institutions of higher education make their department-level budgets accessible to the public by posting them online. Passed House Higher Education Committee; passed House 95-3; in Senate Committee on Higher Education – ALIVE
Requiring data on post-graduation employment and earnings be collected and made available online. House Bill 2443 would task the Education Research and Data Center to publish employment and earnings data on its website for higher education program completers by Oct. 1, annually. Public Hearing in House Higher Education Committee – DEAD
Providing higher education degree production incentives. House Bill 2653 would establish an outcomes-based formula to incentivize institutions of higher education to increase undergraduate degree production, particularly for low-income students and students majoring in STEM fields. Public hearing in House Higher Education Committee – DEAD
GOOD:
Recognizing the right of a parent to make decisions regarding the care and supervision of their child is a fundamental right. House Bill 2174 would have recognized the natural right of a parent to make decisions regarding their child and provided that the state could only infringe upon this fundamental right if there was a compelling state interest.Referred to House Judiciary Committee – DEAD
Concerning the mental health evaluation and treatment of individuals who threaten to murder a family member.House Bill 2508 would revise the Involuntary Treatment Act (ITA) so that those who threaten to murder a family member could be involuntary committed for evaluation and treatment. Referred to House Judiciary Committee – DEAD
BAD:
Creating a cause of action for the protection of employees acting in furtherance of public policy. House Bill 2710would give employees another cause of action to sue their employers in order to promote public policy, rather than a standard reason for being fired based on employee conduct or violations of anti-discrimination laws. Referred to House Judiciary Committee – DEAD
GOOD:
Clarity and certainty for independent contractors. House Bill 2147 would bring regulatory consistency for independent contractors by creating a one-time, binding determination of independent contractor status through creation of a voluntary independent contractor exemption certificate program. Passed House Committee on Labor and Workforce Development; in House Approprations Committee – DEAD
Improving accuracy of prevailing wage. House Bill 2209 and House Bill 2210 would increase the accuracy of prevailing wage by improving the accuracy of survey data and survey methodology. Public hearing in House Committee on Labor and Workforce Development – DEAD
Prevailing wage opt-out for local governments. House Bill 2299 would allow local governments to opt-out of prevailing wage requirements for projects less than $5 million dollars. Public hearing in House Committee on Labor and Workforce Development – DEAD
Small contractors. House Bill 2113 would allow small contractors to expand the scope of work they can do without being a registered contractor. The bill would increase the monetary threshold for casual/minor work from $500 to $1,200 and eliminate some restrictions on advertisement. Public hearing in House Committee on Labor and Workforce Development – DEAD
Workers’ compensation benefits when worker under the influence. House Bill 2295 would limit workers’ compensation benefits payable to a worker who was injured while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Public hearing in House Committee on Labor and Workforce Development – DEAD
Training wage. House Bill 2614 would allow employers to pay less than minimum wage for new employees for their first 680 hours of work. Public hearing in House Committee on Labor and Workforce Development – DEAD
BAD:
Increase in minimum wage. House Bill 2672 would increase the statewide minimum wage to $12 per hour over three years.Passed House Committee on Labor and Workforce Development ; in House Appropriations Committee – DEAD
Paid vacation leave. House Bill 2238 would require employers with 25 or more employees to provide paid vacation leave of up to 120 hours per year. Public hearing in House Committee on Labor and Workforce Development – DEAD
Paid sick and safe leave. House Bill 1313 would require employers with more than four full-time employees to provide paid sick leave and paid leave for certain domestic violence and safety issues. Passed House 52-45; in Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor – ALIVE
Reimbursement for employees. House Bill 2230 would require employers to reimburse employees for cell phone and cellular plan expenses, if cell phone used in employment. Passed House Committee on Labor and Workforce Development; on 2nd Reading calendar – ALIVE
Independent contractors. House Bill 2334 would be a wholesale change in independent contractor laws, resulting in more workers being classified as an “employee” rather than an “independent contractor.” Passed House Committee on Labor and Workforce Development; passed House Appropriations Committee; passed House 51-45 – ALIVE
Anti-retaliation. House Bill 2333 would establish criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for violation of employee wage retaliation statutes. Passed House Committee on Labor and Workforce Development; passed House Appropriations Committee; passed House 53-45; in Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor – ALIVE
Damages for wage violations. House Bill 2332 would increase wage violation damages in a civil suit from double damages to triple damages, and eliminate exemption for cases involving employee wrongdoing. Passed House Committee on Labor and Workforce Development; passed House 53-45; in Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor – ALIVE
Apprenticeships. House Bill 2526 would give contractors utilizing a Department of Labor and Industries apprentice program a virtual five percent discount on their bid price when comparing to all bids. This would likely lead to inflationary bid prices and increased transportation costs. Passed House Committee on Labor and Workforce Development; passed House Capital Budget Committee; on 2nd Reading calendar – ALIVE
