BIAW priority bills alive after first legislative cutoffs

February 12, 2024

Several of BIAW’s priority bills continue to advance after the first legislative cutoffs. Unfortunately several bad bills continued to move forward as well.

Legislative cutoffs

The legislative session calendar includes several “cut-offs” to manage which bills move forward for future votes. This first cut-off is the last day to pass bills out of committees in their house of origin. This means legislators need to vote bills introduced in the House of Representatives out of their House committees by this cut-off date. It’s the same in the Senate. The legislature passed the first cut-off date on Jan. 31 then passed the fiscal committee cutoff on Feb. 5.

We are now more than halfway through the 2024 legislative session with less than a month to go.

The next major cut-off is House of Origin Cutoff at 5 p.m. on Feb. 13. Then legislators return to committee work. Be sure to visit the BIAW Legislative Action Center to sign in on bills this week.

BIAW priority bills still alive

• HB 1245 – Increasing housing options through lot splitting.
• HB 2126 – Authorizing accessory dwelling units in rural areas.
• SB 5792– Expanding the definition of multiunit residential buildings/condos.
• SB 5980– Improving the timeline for issuing a citation for a violation of the Washington industrial safety and health act.
• SB 6029 – Authorizing counties planning under the Growth Management Act to allow detached accessory dwelling units outside of urban growth areas.
• SB 6120 – Reforming the Wildland urban interface (WUI).
• SB 6140 – Concerning limited areas of more intensive rural development (LAMIRD).
• SB 6291 – Streamlining the state building code council operating procedures by establishing criteria for statewide amendments to the state building code.

BIAW priority bills that did not advance

• HB 2035 – Creating more opportunities for 16- and 17-year-olds to work on job sites.
• HB2087 – Limiting apprenticeship objections to create more opportunities in residential construction
• HB 2451– Increasing the consistency and transparency of impact fees.
• SB 6285– Ensuring the timely and balanced use of impact fees.

Bad bills we continue to fight

Despite successes on several fronts, we continue to fight bills that would make it harder to create new jobs or build homes families in Washington can afford, including:

• HB 1589 – Restricting the supply of natural gas to new and existing customers and driving p energy bills.
• HB 1927 – Expanding industrial insurance compensation.
• HB 2266 – Creating special accommodations for construction workers who menstruate and express milk.
• HB 2114 – Upsetting the rental market with onerous rent control requirements.
• SB 5770 – Removing the 1% property tax lid and increasing it to 3%.
• HB 2276 – Increasing the real estate excise tax for transactions over certain thresholds.

Make your voice heard

Starting Feb. 14, legislators will return to committee hearings and we need you to sign in to show our support or opposition.

Be sure to visit the BIAW Legislative Action Center!