Brief Description: Addressing the impacts of climate change through the growth management act.

Sponsors: Senate Committee on Government Operations & Elections (originally sponsored by Senators Marr, Weinstein, Pridemore, Kauffman, Keiser, McAuliffe, Hobbs, Regala, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Fairley, Oemig, Rockefeller, Prentice and McDermott).

Senate Committee on Government Operations & Elections
Senate Committee on Ways & Means
House Committee on Local Government
House Committee on Appropriations

Background: The Growth Management Act (GMA) includes 13 goals to guide the development and adoption of comprehensive plans and development of regulations for jurisdictions planning under the GMA.

Jurisdictions planning under the GMA must adopt internally consistent comprehensive land use plans, which are generalized, coordinated land use policy statements of the governing body. Comprehensive plans must satisfy requirements for specified elements, each of which is a subset of a comprehensive plan.

There are currently eight elements to be addressed in comprehensive plans: a land use element; a housing element; a capital facilities plan element; a utilities element; a rural element; a transportation element; and a park and recreation element.

Any new or amended elements are to be adopted concurrent with the scheduled update for the planning jurisdiction. Funds sufficient to cover applicable local government costs must be appropriated and distributed by the state to local governments when new or amended elements are required.

Summary: The Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (CTED) must: (1) develop and provide counties and cities with a range of advisory climate change response methodologies, a computer modeling program, and estimates of greenhouse gas emissions reductions which must reflect regional and local variations of the county or city by December 1, 2009; (2) work with the Department of Transportation to reduce vehicle miles traveled; (3) administer a local government global warming mitigation and adaptation program, which must conclude by June 30, 2010. Counties and cities are selected for the program through a competitive process; (4) provide grants and technical assistance to aid the selected counties and cities in their efforts to anticipate, mitigate, and adapt to global warming and its associated problems; (5) prepare a report of program findings and recommendations to the Governor and Legislature by January 1, 2011; and (6) prepare an additional report including descriptions of actions that counties and cities are taking to address climate change, among other items, by December 1, 2008. An advisory policy committee must prepare the report.

A Growth Management Hearings Board is not authorized to hear petitions alleging non-compliance with this act.

In administering the local government global warming mitigation and adaptation program, CTED must select six or fewer cities for the program. Recommendations in the report must be approved by a majority of the voting members of an advisory policy committee.

A report produced by CTED for the local government global warming mitigation and adaptation program must consider the positive and negative impacts to affordable housing, employment, transportation costs, and economic development that result from addressing the impacts of climate change at the local level. When developing a climate change report, CTED is directed to consider positive and negative impacts to affordable housing, employment, transportation costs, and economic development that result from addressing the impacts of climate change at the local level. City and county members serving on the climate change advisory policy committee must be elected officials. A member representing an association of commercial forestry interests is added to the list of nonvoting ex officio members serving on the climate change advisory policy committee.

Votes on Final Passage:

Senate      31   18
House      59   34   (House amended)
House      58   35   (House reconsidered)
Senate      30   18   (Senate concurred)

Effective: June 12, 2008

Partial Veto Summary: The emergency clause language allowing the legislation to take effect immediately is removed. The null and void language in sections 8, 9, and 10 is removed.