Prevailing wage based on collective bargaining agreements. House Bill 2527 would establish the prevailing wage rate by using the hourly wage, usual benefits, and overtime pay set in collective bargaining agreements. Passed House Committee on Labor and Workforce Development; passed House 59-37; in Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor – ALIVE
GOOD:
Giving counties the right of initiative and referendum. House Bill 1595 would give the people in non-charter counties the right to initiative and referendum similar to what is available in charter counties. Passed House Local Government Committee; on 2nd Reading calendar – ALIVE
Making city petition signature laws constitutional. House Bill 2296 would ensure that a person’s signature is counted once and not thrown out because of duplicative signatures. Passed House Local Government Committee; passed House 98-0; in Senate Committee on Governmental Operations – ALIVE
BAD:
Delaying vesting rights in urban growth areas. House Bill 2245 would stop “land use activities” vesting for 60 days after the adoption of comprehensive plans or development regulations modifying the boundaries of the area, or even longer if a comprehensive plan is challenged before the Growth Management Hearings Board. Passed House Local Government Committee; on 2nd Reading calendar – ALIVE
Stopping vesting rights of property owners to build. House Bill 2234 would prevent permits vesting if the Growth Management Hearings Board makes a determination of invalidity for a particular area. Public hearing in House Local Government Committee – DEAD
GOOD:
Making felony driving under the influence a class B felony. House Bill 2506 would have increased the penalty for a DUI from a class C felony to a class B felony, resulting in offenders with more previous felony convictions who could be sentenced to community supervision after they were released from prison. Public hearing in House Public Safety Committee – DEAD
Criminalizes sexual contact between a clergy member and someone who seeks their counsel. House Bill 2341 wouldmake a member of the clergy guilty of indecent liberties when they use their position of trust or authority to engage in sexual contact with the victim by exploiting the victim’s emotional dependency on the clergy. Passed House Public Safety Committee; passed House 93-4 – ALIVE
Concerning impaired driving. House Bill 2728 would make it a gross misdemeanor offense for a driving under the influence (DUI) offender to request a third party to blow or otherwise exhale into an ignition interlock device (IID) in order to enable him or her to circumvent the device. Passed House Public Safety Committee; in House Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government and Information Technology – DEAD
BAD:
Reducing the penalty for possession of controlled substances. House Bill 2116 would have made possession of a controlled substance, including Schedule I drugs, the most tightly controlled and currently a class C felony, a simple misdemeanor. Public hearing in House Public Safety Committee – DEAD
TECHNOLOGY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
GOOD:
Providing tax incentives for rotorcraft manufacture. House Bill 2693 would extend several pro-business and manufacturing tax incentives in place for aircraft manufacturing to helicopter manufacturing to foster the growth of jobs in that sector in Washington state. Passed House Technology & Economic Development Committee; public hearing in House Finance Committee – DEAD
Energy generation in irrigation canals & water pipes to qualify as Renewable Resource under the Energy Independence Act. House Bill 2733 would classify hydroelectric generation from facilities located in irrigation canals and pipes as an eligible renewable resource under the Energy Independence Act. Passed House Technology & Economic Development Committee; passed House 89-8 – ALIVE
BAD:
Mandating a new renewable resource certificate purchasing scheme. House Bill 2059 would mandate that a customer or an investor-owned utility must create a special tariff to allow certain commercial customers to purchase renewable resources in one megawatt-hour units, with the requesting customer having the authority to designate and approve the specific renewable resource they wish to procure. Passed House Technology & Economic Development Committee; in House Rules Committee – ALIVE
Promoting leased solar energy systems. House Bill 2176 would allow electric utilities to offer leased renewable energy systems to consumers. If utilities offer the systems then no other entity could offer leases to the utility’s customers – giving the utility a monopoly; if they do not offer them, then third-party vendors could offer the leases. Passed House Technology & Economic Development Committee; on 2nd Reading calendar – ALIVE
GOOD:
Streamlining permitting for structurally deficient bridges. House Bill 2071 would reduce some of the bureaucracy of permitting without jeopardizing environmental or engineering requirements. Passed the House Transportation Committee; in House Rules Committee – ALIVE
Recognizing veterans on driver’s licenses. House Bill 2343 would allow veterans to choose to have their veteran designation on driver’s licenses or identicards. Passed the House Transportation Committee; on 2nd Reading calendar – ALIVE
Life-time trailer license plates. House Bill 1902 would allow trailers that are used infrequently (intermittently) to buy a license plate once for the lifetime of the trailer. Passed the House Transportation Committee; passed House 98-0; in Senate Committee on Transportation – ALIVE
Reform how WSDOT does business. House Bill 2070 would implement multiple reforms to make WSDOT errors more transparent and improve their processes. Public hearing in House Transportation Committee; in House Rules Committee – ALIVE