COMMISSION 
AGENDA MEMORANDUM                        Item No.          8g 
ACTION ITEM                            Date of Meeting      January 9, 2024 
DATE:     January 9, 2024 
TO:        Stephen P. Metruck, Executive Director 
FROM:    John Flanagan, Senior State Government Relations Manager 
SUBJECT:  Adoption of 2024 State Legislative Agenda 
ACTION REQUESTED 
Request Commission adoption of the Port’s 2024 State Legislative Agenda and authorization for
staff to advocate on the agenda during the 2024 Legislative Session. 
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
Since the end of the 2023 state legislative session in Olympia, staff from the Government Affairs
team has been working with subject-matter experts across the Port, members of the Executive
Leadership Team, staff from the Commission office, and the Commissioners themselves to
develop a draft legislative agenda for the 2024 legislative session. This is the initial staff briefing
for commissioners, with any proposed changes discussed in public session to be adopted on
January 9, 2024.
DRAFT 2024 State Legislative Agenda 
Priority Agenda Items 
Innovative, Equitable, and Diversified Economy 
Given the unprecedented availability of state and federal resources geared towards the Green
Economy, pursue establishment of new state-level programming to further incentivize the
creation of a diverse Green Jobs Workforce, encouraging climate-focused innovation in portrelated
sectors, and benefitting a wide-array of workers and communities. 
• Support the application of state resources towards maximizing use and availability of new
federal programming and investments including those associated with the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and any other
relevant legislation. 
Advocate for renewed investments in existing economic development programs that champion
innovation, aid the global competitiveness of the region,  and provide critical support to
international business. 


Template revised April 12, 2018.

             COMMISSION AGENDA – Briefing Item No. 8g                                  Page 2 of 8 
Meeting Date: January 9, 2024 
Engage in, and monitor, ongoing efforts regarding the State’s treatment of tourism and related
industries, including: 
• Pursuing increased investments in the tourism economy and policy proposals benefitting
statewide tourism, with the goal of establishing parity with comparable jurisdictions; 
• Seeking changes that will fairly and reasonably benefit the private sector and tourism
communities alike; 
• Regional tourism coordination. 
Generally, support state-level efforts to increase workers' access to equitable benefits. This
includes monitoring opportunities to: 
• Increase access to childcare for Port employees, and actively engaging in state-level
efforts that may benefit the Port’s ongoing work to increase childcare opportunities for
employees at all Port facilities; 
• Broadly address issues affecting pay equity, and supporting policies that conform with or
benefit internally adopted pay equity philosophies; 
• Reasonably and responsibly increasing  equitable healthcare outcomes for Port
employees. 
Monitor and support ongoing state-level efforts to increase diversity and opportunity in
contracting, including support for changes necessary to demonstrably increase the share of
grants and contracts awarded to traditionally marginalized populations. 
Port Decarbonization, Climate Action, and Environmental Justice 
In furtherance of the Port’s ongoing plans to establish several ‘green corridors’, advocate for
dedicating state funds towards the development of a regional clean maritime fuels collaborative,
with a near-term focus on capacity-building and organization of relevant stakeholders. 
To support the continued decarbonization of maritime, aviation, and other port-adjacent priority
sectors, encourage enactment of necessary programmatic adjustments to the state’s existing
cap-and-trade policy (CCA), and encourage use of CCA revenue for programs benefitting port
districts generally, including environmental justice programs. 
• Support minor adjustments to cap-and-trade program recommended by Ecology, and
efforts to join the existing cap and trade market with other domestic carbon markets 
(California and Quebec); 
• As necessary, increase existing investments in shore power to ensure that projects are
implementable in the face of project cost increases; 
• Explore opportunities for additional investments in shore power benefitting cruise; 
• In tandem with the Northwest Seaport Alliance, monitor and support anticipated
outcomes of ongoing medium and heavy duty zero-emission vehicle (MHD ZEV) studies,
prioritizing drayage truck owner/operator access to available funding, and supporting
programs to build electric-vehicle infrastructure. 
• Support creation of a statewide “Community Decarbonization” program, including
establishing a state-level environmental justice navigators-style program. 

Template revised September 22, 2016.

