1. Memo
Draft 2023 State Legislative Agenda
COMMISSION AGENDA MEMORANDUM Item No. Study Session STUDY SESSION Date of Meeting October 25, 2022 DATE: October 19, 2022 TO: Stephen P. Metruck, Executive Director FROM: Eric ffitch, Senior Government Relations Manager SUBJECT: Draft 2023 State Legislative Agenda EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Since the end of the 2022 state legislative session in Olympia, Washington, 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 2023 legislative session. This is the initial staff briefing for commissioners, with any proposed changes discussed in public session to be adopted on November 8, 2022. DRAFT State Legislative Agenda for 2023 Priority Agenda Items: Invest in essential workforces: Essential activities that kept the economy running early in the pandemic included maritime and freight operations, air cargo and more. The Port seeks continuing state partnership on workforce development in port-related industries, including support for pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs and policies intended to support retention and promote a respectful worksite free of harassment and intimidation. Progressive climate action: Enactment of progressive climate policies spurs investment in new technologies and generates demand for a newly skilled workforce, while reducing emissions and improving environmental justice action. With the Clean Fuels Program and Climate Commitment Act in place, the state should pursue partnership with ports on decarbonization of heavy transportation from maritime to aviation sectors, including a focus shorepower, on-dock cargo equipment, and working toward zero emission trucking. The Port of Seattle fully supports state partnership in: - Proposed maritime decarbonization investments put forward by The Northwest Seaport Alliance - Template revised April 12, 2018. COMMISSION AGENDA – Study Session Page 2 of 7 Meeting Date: October 25, 2022 - Potential Regional Maritime Fuels collaborative, developed alongside Maritime Blue, to speed adoption and promote regional leadership in the fuels space - Development of an incentive package to promote deployment of Sustainable Aviation Fuels and other low- and zero-carbon aviation technologies Further, the Port acknowledges that siting of clean energy facilities sufficient to meet state demand for renewable energy will require legislative changes, and we support state work to promote development of in-state renewable energy sources. Equity and Community focus: An annual priority for the Port of Seattle, this year legislative efforts that can support our community partners include: - Reduced local match for community improvements: The Port supports reducing the required local match that non-profit entities must provide in order to receive small-dollar grants for public improvement projects. This statutory change will help the Port distribute grant funding at a time when many local government partners will be forced to reduce grantmaking. - Public contracting and grantmaking: The Port’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is eager to work with our community to increase the share of grants and contracts that go to underserved populations. Legislative changes may be required to meet our goals, and we will partner with Olympia lawmakers to pursue such changes. Vessel noise and impacts: With the state’s prior investment in Quiet Sound leading to successful program implementation and early successes, the Port supports additional state funding for Quiet Sound to ensure continued program success and further growth and development. Priority Issue Areas: Quality Jobs and Small Business Quality Jobs: Support proposals that are consistent with the Port’s focus on bringing quality, sustainable jobs to the region, including proposals that: - Expand state-level support for worker training programs in port-related industries of aviation, maritime, construction trades, and green jobs that seek to foster maritime innovation and provide incentives to incorporate new technology into port-related sectors. - Support career-connected and work-based learning programs that seek to expose middleand high-school age students to professions in port-related industries. - Expand and strengthen state support for pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs, with a focus on retention especially among BIPOC apprentices. Template revised September 22, 2016. COMMISSION AGENDA – Study Session Page 3 of 7 Meeting Date: October 25, 2022 - Ensure responsible enforcement of labor standards, including a culture of respect and inclusion on jobsites. - Support continued state partnership on tourism promotion as an economic sector critical to the overall recovery of the Washington state economy. - Pursue partnerships in trucking that expand the workforce and the supply of drivers serving port operations, to speed the movement of goods and services. - Support rural economic development: Partner with the state and other ports and economic development actors to promote rural economic development initiatives, including rural broadband deployment, tourism promotion, support for small manufacturers in rural Washington, investments in freight corridors in rural areas, and other actions to support economic growth across Washington state. Small Business: Support proposals that reduce structural barriers and provide equity in the workplace for disadvantaged groups, and promote inclusion of small businesses, including disadvantaged, minority, and women owned business enterprises (SMWBEs). This includes: - Continued support for the repeal of Initiative 200, the enactment of Initiative 1000, and any other policy proposals that seek to achieve similar equity objectives. - Support for proposals that provide flexibility in contracting to public owners, including alternative public works, while ensuring that contracting practices support SMWBEs. - Support proposals that enhance the opportunities for SMWBEs to more effectively compete for small works projects. - Support business assistance programs at the state-level that are focused on supporting BIPOC and rural-based small businesses that face challenges accessing resources and relief programs Priority Issue Areas: Transportation and Competitiveness General transportation priorities: Continue support for freight mobility, multimodal investments, and decarbonization investments as the state implements the Move Ahead Washington package. Other transportation priorities include: - Continued state support for transportation networks that serve essential public facilities, with a specific emphasis on: funding for needed upgrades State Route 518 and the ontime delivery of the Puget Sound Gateway Program (SR509/SR167). - Support proposals that speed the movement of freight and passengers from origin to destination through seaport and airport facilities and improve the trade competitiveness of Washington state and our gateway. Template revised September 22, 2016. COMMISSION AGENDA – Study Session Page 4 of 7 Meeting Date: October 25, 2022 - Continue to deepen partnership with Washington State Legislature, Executive Agencies, and other public and private stakeholders on promoting Washington state as an international trading partner, supporting the state’s exporters while also ensuring that transportation facilities that support trade are modernized, world-class, and can operate efficiently. - Support proposals that 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 promote fairness and equity among transportation service providers, in support of responsible operation in all areas of regulation, including insurance, monitoring, safety, and environmental standards - Support state engagement in regional conversations related to a potential increase in passenger vessel routes operating in Puget Sound, and other