HB1099 – Improving the state’s climate response through updates to the state’s comprehensive planning framework.
Prime Sponsor – Representative Duerr (D; 1st District; Bothell) (Co-sponsor Fitzgibbon – D)
Current status – Passed by the Senate March 3rd. Though I thought it hadn’t been, the floor amendment making a lot of cuts to the environmental provisions in the bill was adopted. They are summarized by staff at the end of the amendment. The House refused to concur in the Senate’s version, and the bill went to conference committee. The Senate adopted the conference report, but the House reportedly didn’t have the time to do the same. I think they needed to do that last step for the bill to pass…
Next step would be –
Legislative tracking page for the bill.

In the House 2022 – Passed
Returned to House Rules; reintroduced there, and passed by the House January 21st.

In the Senate 2022 – Passed
Had a hearing in the Senate Committee on Housing and Local Government February 1st. Replaced by a striker adding several environmental justice provisions, and adding to the goals of a number of comprehensive plan elements (mostly about environmental issues). Passed out of committee February 17th, and referred to Ways and Means. (There’s a staff summary of the changes at the end of the striker.) Amended in Ways and Means, passed out of committee February 28th and referred to Rules. The amendments replace the measures about climate change  and reducing emissions with language about increasing resiliency and addressing extreme weather events, drop the requirement for reporting on per capita miles traveled, make the adoption of Commerce’s model resiliency element optional, and make a couple of other less significant changes.

In the House 2021 – Passed
Had a hearing in the House Committee on Environment and Energy January 19th; replaced by a substitute and passed out of committee January 28th. Referred to Appropriations, and had a hearing there February 16th. Replaced by a 2nd substitute, amended, passed out of Appropriations, and referred to Rules on February 22nd. Replaced by a striker by the sponsor, amended, and passed by the House March 5th.

In the Senate 2021 –
Referred to the Committee on Housing and Local Government. Had a hearing March 16th. Replaced by a striker and passed out of committee March 24th. Referred to Ways and Means. Had a hearing March 27th, and passed out of Ways and Means March 29th. Then referred to Transportation, had a hearing there April 1st, but didn’t get out of committee. Returned to House Rules in 2022.

Summary –

In Senate Committee-
The striker makes avoiding creating or worsening environmental health disparities and approval of the GHG emissions reductions sub element voluntary rather than mandatory, and makes a couple of other minor changes that are summarized at the end of it.

On the House floor –
The sponsor’s striker made a number of small changes which are summarized at the end of it. Until 2035, the amendment made authorizing missing middle housing with specified provisions in current single family zoning areas count as satisfying the requirements of the greenhouse gas emissions reduction subelement. (The provisions are summarized at the end of it.)
2nd Substitute –
There’s a staff summary of the 2nd substitute’s changes at the beginning of it.. The amendments prohibit Commerce’s guidelines for measures that cities and counties can take to reduce emissions through comprehensive plans and development regulations from including road usage charges, any fees or surcharges related to vehicle miles traveled, or any measures that would regulate or tax transportation service providers, delivery vehicles, or passenger vehicles.

Substitute –
There’s a summary by staff of the changes, which are significant, at the beginning of the substitute.

Original bill –
The bill adds adapting to and mitigating the effects of a changing climate, helping to achieve statewide targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and per capita vehicle miles traveled, preparing for climate impacts scenarios, and protecting “environmental, economic, human health, and safety” to the list of goals for planning under the Growth Management Act  and the Shoreline Management Act.

It requires a new climate change and resiliency element in comprehensive plans, designed to result in reductions in overall greenhouse gas emissions, avoid the adverse impacts of climate change, and enhance resiliency. (Emissions reduction planning is required for counties with at least 100 people per square mile and a population of at least 200,000, or at least 75 people per square mile and an annual growth rate of at least 1.75%, and for the cities within them. It’s encouraged for the rest. Resiliency planning is required for jurisdictions planning under the GMA and is encouraged for others.)

The greenhouse gas emissions reduction subelement of the comprehensive plan must be reviewed and approved by the Department of Commerce, after public comment, and must be designed to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from the jurisdiction’s transportation and land use systems, reduce vehicle miles traveled within the jurisdiction, and prioritize reductions in communities that experience disproportionate impacts and harm due to air pollution.

The resiliency subelement must be designed to identify and protect natural areas resilient to climate impacts, as well as areas of vital habitat for safe passage and species migration; and address natural hazards created or aggravated by climate change, including sea level rise, landslides, flooding, drought, heat, smoke, wildfire, and other effects of changes to temperature and precipitation patterns. It’s to enhance resiliency equitably, and must prioritize actions in communities that will disproportionately suffer from compounding environmental impacts and be most impacted by natural hazards due to climate change.

(In collaboration with other agencies, the Department of Commerce is to create a model resiliency element that may be used by jurisdictions in developing their plans. It’s to establish minimum requirements or include model options for fulfilling the bill’s requirements; and should provide guidance on identifying, designing, and investing in infrastructure that supports community resilience to climate impacts, including the protection, restoration, and enhancement of natural infrastructure as well as traditional infrastructure, natural areas and vital habitat. It should provide guidance on identifying and addressing natural hazards created or aggravated by climate change; and must recognize and promote as many co-benefits of climate resilience as possible – such as salmon recovery, ecosystem services, and supporting treaty rights.)

During the 2024 update cycle, the larger and faster growing jurisdictions for which emissions reduction planning is required must adopt goals, policies, and actions that are likely to result in reductions of emissions and vehicle miles traveled that comply with the state’s greenhouse gas reduction targets. The Department of Commerce, in consultation with other agencies, is to estimate the required reductions. (However, adopting and implementing a climate action plan satisfies this requirement if it achieves “meaningful reductions” in greenhouse gas emissions and vehicle miles traveled.) These jurisdictions’ 2032 updates have to fully comply with the rest of the requirements. (The bill also specifies that these jurisdictions’ land use plans “should” give special consideration to achieving environmental justice and “must” avoid creating or worsening environmental health disparities; it specifies that they must reduce and mitigate the risk to lives and property posed by wildfires, including reducing residential development in their wildland urban interface.)

The bill adds pedestrian and biking facilities to the inventory for transportation facilities and services needs; it requires level of service standards for them and forecasts of mutimodal transportation demand. It prohibits denying approval of a development if it’s possible to provide for its transportation needs through pedestrian and bicycle facility improvements, increased or enhanced public transportation service, ride-sharing programs, demand management, or other strategies funded by the development, even if it fails to meet traffic level of service standards.

It requires regional transportation planning organizations encompassing at least one of the larger and faster growing jurisdictions to adopt a regional emissions and vehicle miles reduction plan for all jurisdictions in the organization. This must implement the State’s goals for reductions in per capita vehicle miles traveled, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector consistent with the Department of Commerce’s estimates of the area’s proportional share of what’s needed to meet the State’s targets, allocating vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions reductions that must be achieved to the larger jurisdictions after taking into account the reductions achieved within them by the regional plan. It must prioritize reductions in communities that have experienced disproportionate harm due to air pollution. (The comprehensive plans of jurisdictions would be required to be consistent with their regional plans.)

The bill requires parks and recreation planning to add consideration of the health disparities map published by the Department of Health to increase green space in the most pollution-burdened locations.

Commerce is also to publish a summary of annual vehicle miles traveled in each city and the unincorporated portions of each county in the state. It’s to update its shoreline master program guidelines, requiring them to address the impact of sea level rise and increased storm severity on people, property, and shoreline natural resources and the environment.