House lawmakers on Saturday narrowly passed two controversial bills after a day-long floor session, spending hours debating each measure and dozens of proposed amendments. This is the first time this session that either chamber has taken legislative action during a weekend.
After five hours of debate, HB 1091, to reduce carbon emissions by imposing a low carbon fuel regulation, passed by a vote of 52-46, with all Republicans and five Democrats voting against it. Of more than two dozen amendments proposed by members of both parties, only nine were approved and incorporated into the final bill.
Under the bill, which was pushed by Governor Inslee, the state Department of Ecology would create a “Clean Fuels Program” to limit carbon emissions from transportation fuels. The program would aim to reduce carbon in fuels to 10% by 2028 and 20% by 2035.
This is the third time the House has passed low-carbon fuels legislation in three years. Previous measures failed to advance in the Senate. The bill’s prime sponsor, Rep. Joe Fitzgibbons (D-Seattle) said that the move to limit carbon emissions is long overdue, and that “let this be the year we can say we took action.”
Republicans said that, if passed, the bill would raise raise the price of gasoline and diesel for Washington’s consumers and businesses. Agriculture would be especially hard-hit, according to Rep. Mary Dye (R-Pomeroy), who said during the floor debate that the bill would impact most of the agricultural producers in this state. Rep. Dye proposed an amendment to exclude diesel fuel from the bill, saying that diesel provides the energy needed to do most agricultural work, like vehicles that help growers plant and harvest crops. The amendment to help farmers was not adopted.
Also hotly contested in Saturday's floor debates was HB 1054, a sweeping proposal that would ban or restrict a wide range of police tactics, from chokeholds and neck restraints to use of military gear. It would also establish new statewide policies on vehicle pursuits and create a task force to develop policies for the use of police dogs.
More than a dozen amendments to the bill were proposed during the floor debate, including amendments that were adopted to remove several provisions in the original bill— such as banning tear gas, and the use of police dogs. The bill, as passed by the House, would allow law enforcement agencies to use tear gas, but only as “necessary to alleviate a present risk of serious harm posed by a riot, barricaded subject, or hostage situation.”
The measure passed by a 54-43 vote, with all but one Republican and four Democrats voting against it. One member was excused.
HB 1054 is part of a series of bills proposed this session that aim to reshape law enforcement policies and procedures in the wake of public protests over controversial police actions last year.
The Senate last week passed SB 5051, to empower the state Criminal Justice Training Commission to revoke a law enforcement officer’s license for certain offenses by a 26-19 vote. SB 5066, to require peace officers to intervene in and report fellow officers’ wrongdoing, passed on February 23rd by a vote of 28-21.
By a nearly unanimous 46-2 vote, the Senate this week also passed SB 5259, a bill that would establish a third-party data collection system and require law enforcement agencies to report use-of-force instances, such as when an officer fires or points a gun at someone; uses a Taser, baton, chemical spray, police dog or a less-lethal shotgun on a person; or employs a vascular neck restraint or chokehold.
The bills are now before the opposite chamber for further consideration.
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