SSB 6001 -
By Senator Pridemore
ADOPTED AS AMENDED 03/10/2007
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 (1) The legislature finds that:
(a) Washington is especially vulnerable to climate change because
of the state's dependence on snow pack for summer stream flows and
because the expected rise in sea levels threatens our coastal
communities. Extreme weather, a warming Pacific Northwest, reduced
snow pack, and sea level rise are four major ways that climate change
is disrupting Washington's economy, environment, and communities;
(b) Washington's greenhouse gas emissions are continuing to
increase, despite international scientific consensus that worldwide
emissions must be reduced significantly below current levels to avert
catastrophic climate change;
(c) Washington has been a leader in actions to reduce the increase
of emissions, including the adoption of clean car standards, stronger
appliance energy efficiency standards, increased production and use of
renewable liquid fuels, and increased renewable energy sources by
electrical utilities;
(d) Washington has participated with other Western states in
designing regional approaches to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and
a regional cap and trade mechanism will be more effective than if
implemented separately in each state;
(e) While these actions are significant, there is a need to assess
the trend of emissions statewide over the next several decades, and to
take sufficient actions so that Washington meets its responsibility to
contribute to the global actions needed to reduce the impacts and the
pace of global warming;
(f) Actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will spur technology
development and increase efficiency, thus resulting in benefits to
Washington's economy and businesses; and
(g) Numerous states and nations have adopted emission reduction
goals to assist emission sources with planning for changes in practices
and technologies.
(2) The legislature further finds that companies that generate
greenhouse gas emissions or manufacture products that generate such
emissions are purchasing carbon credits from landowners and from other
companies in order to provide carbon credits. Companies that are
purchasing carbon credits would benefit from a program to trade and to
bank carbon credits. Washington forests are one of the most effective
resources that can absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Forests,
and other planted lands and waters, provide carbon storage and mitigate
greenhouse gas emissions. Washington contains the most productive
forests in the world and both public and private landowners could
benefit from a carbon storage trading and banking program. The
legislature further finds that catastrophic forest fires are a major
source of greenhouse gas emissions, and that federal and state forest
land management should seek to manage forests to reduce the risk of
such fires.
(3) The legislature intends by this act to establish goals for the
statewide reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and reduction in
petroleum use, and to adopt the governor's mechanism in Executive Order
No. 07-02 to design and recommend a comprehensive set of measures to
accomplish the goals. The legislature further intends by this act to
authorize immediate actions in the electric power generation sector for
the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and to accelerate efficiency
in the transportation sector.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 The following greenhouse gas emissions
reduction and clean energy economy goals are established for Washington
state:
(1) By 2020, reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state to 1990
levels;
(2) By 2035, reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state to
twenty-five percent below 1990 levels;
(3) By 2050, the state will do its part to reach global climate
stabilization levels by reducing emissions to fifty percent below 1990
levels or seventy percent below the state's expected emissions that
year;
(4) By 2020, increase the number of clean energy sector jobs to
twenty-five thousand from the eight thousand four hundred jobs the
state had in 2004; and
(5) By 2020, reduce expenditures by twenty percent on fuel imported
into the state by developing Washington resources and supporting
efficient energy use.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3 Executive Order No. 07-02 shall provide the
mechanisms for identifying the policies and strategies necessary to
achieve the economic and emission reduction goals of section 2 of this
act.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4 By December 31st of each even-numbered year
beginning in 2010, the departments of ecology and community, trade, and
economic development shall report to the governor and the appropriate
committees of the senate and house of representatives the total
greenhouse gas emissions for the preceding two years, and totals in
each major source sector.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5 (1) The legislature finds that:
(a) The United Nation's intergovernmental panel on climate change
report, released February 2, 2007, states that evidence of the
climate's warming "is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations
of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread
melting of snow and ice, and rising global mean sea level";
(b) Global warming will have serious adverse consequences on the
economy, health, and environment of Washington;
(c) During the last several years, the state has taken significant
strides towards implementing an environmentally and economically sound
energy policy through reliance on energy efficiency, conservation, and
renewable energy resources in order to promote a sustainable energy
future that ensures an adequate and reliable energy supply at
reasonable and stable prices;
