Dear friends and neighbors,
Entering the fourth week of session, we are rapidly approaching the first policy committee cutoff. Any bill that has not been passed out of its policy committee by 5pm on Wednesday, January 31st will not progress any further this session, unless they are necessary to implement the budget.
This is the first of seven cutoffs designed to help funnel the 1,000+ bills that are introduced down to the few hundred that actually pass into law. At this link, you will find more information about each cutoff. This calendar is a helpful tool as you track legislation.
Billig’s Bills
I frequently use this newsletter to updated you on progress of bills I have introduced or follow-up on implementation on bills previously passed.
In the 2023 legislative session, I was the prime sponsor of SB 5369, which was intended to further regulate polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) Washington state. This topic is especially important to me because of the presence of PCBs in the Spokane River. These dangerous chemicals can create lasting negative effects for fish and humans.
One of the challenges with PCBs is that the Federal government still allows low levels of PCBs in some products like paint and inks and states are prohibited from creating more stringent standards (believe me, we tried!). SB 5369 requires the Washington State Department of Ecology to petition to the Federal Environmental Protection Agency to formally request a rulemaking process to restrict PCBs at the federal level.
The petition was sent sent to the EPA two weeks ago, and the EPA will respond to the petition by April 3, 2024.
For more information about the importance of restricting PCBs and the effect of the petition, read Ecology’s blog post. To read the petition itself, click here.
Stay in Touch
I always welcome your feedback. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at Andy.Billig@leg.wa.gov.
Onward!
Andy
