By / Kathleen Collins,
Government Relations Consultant
The 2023 session starts in January, just a few months from now. The November election is not likely to change Democrat control of the House and Senate, but with a long list of retirements, there will be plenty of new members who will deal with issues both new and old. Overall, the 2023 session looks to be one with lots of discussion on current issues, many of them controversial. Before the 105 days concludes in April, the Legislature must also pass its two-year budgets.
New Faces
There will be a lot of new faces. Six of the 49 senators are retiring. Seventeen out of 98 House members are not returning, nearly all due to retirements. Four House members are trying to fill vacated Senate seats and are likely to win. Many of the retirees are long-time Democrat committee chairs, which means we will see new faces in key committees and House leadership, too. Overall, seven House committee chairs and two Senate committee chairs won’t be returning.
One of the retirees is Representative Pat Sullivan from Covington who has held the influential second in command Majority Leader spot in the House for several years. The odds are that the current House Environment and Energy Chair, Representative Joe Fitzgibbon from West Seattle, will move into the Majority Leader spot, opening the chairmanship in that committee. This committee deals with a lot of issues of interest to SMACNA—Clean Buildings, natural gas use in buildings, hydrofluorocarbons, and all manner of climate related legislation. The long-time House Labor Committee Chair, Representative Mike Sells from Everett, is retiring. Other House committee chair spots that will be open include health care, insurance, and finance. In the Senate, the Environment and Energy Committee will have new leadership with the departure of Senator Reuven Carlyle from Seattle. There will be at least two other new committee chairs in the Senate. And of course, the membership of many of the committees in both Houses will change with the influx of new members and shuffling around of the current ones.
Issues – New and Old
Just watch the news and you can predict the hot topics for the 2023 session. The economy and price of gas and necessities are likely to spur a lot of conversation, but probably not a lot of relief. The major environmental laws passed in recent years will go into effect in 2023 and may start to increase the price of gas, but decreases in the state gas tax are unlikely. The weaker economy will mean less growth in the budget and hopefully avoidance of new taxes and fees. The controversial capital gains tax passed in 2021 is still working its way through the court system and thus far has been declared unconstitutional. Efforts to repeal it will be introduced but almost certainly will be rebuffed by the majority party.
Modifications to the 2021 police reform laws will be a theme in the 2023 session. The Governor’s state of emergency on the pandemic will officially end October 31 after 975 days. There will be renewed efforts in the 2023 session to set limits on the length and scope of Governor declared emergencies and require greater involvement from the Legislature. The Long-Term Care insurance law that was to go into effect in January 2022 was suspended until the end of the 2023 session to give legislators time to assess the financial viability of the program. We expect this insurance will continue in some form. It is not clear if the efforts to remove the requirement for employees to participate will be successful. The paid family leave program will undergo similar financial scrutiny after the Legislature had to provide an infusion of general fund money last session because program usage is exceeding the revenue from employees and employers contributions.
Climate Issues
The Inflation Reduction Act will provide an infusion of federal money into the state for environmental purposes, including rebates for alternative fuel cars and tax credits for new renewable projects and generation. Despite the changes the Building Code Counsel is expected to adopt limiting the use of natural gas in residential and commercial construction, we expect there will be bills introduced that go even further to limit fossil fuel use with the goal of phasing it out over time.
In August, Governor Inslee announced that Washington will follow California with a ban on the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035. In 2020, the legislature adopted a goal to this effect, but it is not a legal requirement in state statute. Governor Inslee is relying on the federally delegated Clean Air law provision that allows other states to adopt California’s stricter vehicle emission standards by rule. Some other states are following suit. The ban would apply to passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty passenger vehicles, such as SUVs and vans. There will be efforts to stop or modify this mandate in the 2023 session.
All in all, it looks like the 2023 session will be interesting with lots of new members and plenty of controversial issues. ▪