             COMMISSION AGENDA – Briefing Item No. 8g                                  Page 3 of 8 
Meeting Date: January 9, 2024 
• Support use of CCA revenue to mitigate impacts to near-port communities. 
Support next steps on state-level clean energy siting policy with a focus on efforts to streamline 
and simplify the siting, challenge, and approval processes related to clean energy facilities. 
Similarly, support efforts to responsibly and incrementally phase-down the use of more carbonintensive
forms of energy; 
Support land use proposals that adequately balance  economic benefit, environmental
sustainability,  benefits  to  Puget  Sound  ecosystem  health,  resource  stewardship,  and
environmental justice; 
Advocate  for  additional  dedicated  resources  for  remedial  action  grants  benefitting
environmental stewardship and ensure that stormwater assistance and other MTCA funds
remain un-diverted; 
Monitor and encourage ongoing legislative and programmatic efforts to sustainably handle
waste, increase producer responsibility, and reduce the prevalence of single-use plastics. 
Protecting Transportation Investments 
Due to a myriad of factors, transportation project-cost-increases are escalating rapidly and it is
highly  unlikely that  additional transportation revenue will be generated during the 2024
legislative session. Given this environment, advocate for: 
• Any necessary policy or budgetary changes to ensure final delivery of the Puget Sound
Gateway project without further delays or extension of current timelines; 
• Preserving  (i.e.,  not  re-directing)  existing  state-level  investments  in  innovative 
transportation projects. 
Notable Issue Area 1: Economic and Workforce Development 
Continue to support economic and workforce development proposals that are consistent with
Goals 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 of the Port’s Century Agenda with a focus on policies and programs that 
prioritize equity, foster innovation, and create quality and sustainable jobs in the region. 
Advocacy will include support for: 
• Partnerships that benefit the growth of port-related industries and expansion of statelevel
worker training programs in those industries; 
• Career-connected learning and work-based learning programs that seek to expose K-12
students to professions in port-related industries, including ongoing support for CORE
PLUS programming; 
• Continuation and expansion of pre-apprentice and apprenticeship programs; 
• Efforts to expand the trucking and logistics workforce, including increasing the supply of
Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) holders and drivers, with a specific focus on those
serving port operations; 

Template revised September 22, 2016.

             COMMISSION AGENDA – Briefing Item No. 8g                                  Page 4 of 8 
Meeting Date: January 9, 2024 
• Programs  that  prioritize equitable recruitment, training, and retention of workers
representing diverse populations; 
• Policy solutions that connect port-adjacent communities to economic opportunity and
‘prosperity-in-place’; 
• The continued enforcement of responsible labor standards; 
• Increased state-level  investments  to promote  and  grow  the tourism  industry in
Washington; 
• Investments in broadband infrastructure including the use of state funds as ‘match
dollars’ for federal programs and ongoing efforts to end the digital divide; 
• Rural economic development initiatives, including those that benefit small manufacturers
and domestic manufacturing generally, investments in freight corridors serving rural
areas, rural tourism, and support for associate development organizations; 
• Proposals that reduce structural barriers, prioritize  equitable working conditions, 
promote the success of small businesses, and benefit minority and women-owned
enterprises; 
• The repeal of I-200, efforts to implement Executive Order 22-02, and outcomes resulting
from the ongoing work of the Governor’s Statewide Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Council; 
• Statewide contracting practices and programs that increase flexibility for public owners
while also supporting small, minority, and women-owned businesses, and increasing
opportunity and access for those businesses; 
• Creating state-level programs geared towards assisting BIPOC and rural small businesses
that traditionally struggle to access available public resources. 
Additionally, the Port will continue monitoring developments around programs that divert Port
revenues to other uses, opposing changes that further increase diversion of Port revenue, or are
otherwise inconsistent with underlying tax law. 
Notable Issue Area 2: Energy, Climate, Environment, and Habitat 
Continue to support state-level policies regarding energy, environment, sustainability, climate,
and habitat that serve Goals 4 and 5 of the Port’s Century Agenda. Advocate for policy and
budgetary solutions that promote the adoption and implementation of clean energy, phasedown
the State’s reliance on fossil fuels, reduce emissions, and improve environmental
outcomes. 
Advocacy will include support for: 
• Promotion of the use of low- and zero-carbon fuels for transportation, providing low or
zero emission transit options, and otherwise aiding the continued reduction in the cost of
low- and zero-carbon energy sources; 
• Policies that promote the use of clean energy technology, promote the development of
in-state renewable energy, build energy efficiency, and support a statewide reduction in
greenhouse gas emissions as well as statewide goals for clean power, and that can be
implemented in ways that leverage our state’s competitiveness, maintain the efficient

Template revised September 22, 2016.

