Dear Friends and Neighbors,
The 2025 legislative session is underway, and I am back in Olympia for the 105-day session.
I have a new role, chair of the Senate Environment, Energy & Technology Committee or “ENET” in Legislature-speak. My number one goal for ENET is to “keep the lights on.” Basically, making sure we are taking the steps needed to green our electricity grid while preserving your access to affordable energy. In the past, utilities have been able to plan for relatively stable demand for electricity, but that isn’t true anymore thanks to the rise of data centers and AI, reindustrialization and the electrification of things like heating and transportation. The goal is generating, transmitting, and supplying carbon-free energy that will grow our economy and produce green jobs.
Thanks to major bills like the Climate Commitment Act and the Clean Energy Transformation Act we have a sketch of what this green future looks like, but it’s time to fill in the details and get to work building the necessary infrastructure. The progress we’ve made is exciting, but we need to ensure state laws and regulations keep pace.
Along with energy, there’s challenging work ahead of us: better funding our schools, making more affordable housing available, and continuing to address our behavioral health crisis and improve public safety.
This session, I’ve introduced bills on some of these topics, which I’m excited to share!
Bill Update
SB 5332 would remove barriers to placing mobile dwelling units, or MDUs, on residential properties. MDUs are movable homes with utility connections, such as a tiny home on wheels. They’re an inexpensive, easy to deploy form of housing, and they help address the critical shortage of very low-cost housing.
SB 5214 will create a Mobile Markets Program in Washington. The folks at Twin Sisters market brought to my attention that they were not able to accept WIC and senior nutrition dollars at their mobile farmer’s market. Twin Sisters does great work bringing fresh food to folks who might not have access. They aggregate fresh food from farmers and move around the community to serve food deserts in Birchwood neighborhood and East Whatcom County.
By creating a mobile markets program, markets like Twin Sisters will be able to accept WIC and senior nutrition dollars. This should help the farmers Twin Sisters and the local farmers whose produce they sell.
SB 5359 and SB 5466 would work to accelerate the clean energy and infrastructure development we need to deliver green jobs and a cleaner energy system. SB 5359 establishes a new Clean Energy Development Office within the Department of Commerce, which would help plan and support clean energy projects and electric transmission facilities.
The office would work alongside local governments to help them integrate clean energy development planning, partner with the Office of Economic Development to help communities realize clean energy’s economic potential, and work with the Workforce and Education Coordinating Board to help Washingtonians access good careers in the industry.
SB 5466 would establish a Clean Energy Transmission Office within the Department of Commerce. Until recently, the electricity business was a sleepy business and there was a relatively flat demand for electricity. Now, demand is increasing significantly due to the growth of data centers, new industrial projects that bring good jobs and cutting-edge technology and electrification of transportation and heating, all while trying to green our grid. It is imperative that we are able to connect new green energy projects to businesses and homes. Improving our energy transmission technology will improve grid reliability and resilience, especially during extreme weather, help Washingtonians access low-cost renewable energy, and provide businesses the power they need to fuel our economic growth.
Keep in Touch!
As you can see, there’s lots of work to do. There are challenges ahead, but I look forward to collaborating with you as we work to move Washington forward. You can reach me anytime at Sharon.Shewmake@leg.wa.gov — your input is always valuable.
Sincerely,