innovative transportation partnerships that reduce congestion on roadways and reduce emissions associated with transportation sector. Increases in passenger vessel routes should be accompanied by consideration of potential mitigation measures associated with increased vessel traffic. - Support state actions that promote resilience in the transportation network, and support collaboration with other government agencies, including on issues of climate resilience. - Support coordinated approach to regional transportation planning, including aviation planning, to reflect the unprecedented growth in the region and the related stresses on our existing infrastructure. Land use priorities: Continue to advocate on land use issues facing Washington ports, with a specific focus on zoning issues that may affect port competitiveness. This may include: - 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; - Proposals that reduce gentrification pressure on critical industrial lands by focusing dense residential development in existing residential areas - Proposals that reflect the Port's commitment to environmental sustainability, including promoting Puget Sound ecosystem health and resource stewardship, and acknowledge the fact that manufacturing and industrial centers designated under the Growth Management Act are resource lands of statewide economic significance that are irreplaceable; and Template revised September 22, 2016. COMMISSION AGENDA – Study Session Page 5 of 7 Meeting Date: October 25, 2022 - Proposals that recognize the role industrial resource lands play in global port competitiveness and in supporting job retention in diverse economic sectors that provide ladders of opportunity to underserved groups; and - Proposals that seek to strengthen the Container Ports Element of the Growth Management Act - Recommendations related to the Department of Commerce’s Interbay Public Development Advisory Committee; and - Any legislative changes that may impact the efficient functioning of statewide essential public facilities. Priority Issue Areas: Energy and Environment Support and advocate for continued state investment in environmental cleanup programs and state-level policies that promote the adoption and implementation of clean energy sources to reduce the state’s reliance on fossil fuels and seek to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions. That includes: - Policies that promote the use of low- and zero-carbon fuels for transportation, low or zero emission transit options, and otherwise support the continued reduction in the cost of low- and zero-carbon energy sources to consumers in the state. - Programs directed at Puget Sound health, to include: water quality, habitat restoration, cleanups, stormwater, underwater noise reduction, and other issues related to orca recovery in the Puget Sound. - Streamlining 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. - Programs funded through the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) that assist ports in their efforts to promote environmental stewardship, to include cleanup grants and public participation grants to community organizations, including a streamlined pathway that promotes voluntary, expeditious cleanup of habitat restoration and/or shoreline public access projects in underserved communities. - Continued robust funding for the state’s Recreation and Conservation Office, and any additional state-level program or office that supports partnerships and funding on environmental cleanup, habitat restoration, and public access to the shoreline and marine resources. - Policies that promote use of clean energy technology, 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 Template revised September 22, 2016. COMMISSION AGENDA – Study Session Page 6 of 7 Meeting Date: October 25, 2022 competitiveness; maintain the efficient operation of essential public facilities such as airports and seaports; and support equity between our business partners. - Continued state support for partnership in the development and deployment of sustainable aviation and maritime technologies, including state-level actions intended to drive development of low- and zero-carbon aviation and maritime technologies within the state and for use at in-state transportation facilities. - Support state actions that promote climate change resilience, and support collaboration with other government agencies in this effort, including a focus on resilience within the transportation network that serves ports, such as heavy haul corridors, freight chokepoints, intermodal yards and more. - Policies that reduce carbon and air pollution emissions for passengers, employees, and cargo traveling to and from Port facilities, including promoting and improving the efficiency of public transportation improvements, public transit, and increasing the availability of low carbon fuels. - Pursue continued state partnership with efforts to reduce carbon emissions from waterfront operations while maintaining the international competitive edge that supports job growth in Washington state. This includes partnership on electric transmission infrastructure development, on innovation in the clean maritime sector, and on the state’s ongoing Maritime Blue 2050 initiative. Priority Issue Areas: Tax, Governance, Technology, and more - Tax: Support tax policies at the state level that support the economic health of port- related businesses and activities, including: • Policies that promote the efficient movement of freight and supports those communities that house the warehousing and distribution infrastructure necessary to enable the Port of Seattle, the Northwest Seaport Alliance, and its partners to serve Washington State businesses, including those in agriculture, manufacturing, and trade sectors. • Policies that reduce manufacturing costs in port-related businesses, including businesses that support the efficient functioning of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and that incentivize construction of fishing vessels in Washington State shipyards. - Governance: Oppose legislation that would create an imbalance of representatives between the two homeports in their governing of the Northwest Seaport Alliance. And further, advocate that any legislative proposal that would alter the previously voter established governance structure of either homeport include ratification by citizen vote within the respective homeport district(s). Template revised September 22, 2016. COMMISSION AGENDA – Study Session Page 7 of 7 Meeting Date: October 25, 2022 - Cybersecurity: Monitor proposals that seek to balance the importance of transparency and public disclosure with the vulnerability of public governments that manage critical infrastructure. - Technology: Monitor proposals related to the use of biometric technology, such as facial recognition, particularly those that address the protection of individual privacy, civil liberties, equity and compliance with federal and state regulations. - Broadband: Support continued state and local government efforts to bridge the digital divide and bring high-speed internet connectivity to communities around the state. - Human trafficking: Engage continued state partnership with Port efforts to combat human trafficking at port facilities, including the airport, seaport, cruise terminals, and marina properties, including potential advocacy in support of state anti-human trafficking efforts that align with efforts underway at the Port. ATTACHMENTS TO THIS BRIEFING (1) Presentation slides PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS December 14, 2021 – The Commission voted to adopt 2022 State Legislative Agenda November 16, 2021 – Port of Seattle Commission was briefed on the 2022 DRAFT State Legislative Agenda Template revised September 22, 2016.
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