ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1753

State of Washington
67th Legislature
2022 Regular Session
ByHouse Environment & Energy (originally sponsored by Representatives Lekanoff, Fitzgibbon, Valdez, Bateman, Ramel, Sullivan, Simmons, Ormsby, and Young; by request of Office of the Governor)
READ FIRST TIME 01/31/22.
AN ACT Relating to tribal consultation regarding the use of certain funding authorized by the climate commitment act; amending RCW 70A.65.250; reenacting and amending RCW 43.376.020; and adding a new section to chapter 70A.65 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 70A.65 RCW to read as follows:
(1) Agencies that allocate funding or administer grant programs appropriated from the climate investment account created in RCW 70A.65.250, the climate commitment account created in RCW 70A.65.260, and the natural climate solutions account created in RCW 70A.65.270 must offer early, meaningful, and individual consultation with any affected federally recognized tribe on all funding decisions and funding programs that may impact tribal resources, including tribal cultural resources, archaeological sites, sacred sites, fisheries, or other rights and interests in tribal lands and lands within which a tribe or tribes possess rights reserved or protected by federal treaty, statute, or executive order. The consultation is independent of, and in addition to, any public participation process required by federal or state law, or by a federal or state agency, including the requirements of Executive Order 21-02 related to archaeological and cultural resources, and regardless of whether the agency receives a request for consultation from a federally recognized tribe. The goal of the consultation process is to identify tribal resources or rights potentially affected by the funding decisions and funding programs, assess their effects, and seek ways to avoid, minimize, or mitigate any adverse effects on tribal resources or rights.
(2) At the earliest possible date prior to submittal of an application, applicants for funding from the accounts created in RCW 70A.65.250, 70A.65.260, and 70A.65.270 shall engage in a preapplication process with all affected federally recognized tribes within the project area.
(a) The preapplication process must include the applicant notifying the department of archaeology and historic preservation, the department of fish and wildlife, and all affected federally recognized tribes within the project area. The notification must include geographical location, detailed scope of the proposed project, preliminary application details available to federal, state, or local governmental jurisdictions, and all publicly available materials, including public funding sources.
(b) The applicant must also offer to discuss the project with the department of archaeology and historic preservation, the department of fish and wildlife, and all affected federally recognized tribes within the project area. Discussions may include the project's impact to tribal resources, including tribal cultural resources, archaeological sites, sacred sites, fisheries, or other rights and interests in tribal lands and lands within which a tribe or tribes possess rights reserved or protected by federal treaty, statute, or executive order.
(c) All affected federally recognized tribes may submit to the appropriate agency or agencies a summary of tribal issues, questions, concerns, or other statements regarding the project, which must become part of the official application file. The summary does not limit what issues affected federally recognized tribes may raise in the consultation process identified in subsections (1), (3) through (7), and (9) of this section.
(d) The notification and offer to initiate discussion must be documented with the application when it is filed, and a copy of the application must be delivered to the department of archaeology and historic preservation, the department of fish and wildlife, and to the affected federally recognized tribe or tribes. If the discussions pursuant to (b) of this subsection do not occur, the applicant must document the reason why the discussion or discussions did not occur.
(e) Nothing in this section may be interpreted to require the disclosure of information that is exempt from disclosure pursuant to RCW 42.56.300 or federal law, including section 304 of the national historic preservation act of 1966. Any information that is exempt from disclosure pursuant to RCW 42.56.300 or federal law, including section 304 of the national historic preservation act of 1966, shall not become part of the official application file.
(3) If any funding decision, program, project, or activity that may impact tribal resources, including tribal cultural resources, archaeological sites, sacred sites, fisheries, or other rights and interests in tribal lands and lands within which a tribe or tribes possess rights reserved by federal treaty, statute, or executive order is funded from the accounts created in RCW 70A.65.250, 70A.65.260, and 70A.65.270 without such a consultation with an affected federally recognized tribe, the affected federally recognized tribe may request that all further action on the decision, program, project, or activity cease until meaningful consultation is completed. Upon receipt of such a request by an agency or agencies with the authority to allocate funding or administer grant programs from the accounts listed in subsection (1) of this section in support of the proposed project, further action by the agency or agencies on any decision, program, project, or activity that would result in significant physical disturbance of the tribal resource or resources described in this subsection must cease until the consultation has been completed.
(4) Upon completion of agency and tribal consultation, an affected federally recognized tribe may request a formal review of the consultation by submitting a request to the governor's office of Indian affairs and notifying the appropriate agencies and the department of archaeology and historic preservation. The state agencies and tribe must meet to initiate discussion within no more than 20 days of the request. This consultation must be offered and conducted separately with each affected federally recognized tribe, unless the tribes agree to conduct a joint consultation with the state.
(5) After the state agencies and tribe or tribes have conducted a formal review under subsection (4) of this section, an affected federally recognized tribe or state agency may request that the governor and an elected tribal leader or leaders of a federally recognized tribal government meet to formally consider the recommendations from the parties. If requested, this meeting must occur within 30 days of the request, except that a federally recognized tribe may choose to opt out of the meeting. This timeline may be extended by mutual agreement between the governor and the tribal leaders.
