| Environment Protect and restore forests Issue Team Chair: Sherri Dysart, sdysart@lwvwa.org |
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Overview The League of Women Voters of Washington finds that all benefits of the forests—ecological, human and economic—are inextricably interconnected. Healthy forests are essential to habitat for a diversity of plant and animal life, to the hydrologic cycle, and to carbon storage to mitigate global warming. In addition, healthy forests are essential to a forest products industry with the jobs and goods they provide, and to the economic and aesthetic values of their recreational opportunities. The League supports laws and policies to insure that forest management (for timber extraction, recreation or any other activity) are carried out in a manner that will sustain healthy forests, streams and habitats. In addition to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, we must draw down the dangerous levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. The most efficient and effective way to accomplish this goal is to preserve and protect our mature and old-growth forests on public lands (state and federal).
League priority bills are in bold below.
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| House Bills | House | Senate | After Passage | |||||||||
| Bill # | Bill Name (Brief Title) | League Position | Take Action | In Committee | On Floor Calendar | Passed | In Committee | On Floor Calendar | Passed | Passed Legislature | On Governor's Desk | Signed |
| Hog fuel tax exemption |
Watch |
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| Mitigating the risk of wildfires | Supports |
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DNR –Trust Land Transfer |
Supports |
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| Improving community preparedness to wildfire | Supports |
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| Providing carbon sequestration & ecosystems services | Opposes |
Sign in CON |
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These weekly updates will provide you with a "deep dive" into the progress of each bill, along with more analysis of the potential impact of the bill if it should pass.
- Weekly Report 1.15.23—Read More
- Weekly Report 1.22.23— Read Here
- Weekly Report 1.29.23— Read Here
- Weekly Report 2.5.23— Read Here
- Weekly Report 2.12.23— Read Here
- Weekly Report 2.19.23— Read Here
- Weekly Report 2.26.23—No update this week
- Weekly Report 3.5.23— Read Here
- Weekly Report 3.12.23— Read Here
- Weekly Report 3.19.23— Read Here
HB 1018 Changing the expiration date for the sales and use tax exemption of hog fuel to comply with the 2045 deadline for fossil fuel-free electrical generation in Washington State and to protect jobs with health care and retirement benefits in economically distressed communities.
HB 1032 Mitigating the risk of wildfires through electric utility planning and identification of best management practices appropriate to each electric utility's circumstances.
HB 1078 Concerning urban forest management ordinances. Requires any city or town that has or that enacts an urban forestry management ordinance to allow for any tree protection or management obligations imposed by the ordinance to be satisfied by the use of a tree bank.
HB 1460 Concerning the department of natural resources land transactions, revenue distributions, and creation and management of a trust land transfer program. Revitalizing the Trust Land Transfer program.
HB 1578 Improving community preparedness, response, recovery, and resilience to wildland fire health and safety impacts in areas of increasing population density, including in the wildland urban interface.
HB 1720 Concerning protection and restoration of riparian areas.
HB 1789 Expanding revenue generation and economic opportunities from natural climate solutions and ecosystem services.
SB 5039 Mitigating the risk of wildfires through electric utility planning and identification of best management practices appropriate to each electric utility's circumstances.
SB 5372 Concerning the department of natural resources land transactions, revenue distributions, and creation and management of a trust land transfer program. Revitalizing the Trust Land Transfer program.
SB 5390 Establishing a programmatic safe harbor agreement on forestlands. Recruit, enhance, or maintain habitat for spotted owls on any nonfederal forestlands via a voluntary, incentive-based program.
SB 5611 Improving community preparedness, response, recovery, and resilience to wildland fire health and safety impacts in areas of increasing population density, including in the wildland urban interface.
SB 5688 Providing carbon sequestration and ecosystem services in the management of public lands.
- Local Leagues in Washington have action chairs who coordinate action teams. Some local Leagues have environmental teams to take action locally. Contact your local League action chair to find out and join.
- You may also express your opinion on legislation with the LWVWA issue chairs. We will take your perspectives under considerations as we determine our support for legislation and prepare testimony. Sherri Dysart, Forests Issue Chair, sdysart@lwvwa.org.