Reducing carbon pollution by investing in rural economic development and a clean energy economy.

Imposes a carbon pollution tax on: (1) The sale or use within this state of fossil fuels, including fossil fuels used in generating electricity; or

(2) The sale or consumption within this state of electricity generated through the combustion of fossil fuels.

Requires the department of revenue to convene a stakeholder work group to examine the integration of carbon pricing in electricity markets within the state and transactions with markets outside the state.

Creates the joint committee on climate programs oversight and requires the committee to be responsible for ongoing review of the implementation of the carbon pollution tax and funding from the revenue of that tax.

Creates the pollution cleanup fund advisory board within the executive office of the governor to oversee implementation of this act toward reducing pollution and facilitating the transition to a clean energy economy.

Creates an economic and environmental justice oversight panel as a subcommittee of the pollution cleanup fund advisory board.

Prohibits a state agency from adopting or enforcing a statewide program that sets a greenhouse gas emissions cap or charge.

Requires the utilities and transportation commission and the department of commerce to create a technical standards committee and a technical advisory committee, as appropriate, to advise certain parties on utility reinvestment of certain credited money.

Establishes clean energy investment programs and plans.

Creates the carbon pollution reduction account, the energy transformation account, the transition assistance account, the water and natural resources resilience account, and the rural economic development account.

Extending the timeline for completing a family assessment response.

Extending the existing state property tax exemption for residences of senior citizens and disabled persons to local regular property taxes.

Clarifying existing law by creating a new intrastate food safety and security chapter from existing intrastate food safety laws and moving certain provisions in the intrastate commerce food, drugs, and cosmetics act to the titles of the agencies that administer the provisions.

Establishes the food safety and security act.

Protects the public from adulteration, misbranding, and false advertisement of food in intrastate commerce; and promotes uniformity with federal law, governmental transparency, and regulatory fairness.

Concerning child support, but only including a parent's obligation to provide medical support, use of electronic funds transfers, notice of noncompliance, adoption of the economic table recommended by the child support work group, and references to the federal poverty level in self-support reserve limitations.

Providing a benefit increase to certain retirees of the public employees' retirement system plan 1 and the teachers' retirement system plan 1.

Concerning the use of hydraulic fracturing in the exploration for and production of oil and natural gas.

Expanding the property tax exemption for new and rehabilitated multiple-unit dwellings in urban centers.

Addressing the definition of veteran.

Designates the end of the Persian Gulf War as February 28, 1991, or ending on November 30, 1995, if the participant was awarded a campaign badge or medal for that period.

Regarding career and technical education in alternative learning experience programs.

Concerning the use of perfluorinated chemicals in food packaging.

Prohibits a person from manufacturing, knowingly selling, offering for sale, distributing for sale, or distributing for food packaging to which perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals have been intentionally added in any amount.

Requires the department of ecology to: (1) Conduct an assessment to determine if a safer alternative to perfluoroalkyl chemicals in specific applications of food packaging is available; and

Concerning telemedicine payment parity.

Requires the collaborative for the advancement of telemedicine to: (1) Review the concept of telemedicine payment parity and develop recommendations on reimbursing for telemedicine and store and forward technology at the same rate as if the service were provided in person by the provider, for treatment of diabetes mellitus, stroke, mental health conditions, opioid dependence, and chronic pain; and

Concerning the creation of housing opportunity zones by cities and counties.

Addresses the need to increase transit-oriented housing production.

Finds that more compact and efficient development within a one-half mile distance around transit facilities have shown value in providing affordable housing.

Declares an intent to create an opt-in pilot program for cities and counties to: (1) Enable and encourage compact and efficient development within a one-half mile distance around transit facilities; and

(2) Choose to participate in the opportunity to access financial resources in exchange for streamlined residential project approval and reduced fees charged to specific housing projects.

Authorizes residential developments within a designated housing opportunity zone to participate in a city's or county's multifamily tax exemption program or similar program even if outside of a designated residential target area.

Requires the department of commerce to maintain maps of housing opportunity zones and areas eligible for designation as housing opportunity zones.