(6) After the meeting identified in subsection (5) of this section has occurred, the governor or an elected tribal leader of a federally recognized tribe may call for the state and tribe or tribes to enter into formal mediation, except that a federally recognized tribe may choose to opt out of the mediation. If entered into, the mediation must be conducted as a government-to-government proceeding, with each sovereign government retaining their right to a final decision that meets their separate obligations and interests. Mediators must be jointly selected by the parties to the mediation. An agreement between the governor and a tribal leader or leaders resulting from the mediation is formally recognized and binding on the signatory parties. Absent an agreement, participation in mediation does not preclude any additional steps that any party can initiate, including legal review, to resolve a continuing disagreement.
(7) During the proceedings outlined in subsections (4) through (6) of this section, the agency or agencies with the authority to allocate funding or administer grant programs from the accounts listed in subsection (1) of this section in support of the proposed project may not approve or release funding, or make other formal decisions, including permitting, that advance the proposed project except where required by law.
(8) By June 30, 2023, the governor's office of Indian affairs, in coordination with the department of archaeology and historic preservation and federally recognized tribes, shall develop a state agency tribal consultation process, including best practices for early, meaningful, and effective consultation, early notification and engagement by applicants with federally recognized tribes as a part of the preapplication process in subsection (2) of this section, and protocols for communication and collaboration with federally recognized tribes. The consultation process developed under this section must be periodically reviewed and updated in coordination with federally recognized tribes. The governor's office of Indian affairs must provide training and other technical assistance to state agencies, as they implement the required consultation. Notwithstanding the governor's office of Indian affairs' ongoing work pursuant to this subsection, the provisions of subsections (1) through (7) and (9) of this section become effective as of the effective date of this section.
(9) The requirements of this section apply to local governments that receive funding from the accounts created in RCW 70A.65.250, 70A.65.260, and 70A.65.270, where that funding is disbursed to project and program applicants. Where requested, the governor's office of Indian affairs must provide training and other technical assistance to local government agencies as they implement the consultation requirements of this section.
(10) Any agency subject to or implementing this section may adopt rules in furtherance of its duties under this section.
(11) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the department must establish a tribal capacity grant program to provide funding to federally recognized tribes for the costs of implementing this section.
Sec. 2. RCW 70A.65.250 and 2021 c 316 s 28 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)(a) The climate investment account is created in the state treasury. Except as otherwise provided in chapter 316, Laws of 2021, all receipts from the auction of allowances authorized in this chapter must be deposited into the account. Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation.
(b) Projects or activities funded from the account must meet high labor standards, including family sustaining wages, providing benefits including health care and employer-contributed retirement plans, career development opportunities, and maximize access to economic benefits from such projects for local workers and diverse businesses. Each contracting entity's proposal must be reviewed for equity and opportunity improvement efforts, including: (i) Employer paid sick leave programs; (ii) pay practices in relation to living wage indicators such as the federal poverty level; (iii) efforts to evaluate pay equity based on gender identity, race, and other protected status under Washington law; (iv) facilitating career development opportunities, such as apprenticeship programs, internships, job-shadowing, and on-the-job training; and (v) employment assistance and employment barriers for justice affected individuals.
(2) Moneys in the account may be used only for projects and programs that achieve the purposes of the greenhouse gas emissions cap and invest program established under this chapter and for tribal capacity grants under section 1 of this act. Moneys in the account as described in this subsection must first be appropriated for the administration of the requirements of this chapter, in an amount not to exceed five percent of the total receipt of funds from allowance auction proceeds under this chapter. Beginning July 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, the state treasurer shall distribute funds in the account that exceed the amounts appropriated for the purposes of this subsection (2) as follows:
(a) Seventy-five percent of the moneys to the climate commitment account created in RCW 70A.65.260; and
(b) Twenty-five percent of the moneys to the natural climate solutions account created in RCW 70A.65.270.
(3) The allocations specified in subsection (2)(a) and (b) of this section must be reviewed by the legislature on a biennial basis based on the changing needs of the state in meeting its clean economy and greenhouse gas reduction goals in a timely, economically advantageous, and equitable manner.
Sec. 3. RCW 43.376.020 and 2021 c 316 s 40 and 2021 c 314 s 23 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
In establishing a government-to-government relationship with Indian tribes, state agencies must:
(1) Make reasonable efforts to collaborate with Indian tribes in the development of policies, agreements, and program implementation that directly affect Indian tribes and develop a consultation process that is used by the agency for issues involving specific Indian tribes. Covered agencies, as defined in RCW 70A.02.010, subject to the requirements of chapter 70A.02 RCW, must offer consultation with Indian tribes on the actions specified in RCW 70A.02.100. State agencies described in ((section 6 of this act))section 1 of this act must offer consultation with Indian tribes on the actions specified in ((section 6 of this act))section 1 of this act;
(2) Designate a tribal liaison who reports directly to the head of the state agency;
(3) Ensure that tribal liaisons who interact with Indian tribes and the executive directors of state agencies receive training as described in RCW 43.376.040; and
(4) Submit an annual report to the governor on activities of the state agency involving Indian tribes and on implementation of this chapter.
--- END ---