(d) The governor, in Executive Order No. 07-02, has called for the
reduction of Washington's emission of greenhouse gases to 1990 levels
by 2020;
(e) To the extent energy efficiency and renewable resources are
unable to satisfy increasing energy and capacity needs, the state will
rely on clean and efficient fossil fuel fired generation and will
encourage the development of cost-effective, highly efficient, and
environmentally sound supply resources to provide reliability and
consistency with the state's energy priorities;
(f) It is vital to ensure all electric utilities internalize the
significant and underrecognized cost of emissions and to reduce
Washington's exposure to costs associated with future regulation of
these emissions;
(g) A greenhouse gases emissions performance standard for new long-term financial commitments to electric generating resources will reduce
potential exposure of Washington's consumers to future reliability
problems in electricity supplies;
(h) The state of California recently enacted a law establishing a
greenhouse gases emissions performance standard for electric utility
procurement of baseload electric generation that is based on the
emissions of a combined-cycle thermal electric generation facility
fueled by natural gas;
(i) The legislature recognizes that state or federal legislation
may be enacted and federal regulation may occur that would provide
standards or programs that would preempt, make inconsistent, or render
unnecessary emission standards or schedules established in this act;
and
(j) The state of Washington has an obligation to provide clear
guidance for the procurement of baseload electric generation to
alleviate regulatory uncertainty while addressing risks that can affect
the ability of electric utilities to make necessary and timely
investments to ensure an adequate, reliable, and cost-effective supply
of electricity.
(2) The legislature declares that:
(a) A greenhouse gases emissions performance standard for new
long-term financial commitments for baseload electric generation should
reduce financial risk to electric utilities and their customers from
future pollution-control costs, without jeopardizing the state's
commitment to lowest reasonable cost resources and the need to maintain
a reliable regional electric system.
(b) A greenhouse gases emissions performance standard will
complement the state's carbon dioxide mitigation policy for
fossil-fueled thermal electric generation facilities under chapter
80.70 RCW.
(c) The need for long-term financial commitments for new baseload
electric generation can be reduced over time through the deployment by
electric utilities of technologies that improve the efficiency of
electricity production, transmission, distribution, and consumption.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6 The definitions in this section apply
throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(1) "Attorney general" means the Washington state office of the
attorney general.
(2) "Auditor" means: (a) The Washington state auditor's office or
its designee for qualifying utilities under its jurisdiction that are
not investor-owned utilities; or (b) an independent auditor selected by
a qualifying utility that is not under the jurisdiction of the state
auditor and is not an investor-owned utility.
(3) "Baseload electric generation" means electric generation from
a power plant that is designed and intended to provide electricity at
an annualized plant capacity factor of at least sixty percent.
(4) "Cogeneration facility" means a power plant in which the heat
or steam is also used for industrial or commercial heating or cooling
purposes and that meets federal energy regulatory commission standards
for qualifying facilities under the public utility regulatory policies
act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 824a-3), as amended.
(5) "Combined-cycle natural gas thermal electric generation
facility" means a power plant that employs a combination of one or more
gas turbines and steam turbines in which electricity is produced in the
steam turbine from otherwise lost waste heat exiting from one or more
of the gas turbines.
(6) "Commission" means the Washington utilities and transportation
commission.
(7) "Consumer-owned utility" means a municipal utility formed under
Title 35 RCW, a public utility district formed under Title 54 RCW, an
irrigation district formed under chapter 87.03 RCW, a cooperative
formed under chapter 23.86 RCW, a mutual corporation or association
formed under chapter 24.06 RCW, or port district within which an
industrial district has been established as authorized by Title 53 RCW,
that is engaged in the business of distributing electricity to more
than one retail electric customer in the state.
(8) "Department" means the department of ecology.
(9) "Electrical company" means a company owned by investors that
meets the definition of RCW 80.04.010.
(10) "Electric utility" means an electrical company or a consumer-owned utility.
(11) "Governing board" means the board of directors or legislative
authority of a consumer-owned utility.
(12) "Greenhouse gases" includes carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous
oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride.
(13) "Long-term financial commitment" means:
(a) Either a new ownership interest in baseload electric generation
or an upgrade to a baseload electric generation facility; or
(b) A new or renewed contract for baseload electric generation with
a term of five or more years for the provision of retail power or
wholesale power to end-use customers in this state.
(14) "Output-based methodology" means a greenhouse gases emissions
performance standard that is expressed in pounds of greenhouse gases
emitted per net megawatt-hour produced, factoring in the electrical
equivalent of useful thermal energy employed for purposes other than
the generation of electricity.
