AWC Legislative Bulletin - Volume 30, No. 6
February 9, 2007
(Plain Text Version)
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In this issue:
What You Need to Know Now
From the Director: Legislature Moves Along – More Temperate Tone
City Legislative Action Conference (CLAC)
Energy & Telecommunications
Environment & Water
General Local Government
Infrastructure, Transportation & Economic Development
Land Use & Housing
Law & Justice
Municipal Finance
Personnel & Labor Relations
Online Legislative Advocacy Tools
AWC Legislative Contacts & Officers
Energy & Telecommunications
Injury Caused by Metal Theft (HB 1987)
This bill was introduced by Rep. Judy Warnick (R-Moses Lake). It declares that public or private landowners are not liable for unintentional injuries to any person when the injury is caused by the theft of copper, aluminum, steel, or other metal material from property owned by the landowner. Metal theft has turned into an expensive and dangerous problem for electric utilities and local governments. The bill is up for a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee at 8 am on February 16.
Utility Authority to Provide Environmental Mitigation (HB 1929)
This bill would declare that cities and public utility districts would have the authority to mitigate the environmental impacts of their energy operation and power purchases. Authorized mitigation activities would include offsetting the impact of greenhouse gas emissions. The bill is in response to a recent court case, Okeson v. City of Seattle, where the court ruled the city electric utility did not have the authority to engage in this activity.
Methane Energy Credit (SB 5238)
This bill would create a tax credit against the state portion of the public utility tax for electric utilities that purchase the electricity generated from methane gas derived from dairy cows. There have been bills introduced on this subject in the past that have not passed, and there was at least one interim meeting to discuss the issue with utilities and project developers. While not many cities will ever house anaerobic digester facilities, it is an intriguing proposal that the electric utilities will want to review.
Community-Based Solar Incentives (SB 5614)
This bill amends the law passed in 2005 that created a cost recovery incentive program for customer- or local government-owned renewable energy systems. Community-based solar energy projects (which cities could participate in) would be added to the list of energy projects eligible for cost recovery incentive payments. In 2006, the Department of Revenue underwent an extensive rulemaking process to assist the utilities in setting up procedures for the incentive program. A hearing is set for the bill on February 14 at 3:30 pm in the Senate Water, Energy & Technology Committee.
This week the House Technology, Energy & Communications Committee passed the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission’s (WUTC’s) request legislation, SHB 1314. (Its companion, SSB 5225, was passed the week prior in the Senate Water and Energy & Telecommunications Committee.) Before passing the bill, the House Committee adopted three technical amendments which were rolled into a substitute version of the bill. The bill would:
- Consolidate state pipeline safety statutes into one chapter;
- Require the WUTC to develop and administer a comprehensive gas and hazardous liquid pipeline safety program compatible with minimum federal requirements;
- Allow the WUTC to match federal pipeline safety penalty limits by rule; and
- Consolidate definitions applying to gas and hazardous liquid pipelines into one chapter.
Now both the House and Senate policy committees have passed the same version of the bill. They are in the Rules Committee in their respective chambers.
HB 1478 was also approved and is now in the House Rules Committee. This bill exempts certain types of pipeline geographic information data from public disclosure while still ensuring that maps showing the location of pipelines can be made public.
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