Requires the local ordinance by which impact fees are imposed to provide for the exemptions required by this act.

Concerning access to the Washington early childhood education and assistance program.

Addressing the disposal of recreational vehicles abandoned on public property.

Authorizes a registered tow truck operator to transport an abandoned recreational vehicle without being licensed as a hulk hauler.

Requires the department of licensing, before accepting an application for a registration for a recreational vehicle, to collect a six-dollar abandoned recreational disposal fee from the applicant in addition to other fees and taxes.

Allows registered tow truck operators, vehicle wreckers, scrap processors, and scrap metal businesses to apply to the department of licensing for financial aid for the transport, storage, dismantling, and disposal of abandoned recreational vehicles from public property.

Authorizes a solid waste disposal site that is compliant with all applicable regulations to wreck a nonmotorized abandoned recreational vehicle.

Promoting renewable natural gas.

Requires the Washington State University extension energy program and the department of commerce, in consultation with the utilities and transportation commission, to submit, by September 1, 2018, recommendations to the governor's office and the legislative energy committees on how to promote sustainable development of renewable natural gas in the state.

Requires the department of commerce to: (1) In consultation with the department of ecology, the utilities and transportation commission, and the department of health, explore development of voluntary gas quality standards for the injection of renewable natural gas into the natural gas pipeline system; and

(2) Consult industry groups and identify industry best practices.

Provides a sales and use tax exemption for equipment necessary to process biogas from a landfill into marketable coproducts.

Expanding the activities of the children's mental health services consultation program.

Requires the state health care authority, in collaboration with the University of Washington department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and Seattle Children's Hospital to implement a two-year pilot program called the partnership access line for moms and kids to: (1) Support primary care providers in the assessment and provision of appropriate diagnosis and treatment of children with mental and behavioral health disorders;

(2) Support obstetricians, pediatricians, primary care providers, mental health professionals, and other health care professionals providing care to pregnant women and new mothers, through same-day telephone consultations, in the assessment and provision of appropriate diagnosis and treatment of depression in pregnant women and new mothers; and

(3) Facilitate referrals to children's mental health services and other resources for parents and guardians with concerns related to the mental health of the parent or guardian's child.

Concerning the protection of military installations operated by the United States armed services from incompatible development.

Requires the department of commerce to establish a competitive process to solicit proposals for and prioritize projects whose primary objective is to increase the compatibility of surrounding land uses with current or future missions at military bases within the state.

Concerning real estate appraisals and appraisers.

Requires an action to recover damages against a real estate appraiser arising out of the appraiser's real estate activity to be brought within one year from the date of discovery of the act or omission giving rise to the action.

Prohibits an action to recover damages against a real estate appraiser from being brought more than three years after the report date.

Providing school districts with authority to impose an additional enrichment levy amount to fund high quality early learning programs.

Authorizes a school district, beginning with taxes levied for collection in 2019, to levy an additional enrichment levy dollar amount not to exceed an amount equal to twenty-five cents per thousand dollars of the assessed value of property in the school district.

Concerning student access to school libraries and information technology.

Requires the office of the superintendent of public instruction to examine and report on student access to school library information and technology resources and associated impacts to student success.

Expanding community-based behavioral health facilities through issuance of state bonds.

Requires the department of commerce, in collaboration with the department of social and health services, to: (1) Administer grants to community hospitals or other community entities to expand and establish new capacity for behavioral health services in communities including children's mental health services; and

(2) Establish criteria for the issuance of the grants.

Authorizes the state finance committee to issue general obligation bonds to provide needed capital improvements to increase behavioral health services in community settings.

Creating a pilot project for tribal compact schools.

Creates a pilot project for tribal compact schools to explore and implement options in adjusting school attendance and calendar requirements for the purpose of accommodating cultural, fisheries, and agricultural events and replacing graduation testing requirements with culturally relevant and community-based standards.

Authorizes tribal compact schools participating in the pilot project to develop various options in implementing the pilot project.

Requires the office of native education within the office of the superintendent of public instruction to: (1) Collaborate with each tribal education compact school participating in the pilot project; and

(2) Review terms of the compact that relate to the school's pilot project.

