April 21, 2021

FINAL CAT ACTION REQUEST—PLEASE LET OUR LEGISLATORS KNOW WHAT YOU THINK ON THESE BILLS

Climate Action This Week: Concerning the creation of the Washington state public bank; Low Carbon Fuel Standard; More Thank Yous; Climate Commitment Act (Cap and Invest); More input from you!
Thank you for taking action with the Civic Action Team!
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1. Concerning the creation of the Washington state public bank – HB 5188

This bill would authorize a public financial cooperative as a membership organization to lend to local and tribal governmental entities.

HB 5188 has passed the Senate and is on the floor of the House.

Follow this link to provide written comment to your representatives on HB 5188.

For this bill, select your two Representatives, and for “Position” please select “Support”. The first sentence of the written comment should be: I support HB 5188 and urge you to vote Yes. 

Then choose 2-3 additional talking points from the options below or feel free to write your own:

  • We need a public financial cooperative that funds infrastructure projects and provides at least 35% of the funding to low income and working class neighborhoods.
  • State investment banks have helped to make Germany, Brazil and China global leaders in green energy technologies. Washington State needs a public financial cooperative that finances major green infrastructure projects.
  • The bill provides an equitable public lending tool for infrastructure that would serve the smaller counties that can’t bond on their own.
  • A public financial cooperative will help to stabilize communities during tough economic times.
  • “The new financial cooperative could fund investments in public broadband or other strategies to guarantee access to high-speed internet, and ensure that all students have computers or tablets equipped for interactive learning.” – Maria Batayola, environmental justice coordinator at El Centro de la Raza, Seattle.

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2. Low Carbon Fuel Standard for Transportation – HB 1091

This bill would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the carbon intensity of transportation fuel. Transportation fuels are responsible for the largest portion of Washington’s GHG emissions.

The House has refused to accept the Senate’s amendments, which would have prevented the policy from being implemented successfully, so either the Senate “recedes” their amendments or the bill goes into the smoky back room with rubber walls inhabited by the Conference Committee.

Click here to send an email to Senate Leadership.

If the above link did not work, please address your emails to:

Majority Leader Andy Billig – (360) 786-7604 – andy.billig@leg.wa.gov
Majority Caucus Chair Bob Hasegawa – (360) 786-7616 – bob.hasegawa@leg.wa.gov
Majority Floor Leader Marko Liias – (360) 786-7640 – marko.liias@leg.wa.gov

Script: “I’m contacting you to urge the Senate to recede from their amendments on HB 1091 and work in good faith with the bill’s primary sponsor to pass a functional and effective Clean Fuels Standard. Washingtonians need cleaner air!”

Majority Leader Andy Billig Majority Caucus Chair Bob Hasegawa Majority Floor Leader Marko Liias
I called
I emailed

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3. Time for (more) Thank Yous

Let’s thank some of the sponsors who introduced important bills this year. Some of these bills have passed, and others will be in good shape for next year (all noted below). The bill sponsors and their assistants would love to hear from you!

SB 5141 HEAL Act
Sponsor: Sen. Rebecca Saldana (D-37) – (360) 786-7688 – Rebecca.Saldana@leg.wa.gov

Script: “Hello my name is [NAME] and I appreciate Senator Saldana’s sponsorship of the HEAL Act. I thank her for her leadership and dedication to making justice a state environmental priority. Thank you.” 

HB 1287 Preparing for Zero Emissions Transport
HB 1280 Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions in public facilities
HB 1084 Building Electrification
Sponsor: Rep. Alex Ramel (D-40) – (360) 786-7970 – Alex.Ramel@leg.wa.gov

Script: “Hello my name is [NAME] and I appreciate Representative Ramel’s sponsorship of important climate bills this year. Congratulations on the passage of HB 1287! I look forward to helping HB 1280 pass next year, and I look forward to your bringing stakeholders on board during the interim so that we can pass a strong version of HB 1084 next year. Thank you for all you do for Washington State.” 

HB 1577 Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Sponsor: Rep. David Hackney (D-11) – (206) 490-0914 – David.Hackney@leg.wa.gov

Script: “Hello my name is [NAME] and I appreciate Representative Hackney’s sponsorship of HB 1577 as an alternative to the highly complex and controversial Cap and Invest bill still in play. I acknowledge and appreciate his deep commitment to environmental justice. Thank you.”

Senator Saldana Rep. Ramel Rep. Hackney
I called
I emailed

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4. Climate Commitment Act – SB 5126: Tell the Whip you’re a NO vote 

For those who still have the stamina, there’s one more action we can take to oppose SB 5126.

This bill has changed dramatically over the last week. Over 25 amendments were considered in the House Environment and Energy committee, and a similar number were considered in the House Appropriations committee on Tuesday morning. As you can imagine, not all legislators have been able to track all the changes. They simply may not know enough about this complex and controversial bill to vote with confidence.

In preparation for the floor vote for SB 5126 that will likely happen later this week, now is a good time to let your Representatives know what you think.

Follow this link to provide written comment to your elected leaders on SB 5126.

For this bill, select your two Representatives, and for “Position” please select “Oppose”. The first sentence of the written comment should be: I oppose SB 5126.

Let your Representatives know that you recommend they tell the Majority Whip that they’re a NO vote. If leadership doesn’t have the votes, they will not bring the bill to the Floor for a vote.

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5. Climate Commitment Act – SB 5126: Sign me up to monitor the rulemaking process! 

There’s no guarantee what will happen with this bill. In the event that it passes, it will need a great team of civically engaged folks from around the state to monitor the state agency rulemaking process. Want to track how the bill gets turned into actual regulation? If so, please sign up here, and we’ll be in touch.

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6. More Input from you! 

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts from Monday’s questions. We’d like to hear more!

Would you like to be involved with CAT over the summer? If so, we’ll reach out! 

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Would you consider getting more involved next legislative session (e.g., bill tracking, volunteer engagement, email writing, etc.)? If so, we’ll contact you just before the beginning of next session.

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Overall — how are you feeling about the legislative session, and the specific goal of passing bold and just climate policies?

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Overall — how are you feeling about the legislative session, and the specific goal of passing meaningful racial justice policies?

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Overall — how are you feeling about the legislative session, and the specific goal of passing progressive taxation policies?

And with that, look for a wrap-up email next week!

— The 350 WA Civic Action Team

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