Legislative Priorities
For the latest information on our legislative progress, please visit our:
- 2006 Session Review
- Legislative Report Card (2005 version; 2006 coming soon)
- Legislation Tracker
- News Section
If you'd like to get involved in working toward better legislation, please consider joining our Legislative Committee or one of the many other committees that focus on specific topics.
Before the 2006 legislative session began, the Sierra Club Cascade Chapter defined specific legislative goals for the session, based on the Chapter's conservation priorities. These goals are described below.
Water
Clean Water (HB2322): Support cleaner water by passing legislation to remove phosphates from dishwashing detergent. Such phospates and the resulting blue-green algae pollution have harmed water quality in Lake Whatcom, Vancouver Lake, the Spokane River, Hood Canal and many other rivers and streams around the state. In Spokane, reduction of phosphorous has been determined as the single most important step we can take to improve oxygen concentrations in the Spokane River.
Water Conservation: Secure funding in the budget to commission a study to determine the best way to maximize opportunities for using reclaimed water in the greater Spokane area.
Spokane River Cleanup: Secure funding in the budget to start cleaning up the Spokane River.
Environmental Education
Kids and the Outdoors: Commission a study to assess the benefits of outdoor environmental education on students' school performance.
Transportation
Regional Transportation: Reform the regional transportation package to promote more transit and better governance.
Priorities for a Healthy Washington
We are supporting the broader environmental community agenda:
- Promote energy independence through renewable fuels
- Clean up Puget Sound
- Launch electronics waste recycling
- Protect kids' health by eliminating toxic flame retardants
- Defend our state's land use protections.
Off Road Vehicles
During this session, off-road-vehicle supporters may introduce legislation that would open more public lands to motorized use. We'll work to defeat or amend these bills, as appropriate.
Build Environmental Majorities
We'll continue our work to build environmental majorities by focusing an appropriate amount of our lobbying and grassroots work on legislators who remain on or close to the fence.
We’ll also work closely with all the legislators, thanking them when they vote for the environment and holding them accountable when they stray. To see how your legislator voted on environmental issues in 2005, please visit our online legislative report card.
For more information about our legislative priorities and how you can help support them, contact:
Peter Orth, Chair of the Legislative Committee, at 425-562-8740 or porthcpa@comcast.net.
Craig Engelking, Legislative Director and Lobbyist, at 360-561-7701 or craig.engelking@sierraclub.org.