HB2336 – Assessing the suitability of state-owned lands for agriculture and renewable energy.
Prime Sponsor – Representative Morgan (D; 29th District; Spanaway) (49 bipartisan co-sponsors)
Current status – Had a hearing in the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources on January 17th. Amended and passed out of committee January 24th. Scheduled for a hearing in the Committee on the Capital Budget at 8:00 AM on Thursday February 1st.
Next step would be – Action by the committee.
Legislative tracking page for the bill.

In the House –
The amendment in committee would include land that could be used for grazing as land suitable for agriculture; would require an agency to already be considering land for sale or surplus for it to count as underutilized; and would include land that could be used for agrivoltaics as land that’s suitable for renewable energy.

Summary
The bill would require the Department of Agriculture to assess unused and underutilized state-owned lands in consultation with the State Conservation Commission, determining their suitability for agricultural purposes. It would report the results to specified government recipients by June 30th, 2025. The Department would run a campaign to promote agricultural production on suitable land, with an emphasis on reaching communities that might have lacked access to opportunities as agricultural producers historically. It would also assess and evaluate land utilization in the state for agricultural purposes on an ongoing basis, identifying and mapping agricultural uses and water resources, including data on surface water, groundwater resources, and water quality. It would use this data to support and expand agricultural opportunities throughout the state.

The Washington State University Energy Program would use data from Agriculture’s study to identify lands that weren’t suitable for agriculture and assess their suitability for producing renewable energy. It would report its results to the same specified recipients by June 30, 2026.