(15) "Plant capacity factor" means the ratio of the electricity
produced during a given time period, measured in kilowatt-hours, to the
electricity the unit could have produced if it had been operated at its
rated capacity during that period, expressed in kilowatt-hours.
(16) "Power plant" means a facility for the generation of
electricity that includes one or more generating units at the same
location.
(17) "Upgrade" means any modification made for the primary purpose
of increasing the electric generation capacity of a baseload electric
generation facility. "Upgrade" does not include routine or necessary
maintenance, installation of emission control equipment, installation,
replacement, or modification of equipment that improves the heat rate
of the facility, or installation, replacement, or modification of
equipment for the primary purpose of maintaining reliable generation
output capability that does not increase the heat input or fuel usage
as specified in existing generation air quality permits but may result
in incidental increases in generation capacity.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7 (1) Beginning July 1, 2008, the greenhouse
gases emissions performance standard for all baseload electric
generation for which electric utilities enter into long-term financial
commitments on or after such date is the lower of one thousand one
hundred pounds of greenhouse gases per megawatt-hour or the rate of
emissions of greenhouse gases for a commercially available
combined-cycle natural gas thermal electric generation facility that
provides baseload electric generation. Even if their actual emissions
are higher than the greenhouse gas emissions performance standard, all
baseload electric generation facilities in operation as of June 30,
2008, are deemed to be in compliance with the greenhouse gas emissions
performance standard established under this section until the
facilities are the subject of long-term financial commitments. All
electric generating facilities or power plants powered by renewable
resources, as defined in RCW 19.285.030, are deemed to be in compliance
with the greenhouse gas emissions performance standard established
under this section. For the purposes of this subsection, "commercially
available" means that at least one hundred plants of substantially the
same design, specifications, and performance characteristics have been
in commercial operation for at least three years. In determining the
rate of emissions of greenhouse gases for baseload electric generation,
the net emissions resulting from the production of electricity by the
baseload electric generation shall be included.
(2) The department shall establish an output-based methodology to
ensure that the calculation of emissions of greenhouse gases for a
cogeneration facility recognizes the total usable energy output of the
process, and includes all greenhouse gases emitted by the facility in
the production of both electrical and thermal energy. In developing
and implementing the greenhouse gases emissions performance standard,
the department shall consider and act in a manner consistent with any
rules adopted pursuant to the public utilities regulatory policy act of
1978 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 824a-3), as amended.
(3) Carbon dioxide that is injected permanently in geological
formations, so as to prevent releases into the atmosphere, in
compliance with applicable laws and regulations may not be counted as
emissions of the power plant in determining compliance with the
greenhouse gases emissions performance standard.
(4) In adopting and implementing the greenhouse gases emissions
performance standard, the department, in consultation with the
commission, the Bonneville power administration, the western
electricity coordination council, electric utilities, public interest
representatives, and consumer representatives shall consider the
effects of the greenhouse gases emissions performance standard on
system reliability and overall costs to electricity customers.
(5) In developing and implementing the greenhouse gases emissions
performance standard, the department shall, with assistance of the
commission and electric utilities, and to the extent practicable,
address long-term purchases of electricity from unspecified sources in
a manner consistent with this chapter.
(6) The department shall adopt the greenhouse gases emissions
performance standard by rule pursuant to chapter 34.05 RCW, the
administrative procedure act. The department shall adopt rules to
enforce the requirements of this section, and adopt procedures to
verify the emissions of greenhouse gases from any baseload electric
generation supplied directly or under a contract subject to the
greenhouse gases emissions performance standard to ensure compliance
with the standard. Enforcement of the greenhouse gases emissions
performance standard must begin immediately upon the establishment of
the standard.
(7) In adopting the rules for implementing this section, the
department shall include criteria to be applied in evaluating the
carbon sequestration plan. The rules shall include:
(a) Provisions for financial assurances, as a condition of plant
operation, sufficient to ensure successful implementation of the carbon
sequestration plan, including construction and operation of necessary
equipment, and any other significant costs;
(b) Provisions for geological sequestration to commence within five
years of plant operation;
(c) Provisions for monitoring the effectiveness of the
implementation of the sequestration plan;
(d) Penalties for failure to achieve implementation of the plan on
schedule; and
(e) Provisions for public notice and comment on the carbon
sequestration plan.
