Energy & Telecommunications

A number of bills relating to energy are still alive as of the printing of this Bulletin. Both the House and Senate Energy Committees are scheduled to meet the last day before the next cutoff, which will be after the printing of this Bulletin. Look in next week’s Bulletin for an update on the status of transmission siting, sustainable energy trust, anaerobic digestion, net metered aggregation, and mitigating the impacts of climate change.

Water Power License Fees (SSB 5881)

This bill passed out of the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee this week with one amendment that eliminates the automatic adjustment of the fees in accordance with the fiscal growth factor. The bill will raise the Department of Ecology’s annual license fees imposed upon water used for power development. It has been many decades since the fees were increased. Any city generating hydropower will be impacted by the change in fees.

Scrap Metal Theft (ESSB 5312)

This bill was heard in the House Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness Committee and passed out with three amendments out of a possible five. The amendments were based on comments by interest groups and do not change the overall focus of the bill. A fourth amendment, which failed to pass the committee, would have given prosecutors allowances to file a special allegation of disproportionate impact when the damage greatly exceeds the value of the stolen property or the theft creates a public hazard. A fifth amendment relating to stripped wire was withdrawn. This amendment will be reworked and offered again on the floor of the House. Overall, AWC is pleased that this bill is alive and moving in similar condition to the original proposal. The bill advances to the Rules Committee for further consideration.

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