Requires the superintendent of public instruction, if appropriate, to convene a government-to-government meeting with the tribal compact school to revise the compact to reflect the terms of the pilot project.

Concerning nuisance abatement and foreclosures.

Concerning ticket sales over the internet.

Prohibits a person, firm, or corporation from: (1) Reselling or engaging in the business of reselling tickets to a place of entertainment without first having procured a ticket reseller license from the department of licensing for each location at which business will be conducted; or

(2) Operating an internet web site or other electronic service that provides a mechanism for two or more parties to participate in a resale transaction or that facilitates resale transactions by certain means without first having procured a ticket reseller license from the department of licensing for each location at which business will be conducted.

Authorizes the attorney general to bring an action in the name of the state, or on behalf of persons residing in the state, to restrain and prevent an act prohibited or declared to be unlawful in this act.

Allowing limited storm and sanitary sewer systems for rural economic development in the growth management act.

Revising the establishment of marine pilotage tariffs.

Removes the following duties and options from the board of pilotage commissioners and places them on the utilities and transportation commission: (1) Establishing the pilotage tariffs for pilotage services provided under chapter 88.16 RCW (the pilotage act);

(2) Establishing extra compensation for extra services to vessels in distress, for awaiting vessels, for vessels in direct transit to or from a Canadian port where Puget Sound pilotage is required for a portion of the voyage, or for being carried to sea on vessels against the will of the pilot; and

(3) As an element of the Puget Sound pilotage district tariff, considering pilot retirement plan expenses incurred in the prior year in either pilotage district.

Prohibits the state from being obligated to fund or pay for any portion of retirement payments for pilots or retired pilots.

Requires a port district, providing pilotage services, to include a pension charge in its recommended pilotage tariff until such time as the pilot retirement agreement expenses for Grays Harbor bar pilots employed before October 1, 2001, have terminated.

Limiting noncompetition agreements.

Addresses the protection of workers from work restrictions.

Prohibits an employer from restricting, restraining, or prohibiting an employee, who works fewer than forty hours per week or earns less that two hundred percent of the applicable state or local minimum wage, from: (1) Having an additional job;

(2) Supplementing their income by working for another employer;

(3) Working as an independent contractor; or

Concerning noncompetition agreements.

Regarding the school construction assistance program.

Establishing the future of work task force.

Creates the future of work task force to: (1) Inventory and assess trends and factors that are current or potential drivers of transformation of industries and work;

(2) Identify policies and practices that will help businesses, workers, and communities thrive economically, while responding to rapid changes in technology, workplace practices, environmental and security issues, and global interdependence;

(3) Recommend mechanisms and structures for sustainable industry sector partnerships through which employers and workers can collaborate to support their sector's growth; and

(4) Create a policy framework that supports a talent development pipeline and lifelong learning structure.

Requires the workforce training and education coordinating board to perform certain duties under the direction of the future of work task force.

Provides that this act is null and void if appropriations are not approved.

Improving security in schools and the safety of students.

Requires the superintendent of public instruction to allocate grants to school districts for the purpose of implementing emergency response systems using evolving technology to expedite the response and arrival of law enforcement in the event of a threat or emergency at school.

Creates the students protecting students program, within the office of the attorney general, to operate a statewide communications center that provides students and the community with the means to relay information anonymously concerning unsafe, potentially harmful, dangerous, violent, or criminal activities, or the threat of these activities, first to law enforcement and public safety agencies, and as appropriate to school officials.

Authorizes the office of the attorney general to contract with an organization or call center to provide this program.

Requires the same background check process to purchase semiautomatic rifles and shotguns with tactical features as is currently required for pistols.

Requires the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs to establish a grant program for local law enforcement agencies to conduct background checks for the purchase and sale of pistols, semiautomatic rifles, and shotguns with tactical features.

Exempts the following from public inspection and copying under the public records act: Personally identifiable information received, made, or kept by, or received from, the students protecting students program that is confidential.

-- 2018 REGULAR SESSION --
Feb 23	First reading, referred to Ways & Means.
Feb 27	Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means at 8:30 AM. (Subject to change)