(8) A project under consideration by the energy facility site
evaluation council before the adoption of rules in subsection (7) of
this section is required to include all of the requirements of
subsection (7) of this section in its carbon sequestration plan
submitted to the department as part of the energy facility site
evaluation council process. The department shall provide for timely
hearings and public comment on the carbon sequestration plan.
(9) The department shall adopt the rules necessary to implement
this section by June 30, 2008.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8 (1) No electrical company may enter into a
long-term financial commitment unless the baseload electric generation
supplied under such a long-term financial commitment complies with the
greenhouse gases emissions performance standard established under
section 7 of this act.
(2) In order to enforce the requirements of this chapter, the
commission shall review in a general rate case or as provided in
subsection (5) of this section any long-term financial commitment
entered into by an electrical company after June 30, 2008, to determine
whether the baseload electric generation to be supplied under that
long-term financial commitment complies with the greenhouse gases
emissions performance standard established under section 7 of this act.
(3) In determining whether a long-term financial commitment is for
baseload electric generation, the commission shall consider the design
of the power plant and its intended use, based upon the electricity
purchase contract, if any, permits necessary for the operation of the
power plant, and any other matter the commission determines is relevant
under the circumstances.
(4) Upon application by an electric utility, the commission may
provide a case-by-case exemption from the greenhouse gases emissions
performance standard to address: (a) Unanticipated electric system
reliability needs; or (b) catastrophic events or threat of significant
financial harm that may arise from unforeseen circumstances.
(5) Upon application by an electrical company, the commission shall
make a determination regarding the company's proposed decision to
acquire electric generation or enter into a power purchase agreement
for electricity that complies with the greenhouse gases emissions
performance standard established under section 7 of this act, as to the
need for the resource, and the appropriateness of the specific resource
selected. The commission shall take into consideration factors such as
the company's forecasted loads, need for energy, power plant
technology, expected costs, and other associated investment decisions.
In addition, the commission shall provide for recovery of the prudently
incurred capital and operating cost of these resources and may impose
such conditions as it finds necessary to ensure that rates are fair,
just, reasonable, and sufficient, coincident with the in-service date
of the project or the effective date of the power purchase agreement.
(6) An electrical company may account for and defer for later
consideration by the commission costs incurred in connection with the
long-term financial commitment, including operating and maintenance
costs, depreciation, taxes, and cost of invested capital. The deferral
begins with the date on which the power plant begins commercial
operation or the effective date of the power purchase agreement and
ends on the effective date of the final decision by the commission
regarding recovery in rates of these deferred costs. Creation of such
a deferral account does not by itself determine whether recovery of any
or all of these costs is appropriate.
(7) In establishing rates for each electrical company regulated
under chapter 80.28 RCW, the commission shall adopt policies allowing
an additional return on investments to encourage meeting energy
requirements through distributed generation as defined in RCW
19.285.030, and to accelerate efficiencies in electric transmission and
distribution systems that increase reliability and reduce energy losses
or otherwise increase the efficiency of energy delivery to end-use
consumers. These policies shall include but are not limited to adding
an increment of two percent to the rate of return on common equity
permitted on an electrical company's other investments for prudently
incurred investments in distributed generation, and in measures that
improve, as measured in kilowatt-hour savings, the overall efficiency
of transmission, distribution, and end-use consumption of electricity
through energy efficiency technologies, including any device,
instrument, machine, appliance, or process related to the transmission,
distribution, and consumption of electricity to increase energy
efficiency, including but not limited to smart grid technology, smart
meters, and demand response technologies. The rate of return increment
must be allowed for a period, at the commission's discretion, of at
least seven but not more than thirty years after the investment is
first placed in the rate base. Measures or projects encouraged under
this section are those for which construction or installation is begun
after July 1, 2007, and before January 1, 2017, and which, at the time
they are placed in the rate base, are reasonably expected to save,
produce, or generate energy at a total incremental system cost per unit
of energy delivered to end use that is less than or equal to the
incremental system cost per unit of energy delivered to end use from
new baseload or peaking electric generation and that the electrical
company could acquire to meet energy demand in the same time period.
(8) The commission shall apply the procedures adopted by the
department to verify the emissions of greenhouse gases from baseload
electric generation under section 7 of this act.
