Week of April 16 Legislative Update

After 13 weeks of emails, calls, late nights, early mornings, ups and downs, we are at the FINAL week of the 2023 legislative session! This past week had the last major cutoff before Sine Die (the last day of session) so we have some updates as well as some upcoming things you can take action on.

HB 1181 is Headed to the Governor’s Office!

HB 1181, our GMA Climate bill, passed the Senate AND passed the concurrence vote in the House. It is now headed to the Governor’s desk for a signature. We want to thank you for taking action, our partners who showed up, and Senator Lovelett and Representative Duerr for fighting not just this year, but the past previous years as well. We are finally here!

HB 1110 Coming Up!

HB 1110, our Middle Housing bill, passed the Senate as well! It will most likely pass the concurrence in the House early this week. We will update you when it does. Nonetheless, this is also a reason to celebrate and only done because of you, our partners, and Representative Bateman, Representative Barkis, and Senator Trudeau!

SB 5466 Did Not Pass the House.

Unfortunately, our Transit-Oriented Development bill, SB 5466 did not make it past the April 12 cutoff. Futurewise will continue fighting for transit-oriented development in the future.

Send a Thank You Note to Our Electeds!
We’ve created a simple toolkit for you to be able to send a Thank You Note to those elected officials who voted YES on our bills. We’ve already sent out 27 thank you notes, so help us increase that number. Plus, who doesn’t like to get a thank you note?

Celebrate with Futurewise Next Month

With all these victories under our belt, it’s high time to celebrate! I hope you’ll join me next month at the Futurewise Livable Communities Spring Celebration! It will be on Saturday, May 20th at the 21 Acres farm and teaching center in Woodinville. Join me for an evening on the farm with delicious locally sourced food and meet your fellow Futurewise supporters, local elected officials, community leaders and industry colleagues. Plus, we’re also hosting a special reception prior to the event with VIP speakers and guests. I’d love to see you there!

What a legislative session. 2 out of 3 bills is a pretty good record! Once again, I really appreciate everything you’ve done this entire time. One more week! See y’all soon.

Category Archives: News

Week of April 16 Legislative Update

After 13 weeks of emails, calls, late nights, early mornings, ups and downs, we are at the FINAL week of the 2023 legislative session! This past week had the last major cutoff before Sine Die (the last day of session) … Continue reading

Nine Million More Acres of Farmland in Washington Eligible for Protection

Great news: the Washington Department of Commerce this month adopted new rules determining that farmland of statewide importance soils are now considered to have long-term commercial significance for the designation of agricultural land of long-term commercial significance. This literally increases … Continue reading

Week of April 9 Legislative Update

Wow, a lot has happened! HB1181, our climate planning in the GMA bill, passed the Senate floor last Friday! A huge thank you to everyone who has taken action, as well as Senator Lovelett and Representative Duerr for their leadership. Next … Continue reading

Futurewise Statement on Inclusionary Zoning

Aparment Building Construction. Photo by Doug Trumm, The Urbanist Futurewise supports inclusionary zoning. We’ve heard some confusion about this recently and wanted to take the opportunity to clarify our position. Futurewise has been advocating for inclusionary zoning for many years. … Continue reading

Week of April 2 Legislative Update

We had a busy week and it’s getting busier! This Tuesday, April 4th, is the Fiscal cutoff! We need our bills to make it through, which is where you come in. Once our bills make it through, we enter the final … Continue reading

Futurewise Appeals Grays Harbor Shoreline Master Program to State Supreme Court

In 2020, Futurewise and our local partner, Friends of Grays Harbor, filed an appeal to the Shoreline Hearings Board of the Grays Harbor County Shoreline Master Program. Now three years and many hearings later, we’re taking that case all the … Continue reading

Week of March 26 Legislative Update

Well, another round of cutoffs is here and we need you to take action. This week, our bills need to be voted out of their respective Policy Committees by this Wednesday, March 29th. Specifically, we need HB 1181 and SB … Continue reading

Week of March 19 Legislative Update

Wow, what a busy week! We had hearings on all of our bills, TWO more scheduled for vote in committees, and daylight savings started. Things are moving much quicker now that we are only a week and a half away … Continue reading

Protecting King County Farms

Since 2019, Futurewise has been working with our local partners, Friends of Sammamish Valley on the King County Wineries, Breweries and Distilleries Ordinance. Originally adopted by the King County Council in January 2020, the ordinance was appealed by Futurewise and … Continue reading

2023 Spring Celebration

Join Futurewise for our 2023 Livable Communities Spring Celebration! Join us for an evening on the farm to celebrate our collective work to protect Washington’s farms, forests and wildlife habitat from sprawl and to advance equitable, just and climate resilient … Continue reading