Supporting victims of sexual assault.

Creates the Washington sexual assault initiative pilot project within the office of the attorney general to provide funding to support multidisciplinary community response teams engaged in seeking a just resolution to sexual assault cases resulting from evidence found in previously unsubmitted sexual assault kits.

Changes the composition of the joint legislative task force on sexual assault forensic examination best practices.

Requires the criminal justice training commission to: (1) Provide training for persons responsible for investigating sexual assault cases involving adult victims;

(2) Develop training on a victim-centered, trauma-informed approach to interacting with victims and responding to sexual assault calls; and

(3) In developing the training, seek advice from the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs, the Washington coalition of sexual assault programs, and experts on sexual assault and the neurobiology of trauma.

Levies a four-dollar fee upon the admission to a sexually oriented live adult entertainment establishment.

Authorizing, under one license, the sale of spirits, beer, and wine at retail for off-premises consumption.

Regulating the institutions of higher education, including for-profit institutions and private vocational schools, to protect students from unfair business practices.

Protects students from unfair business practices by regulating the institutions of higher education, including for-profit institutions and private vocational schools.

Requires the student achievement council to: (1) Continue administering the two-part study of for-profit degree-granting institutions and private vocational schools, including findings and recommendations regarding the creation of an ombuds to serve students of degree-granting institutions and private vocational schools; and

Expanding college bound scholarship eligibility.

Revises requirements for eligibility in the college bound scholarship program.

Concerning open educational resources.

Requires the student achievement council to: (1) Administer the open educational resources grant pilot program for the four-year institutions of higher education; and

(2) Develop an application form for a grant and a process for: Reviewing and selecting grant applicants; awarding grant funding; and the grant awardee to report back to the council on the use of the grant.

Prohibits grant dollars from being used to duplicate open educational resources that are already free and publicly available.

Requires the state institute for public policy to conduct a study on the cost of textbooks and course materials and the use of open educational resources at four-year institutions of higher education.

Prioritizing lands to receive forest health treatments.

Requires the department of natural resources to: (1) Develop and implement a policy for prioritizing investments on forest health treatments to protect state lands and state forestlands against losses from wildfire;

(2) Consistent with the policy, identify areas of state lands and state forestlands that would benefit from forest health treatments at the landscape level;

(3) In order to expedite initial treatments, prioritize and address lands for treatment that are currently identified by the department as pilot treatment projects; and

(4) Consult with and take into account the land management plans and activities or nearby landowners, including federal agencies, other state agencies, local governments, tribes, and private property owners.

Creates the forest health revolving account.

Addressing homelessness in wildfire areas.

Requires the department of natural resources, in order to prevent homelessness in a county located east of the crest of the Cascade mountain range that shares a common border with Canada and has a population of one hundred thousand or less and to strengthen the local capacity for controlling risk to life and property that may result from wildfires, administer funding to these counties for: (1) Radio communication equipment; and

Concerning the services and processes available when residential real property is abandoned or in foreclosure.

Allows a certificate of abandonment to be obtained for a fee through the housing finance commission by using a form and subject to the terms and conditions developed by the housing finance commission in conjunction with the servicing industry, trustees, and civil legal aid.

Requires the housing finance commission to: (1) Determine the costs associated with the application process and set a reasonable application fee based upon these costs; and

(2) Notify the appropriate city, town, or county upon certificate issuance or upon receipt of notification from a servicer.

Concerning preliminary work to develop a process for planning for a new Interstate 5 bridge spanning the Columbia river.

Designates an interstate 5 bridge that crosses the Columbia river as a project of statewide significance.

Declares that, the Washington state legislature, on behalf of the state, invites the Oregon state legislature to participate in the joint legislative action committee regarding the construction of a new interstate 5 bridge spanning the Columbia river that achieves certain purposes.

Addressing protecting consumers from charges for out-of-network health services.

Establishes the balance billing protection act.

Creating a community-based approach to provide assistance with nonlethal management methods to reduce livestock depredations by wolves.

Creates the northeast Washington wolf-cattle management grant within the department of agriculture for the deployment of nonlethal deterrence resources, in a county east of the crest of the Cascade mountain range that shares a border with Canada, including equipment and tools, owned and strategically located locally to reduce the probability of livestock depredations by wolves.

Creates an advisory board to advise the department on the expenditure of the management grant funds.

Concerning issuance of a search warrant by a municipal court judge.

Concerning equitable treatment in water pollution control permitting.

Addresses equitable treatment for penalties in pollutant discharge elimination permits that govern: (1) Operations of state and local government agencies; and

Requiring water discharge permits issued to sewerage systems to establish environmental protections that are at least as stringent as environmental protections required during agricultural activities.

Requires waste discharge permits issued by the department of ecology to have environmental protections and waste discharge standards that are at least as stringent as those required by the most recent concentrated animal feeding operations pollution discharge elimination permit.

-- 2017 REGULAR SESSION --
Mar 7	First reading, referred to Environment (Not Officially read and referred until adoption of Introduction report).