(9) The commission shall adopt rules for the enforcement of this
section with respect to electrical companies and adopt procedural rules
for approving costs incurred by an electrical company under subsection
(4) of this section.
(10) The commission shall adopt the rules necessary to implement
this section by June 30, 2008.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9 (1) No consumer-owned utility may enter into
a long-term financial commitment unless the baseload electric
generation supplied under such a long-term financial commitment
complies with the greenhouse gases emissions performance standard
established under section 7 of this act.
(2) The governing board of a consumer-owned utility shall review
and make a determination on any long-term financial commitment by the
utility, pursuant to this chapter, to determine whether the baseload
electric generation to be supplied under that long-term financial
commitment complies with the greenhouse gases emissions performance
standard established under section 7 of this act. No consumer-owned
utility may enter into a long-term financial commitment unless the
baseload electric generation to be supplied under that long-term
financial commitment complies with the greenhouse gases emissions
performance standard established under section 7 of this act.
(3) In confirming that a long-term financial commitment is for
baseload electric generation, the governing board shall consider the
design of the power plant and the intended use of the power plant based
upon the electricity purchase contract, if any, permits necessary for
the operation of the power plant, and any other matter the governing
board determines is relevant under the circumstances.
(4) The governing board may provide a case-by-case exemption from
the greenhouse gases emissions performance standard to address: (a)
Unanticipated electric system reliability needs; or (b) catastrophic
events or threat of significant financial harm that may arise from
unforeseen circumstances.
(5) The governing board shall apply the procedures adopted by the
department to verify the emissions of greenhouse gases from baseload
electric generation pursuant to section 7 of this act, and may request
assistance from the department in doing so.
(6) For consumer-owned utilities, the auditor is responsible for
auditing compliance with this chapter and rules adopted under this
chapter that apply to those utilities and the attorney general is
responsible for enforcing that compliance.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 10 A new section is added to chapter 43.19 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) During the biennium ending June 30, 2009, the department of
general administration is authorized to purchase at least one hundred
plug-in electric hybrid vehicles for state agency light duty vehicle
uses, when commercially available at comparable life costs to other
vehicles. The department of general administration shall assign these
vehicles to departments and job functions that on average log the most
miles driving light duty vehicles. The vehicles must bear a prominent
designation as a plug-in electric hybrid vehicle. The department of
general administration shall develop a purchasing contract under which
state agencies and local governments may purchase plug-in electric
hybrid vehicles.
(2) By December 31, 2009, the department of general administration
shall provide a report to the transportation and energy committees of
the senate and house of representatives on the acquisition of these
vehicles and their operational and maintenance performance.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 11 The legislature finds and declares that
greenhouse gases offset contracts, credits, and other greenhouse gases
mitigation efforts are a recognized utility purpose that confers a
direct benefit on the utility's ratepayers. The legislature declares
that sections 1 and 2 of this act are intended to reverse the result of
Okeson v. City of Seattle, No. 77888-4 (January 18, 2007), by expressly
granting municipal utilities, public utility districts, and counties
the statutory authority to engage in mitigation activities to offset
their utility's impact on the environment.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12 A new section is added to chapter 35.92 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) A city or town authorized to acquire and operate utilities for
the purpose of furnishing the city or town and its inhabitants and
other persons with water, with electricity for lighting and other
purposes, or with service from sewerage, storm water, surface water, or
solid waste handling facilities, may develop and make publicly
available a plan to reduce its greenhouse gases emissions or achieve
no-net emissions from all sources of greenhouse gases that the utility
owns, leases, uses, contracts for, or otherwise controls.
(2) A city or town authorized to acquire and operate utilities for
the purpose of furnishing the city or town and its inhabitants and
other persons with water, with electricity for lighting and other
purposes, or with service from sewerage, storm water, surface water, or
solid waste handling facilities, may, as part of its utility operation,
mitigate the environmental impacts, such as greenhouse gases emissions,
of its operation, including any power purchases. The mitigation may
include, but is not limited to, those greenhouse gases mitigation
mechanisms recognized by independent, qualified organizations with
proven experience in emissions mitigation activities. Mitigation
mechanisms may include the purchase, trade, and banking of greenhouse
gases offsets or credits. If a state greenhouse gases registry is
established, a utility that has purchased, traded, or banked greenhouse
gases mitigation mechanisms under this section shall receive credit in
the registry.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 13 A new section is added to chapter 36.01 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) A county may develop and make publicly available a plan for the
county to reduce its greenhouse gases emissions or achieve no-net
emissions from all sources of greenhouse gases it owns, operates,
leases, uses, contracts for, or otherwise controls.