             COMMISSION AGENDA – Briefing Item No. 8g                                  Page 5 of 8 
Meeting Date: January 9, 2024 
operation of essential public facilities such as airports and seaports, and support equity
in the private sector; 
• Proliferation of sustainable aviation fuels, including support for SAF infrastructure
programs and any necessary adjustments to existing incentives; 
• On-dock decarbonization programs and incentives; 
• Programs and policies geared towards ‘Scope 3 emissions’; 
• Programs benefitting Puget Sound health, including water quality, habitat restoration,
cleanups, stormwater, underwater noise reduction, and those related to Orca recovery,
including  support  for  the  Quiet  Sound  program  and  protection  of  Quiet  Sound
appropriations made in the enacted biennial budget; 
• Maintaining funding for programs associated with the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) 
that assist the Port in its efforts to promote environmental stewardship, including cleanup
grants, public participation grants to community organizations, and benefitting voluntary,
expeditious cleanup of habitat restoration and/or shoreline public access projects in
underserved communities; 
• Streamlining and providing robust funding for the Department of Ecology’s wetland
mitigation  banking  program  so  that  cost-effective  and  large-scale  compensatory
mitigation projects can be built in advance of permitted impacts; 
• Efforts to increase climate resiliency, including resilience in the transportation network 
serving ports, in collaboration and partnership with local governments; 
• Policies that reduce air emissions and pollution for passengers and employees traveling
to and from Port facilities, including promoting and improving the efficiency of public
transportation and public transit; 
• Continuing state partnerships to reduce emissions from waterfront operations while
maintaining an international competitive edge, including partnerships to support electric
transmission infrastructure development, regarding innovation in the clean maritime
sector, and in the State’s ongoing Maritime Blue 2050 initiative; 
• Responsible and thoughtful implementation of statewide environmental justice
standards, including support for state-agency efforts to build intersectionality directly
into programming, establish adequate enforcement mechanisms, and provide necessary
resources; and 
• The Washington Climate Corps Network, including exploration of opportunities to
integrate Climate Corps volunteers into Port operations and programs. 
Notable Issue Area 3: Transportation 
Support transportation policy that is consistent with Goals 1, 2, and 4 of the Port’s Century
Agenda,  emphasizing the importance of proposals supporting freight mobility,  enhancing
competitiveness, aiding multimodal transportation, and continuing to decarbonize. 
Advocacy will include support for: 
• Investments in transportation networks serving essential public facilities with specific
emphasis on funding needed for upgrades to State Route 518 (per the State’s finalized
and published recommendation); 

Template revised September 22, 2016.

             COMMISSION AGENDA – Briefing Item No. 8g                                  Page 6 of 8 
Meeting Date: January 9, 2024 
• Proposals speeding the movement of freight and passengers from origin to destination
through seaport and airport facilities, and improving trade competitiveness of the state
and the Port’s gateway; 
• Continued promotion of Washington as an international trading partner, including
support for the state’s exporters and ensuring that transportation facilities supporting
trade are modern, word-class, and operate efficiently; 
• Proposals to clarify and affirm the authority of the Port Commission to control access to
port facilities by all transportation modes (including private vehicle access, commercial
ground transportation providers, and public transportation providers), and promoting
fairness and equity among transportation service providers, in support of responsible
operation in all areas of regulation, including insurance, monitoring, safety, and
environmental standards; 
• State engagement relating to increasing passenger vessel routes operating in Puget
Sound, provided that any increased vessel traffic is accompanied by mitigation; 
• Regional conversations related to innovative transportation partnerships that will help
alleviate congestion on roadways and in airports, and reduce emissions associated with
the transportation sector; 
• Coordinated approaches to regional transportation planning, including aviation planning; 
• Continued progress regarding airport siting or expansion and the efforts  of the
Commercial Aviation Work Group (CAWG); 
• State-level actions to advance planning for major transportation projects, provided that
planning efforts account for impacts to the broader transportation network and consider
effects to adjacent areas; 
• Investments in multimodal and active transportation infrastructure that prioritize safety
and efficient movement of freight; and 
• Promotion of state agency efforts benefitting REAL ID compliance. 
Participate in, and monitor, conversations regarding transportation revenue and revenuegenerating
policies, advocating that policies prioritize and uphold economic competitiveness and
do not disadvantage the efficient movement of goods. Likewise, the Port will continue to
advocate that broader transportation implications continue to be a central consideration of
major transportation projects. 
Notable Issue Area 4: Land Use 
Continue to advocate for land use policies benefitting goals 1, 3, 4, and 5 of the Port’s Century
Agenda, with a specific focus on zoning issues that may affect port competitiveness. 
Advocacy will include support for: 
• Proposals that reflect the “Guiding Principles: Stewardship, Enhancement, and Protection
of Maritime and Manufacturing Lands” document that was adopted by the Northwest
Seaport Alliance on November 1, 2016; 

