Washington Business Fall 2015 | Legislative Review | Page 24
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statutory vesting right (Potala Village
Kirkland LLC v. City of Kirkland). AWB
filed an amicus brief seeking direct
review, but justices on the state Supreme
Court declined to hear the case. Facing
uncertainty in the building industry,
ESB 5921 would have added back into
statute some land use activity originally
recognized under common law. The bill
passed the Senate 29-20 but failed to
come up for a vote in the House.
ESSB 5804
energy code process
Failed/AWB Supported
AWB supported Engrossed Substitute
Senate Bill 5804, sponsored by Sen.
Marko Liias, D-Lynnwood, which would
modify the procedure for adoption and
amendment of the Washington State
Energy Code. Among other provisions,
the bill would have adopted the Washington State Energy Code as published
by the International Code Council. The
bill would have also created new requirements for adopting amendments to the
energy code. ESSB 5804 passed the Senate 48-1 but did not come up for a vote
in the House.
SB 5969
sepa reform
Failed/AWB Supported
Senate Bill 5969, sponsored by Sen.
Sharon Brown, R-Kennewick, sought
to reform some provisions of the State
Environmental Policy Act (SEPA). The
bill would have allowed federal environmental reviews to count toward SEPA
obligations, and require completion of
the Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) within 30 days of publication of
either a categorical exclusion determination, a finding of no significant impact,
or a final EIS. The bill had a public hearing in the Senate Trade and Economic
Development Committee, but did not
come up for a vote.
22 association of washington business
water resources
SB 5628
water infrastructure
funding
Failed/AWB Neutral
AWB remained neutral on Senate Bill
5628, sponsored by Sen. Jim Honeyford, R-Sunnyside, which would have
created a parcel fee to fund stormwater, flooding, and water supply projects
across Washington state. The fee would
be based on a sliding scale with about
two-thirds of property owners paying
$35 per year. The new revenue would
have funded three grant programs to
reduce stormwater pollution, reduce
the risk of flooding, and improve water
supplies. This legislation did not make
it out of the Senate Ways and Means
Committee, but supporters will likely
work on the bill during the interim and
try again in 2016.
EHB 1989
water storage
Passed/AWB Supported
AWB supported Engrossed House Bill
1989, sponsored by Rep. Tom Dent,
R-Moses Lake, which grants authority
and creates procedures to manage water
storage assets. This bill allows small cities to contract for ongoing maintenance
on water storage tanks. The long term
service contracts contain annual costs
and create greater certainty in budgeting. EHB 1989 passed the Senate 48-0
and the House concurred with final passage by a vote of 96-0.
SB 5556
irrigation district
administration
Passed/AWB Supported
AWB supported Senate Bill 5556, sponsored by Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses
Lake, which clarifies some procedures for
the administration of irrigation districts.
The bill removes the requirement for