(2) Any county may reduce or mitigate the environmental impacts of
its operations, such as emissions of greenhouse gases. The mitigation
may include, but is not limited to, all greenhouse gases mitigation
mechanisms recognized by independent, qualified organizations with
proven experience in emissions mitigation activities. Mitigation
mechanisms may include the purchase, trade, and banking of carbon
offsets or credits. Ratepayer funds, fees, or other revenue dedicated
to a particular function performed by a county may be spent to reduce
or mitigate the environmental impact of greenhouse gases emitted as a
result of that function. If a state greenhouse gases registry is
established, the county that has purchased, traded, or banked
greenhouse gases mitigation mechanisms under this section shall receive
credit in the registry.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 14 A new section is added to chapter 54.04 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) A public utility district may develop and make publicly
available a plan for the district to reduce its greenhouse gases
emissions or achieve no-net emissions from all sources of greenhouse
gases that the district owns, leases, uses, contracts for, or otherwise
controls.
(2) A public utility district may, as part of its utility
operation, mitigate the environmental impacts, such as greenhouse gases
emissions, of its operation and any power purchases. Mitigation may
include, but is not limited to, those greenhouse gases mitigation
mechanisms recognized by independent, qualified organizations with
proven experience in emissions mitigation activities. Mitigation
mechanisms may include the purchase, trade, and banking of greenhouse
gases offsets or credits. If a state greenhouse gases registry is
established, a public utility district that has purchased, traded, or
banked greenhouse gases mitigation mechanisms under this section shall
receive credit in the registry.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 15 For the purposes of sections 5 through 9 of
this act, the department and the commission shall review the greenhouse
gases emission performance standard established in this chapter to
determine need, applicability, and effectiveness no less than every
five years following the effective date of this section, or upon
implementation of a federal or state law or rule regulating carbon
dioxide emissions of electrical utilities, and report to the
legislature.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 16 (1) The office of Washington state
climatologist is created.
(2) The office of Washington state climatologist consists of the
director of the office, who is the state climatologist, and appropriate
staff and administrative support as necessary to carry out the powers
and duties of the office as enumerated in section 17 of this act.
(3) The director of the office of Washington state climatologist
must be appointed jointly by the president of Washington State
University and the president of the University of Washington. The
office of Washington state climatologist is administered as determined
jointly by these two presidents.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 17 The office of Washington state
climatologist has the following powers and duties:
(1) To serve as a credible and expert source of climate and weather
information for state and local decision makers and agencies working on
drought, flooding, climate change, and other related issues;
(2) To gather and disseminate, and where practicable archive, in
the most cost-effective manner possible, all climate and weather
information that is or could be of value to policy and decision makers
in the state;
(3) To act as the representative of the state in all climatological
and meteorological matters, both within and outside of the state, when
requested by the legislative or executive branches of the state
government;
(4) To prepare, publish, and disseminate climate summaries for
those individuals, agencies, and organizations whose activities are
related to the welfare of the state and are affected by climate and
weather;
(5) To supply critical information for drought preparedness and
emergency response as needed to implement the state's drought
contingency response plan maintained by the department of ecology under
RCW 43.83B.410, and to serve as a member of the state's drought water
supply and emergency response committees as may be formed in response
to a drought event;
(6) To conduct and report on studies of climate and weather
phenomena of significant socioeconomic importance to the state; and
(7) To evaluate the significance of natural and man-made changes in
important features of the climate affecting the state, and to report
this information to those agencies and organizations in the state who
are likely to be affected by these changes.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 18 Sections 1 through 4 of this act constitute
a new chapter in Title
NEW SECTION. Sec. 19 Sections 5 through 9 and 15 of this act
constitute a new chapter in Title
NEW SECTION. Sec. 20 Sections 16 and 17 of this act constitute
a new chapter in Title
SSB 6001 -
By Senator Pridemore
ADOPTED AS AMENDED 03/10/2007
On page 1, line 1 of the title, after "change;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "adding a new section to chapter 43.19 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 35.92 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 36.01 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 54.04 RCW; adding new chapters to Title 43 RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 80 RCW; and creating a new section."