Washington Business Fall 2018 | Legislative Review & Vote Record | Page 33

issue area reports | environment
Rep. Vincent Buys, R-Lynden, is the ranking member of the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee. Rep. Dan Kristiansen,
R-Snohomish, at left, is retiring from the Legislature this year after serving as House Minority Leader.
ESSB 6091 reaffirms that counties can rely
on the state Department of Ecology rules for
water resources. The bill separates basins
with watershed plans from those without
and defines a process for each. For the
seven watersheds with adopted plans, the
withdrawal limit is 3,000 gallons per day,
per connection. For the eight watersheds
w it hout adopted pla n s, a watershed
committee must be formed and adopt a plan
by June 2021. In these areas, the withdrawal
limit is 950 gallons per day, which can be
reduced to 350 gallons per day during a
drought. New wells are charged a $500 fee
and the bill declares existing exempt wells
are not impacted. Another element of the
Hirst legislation is creation of a Foster Task
Force and up to five pilot projects, which
aims to address a similar court decision.
The original Supreme Court Foster decision
removed the ability for the Department of
Ecology to use overriding considerations of
Bill considered as part of
AWB’s voting record
public interest (OCPI) to appropriate water
that would impair minimum instream
flows, even with a mitigation package. The
Hirst bill creates a joint legislative task
force to review alternatives to OCPI when
appropriating water relative to streams
with instream flow requirements. The task
force will review the findings from five pilot
projects authorized in the Hirst bill. The
five areas include water systems in Pierce,
Thurston, Whatcom, and Kitsap counites.
Lawmakers also allocated $300 million to
enhance stream flows. ESSB 6091 passed
the Senate by a vote of 35-14 and the House
by a vote of 66-30.
E2SHB 1622
state building code council
reform
Passed/AWB Supported
AW B s up p o r t e d E n g r o s s e d S e c o n d
Substitute House Bill 1622, sponsored
Favorable outcome for
Washington businesses
by Rep. Tana Senn, D-Mercer Island,
which reformed the State Building Code
Council (SBCC). The business community
has worked with stakeholders on various
versions of this bill for about three years
and we finally reached agreement on a
compromise this session. The bill makes
numerous reforms including: moving
SBCC under the Department of Enterprise
Ser vices, requiring code amendments
to be treated as significant legislative
rules, funding an economic analysis, and
establishing additional membership criteria.
The bill also creates a new fee for architects
($6.50) and increases the fees for residential
($6.50) and commercial ($25) building
permits. Overall, AWB members determined
this bill provided the necessary reforms
and additional revenue to accomplish what
employers need most, which is a functioning
building code council. E2SHB 1622 passed
the House by a vote of 73-24 and the Senate
by a vote of 30-19.
Missed Opportunities
special edition 2018
31