Template revised September 22, 2016.

             COMMISSION AGENDA – Briefing Item No. 8g                                  Page 7 of 8 
Meeting Date: January 9, 2024 
• Proposals that aim to reduce pressure on critical industrial lands by focusing dense
residential  development  into  existing  residential  areas  that  have  typically  been
characterized by low-density single-family development; 
• Efforts to acknowledge and define Manufacturing and Industrial Centers (MICs) as 
resource lands of statewide economic significance; 
• Proposals that recognize the role industrial resource lands play in global port
competitiveness and in supporting job retention in diverse economic sectors; and 
• Proposals that seek to strengthen the Container Ports Element of the Growth
Management Act. 
Monitor actions related to the Department of Commerce’s Interbay Public Development Advisory
Committee, and any other legislative changes that may impact the efficient functioning of
statewide essential public facilities. 
Other Notable Issue Areas: Tax, Governance, Technology, Trafficking, Civil Asset Forfeiture 
Taxation: 
Support state-level tax policies that foster the economic health of port-related businesses and
activities, including: 
• Policies that promote the efficient movement of freight and support communities that
contain  warehousing and distribution infrastructure, especially those facilities and 
communities benefitting agriculture, manufacturing, and trade sectors; and 
• Policies that reduce manufacturing costs in port-related sectors, including businesses that
support  the  efficient  functioning  of  SEA  international  airport,  and  incentivizing
construction of fishing vessels within Washington State. 
Pending action by the Department of Revenue that is currently stalled, consider legislative
solutions to clarify the application of Leasehold Excise Tax for certain port-related businesses. 
Governance: 
• Oppose legislation that would create an imbalance of representatives between the two
homeports in the governance of the Northwest Seaport Alliance. 
• Monitor legislative proposals that would alter the governance structure of either NWSA
homeport, and if proposed, advocate for ratification by citizen vote within the respective
homeport district(s). 
Technology: 
• Monitor proposals related to the use of biometric technology, such as facial recognition,
with particular attention to those that address protection of individual privacy, equity,
and compliance with federal and state regulations. 
• Continue to express concerns related to establishing a Washington State Digital ID
intended for general use including at airport facilities. 

Template revised September 22, 2016.

             COMMISSION AGENDA – Briefing Item No. 8g                                  Page 8 of 8 
Meeting Date: January 9, 2024 
• Monitor state-level regulation of artificial intelligence (AI), and seek to form relevant
partnerships with state and local government agencies regarding the use of AI. 
Trafficking: 
• Continue to engage  state agencies, the legislature, and external partners in  Portsponsored
efforts to combat human trafficking at port facilities, including the airport,
seaport, cruise terminals, and marina properties. Explore additional opportunities to
deepen partnerships and align ongoing efforts happening elsewhere. 
Civil Asset Forfeiture: 
• Support for legislative efforts to expand the Port’s existing civil asset forfeiture authority
at the state-level, with the goal of giving the Port additional flexibility with related
resources. 
ATTACHMENTS TO THIS BRIEFING 
(1)   Presentation slides 
PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS 
December 12, 2023 – The Commission was briefed on the Draft 2024 State Legislative Agenda 
November 8, 2022 – The Commission voted to adopt the Final 2023 State Legislative Agenda 
October 25, 2022 – The Commission was briefed on the Draft 2023 State Legislative Agenda 









Template revised September 22, 2016.