When the Washington state legislature convened on Jan. 12 for its short session, over 300 bills had already been pre-filed for introduction.

Of these bills, a handful have a direct impact on the forest product sector and around 200 have an indirect impact upon or impact from the forest product sector. Additionally, many of these forestry-related bills have to do with policy issues, said Matt Comisky, the Washington state manager with the American Forest Resource Council.

Rural communities dependent upon the forest product sector may be affected because “policies that may negatively influence the forest product sector, then also drive potential negative influences on the economics of rural communities, on children’s health care, adult health care, [and] police services,” Comisky said. “There’s a whole host of social services that are being addressed in some of the pre-filed bills.”

One of the pre-filed bills that has a direct impact upon the forest product sector is House Bill 2089 “Supporting wildfire mitigation by modifying RCW 82.04.29005, concerning taxes on loan interest,” whose lead sponsor is Rep. Shawn Scott, a Democrat from District 43.

In an earlier legislative session, the Legislature passed a bill that taxed the interest of companies that underwrite mortgages and don’t have a physical presence in the state. Or so they thought.

“[The Legislature] didn’t apparently write the language as tight as they thought they had and so a lot of online mortgage entities that don’t have a physical presence in the state were also exempted,” Comisky said. “What this bill will do is clarify that exemption and then use the money that’s generated from the taxes on the interest that’s paid by those out-of-state organizations to be funneled into the wildfire mitigation and forest health account.”

Another prefiled bill also relates to wildfire. Senate Bill 5893 “Addressing appropriations for long-term forest health and wildfire reduction,” sponsored by Sen. Shelly Short, a Republican in District 7, adds two new sections to chapter 298, Laws of 2021. One of these new sections says:

“The Legislature finds that policies enacted in chapter 298, Laws of 2021, concerning long-term forest health and the reduction of wildfire dangers, are just as relevant today as they were in 2021. The full effect of that act has not been realized, primarily due to insufficient funds being appropriated for the purposes specified in that act. The omnibus operating budget for the 2025-2027 fiscal biennium provided $60,000,000 in the first fiscal year, whereas the needed appropriation is $125,000,000 for the fiscal biennium. Therefore, it is the intent of this act to fulfill the amounts needed for the 2025-2027 fiscal biennium.”

A bill that made an appearance during the 2023 legislative session is returning with a new bill number but the same language. House Bill 2170 “Expanding revenue generation and economic opportunities from natural climate solutions and ecosystem services,” whose lead sponsor is Rep. Kristine Reeves, a Democrat for District 30, was prefiled at the request of the Department of Natural Resources. For the companion bill Senate 5999, the lead sponsor is Sen. Liz Lovelett, a Democrat for District 40.

“A firestorm in the Legislature” is what Comisky remembers following the earlier bill’s introduction in 2023. Although it passed the House, it died in the Senate. And in this session, it’s on Comisky’s radar again.

As to prefiled bills that are pertinent to small forest landowners, “there’s nothing really direct in actual pre-filed bills that are directly impacting forest management on small forest landowners or community forests,” Comisky said.

Bills from the previous session that didn’t pass are still considered live bills. For example, House Bill 2062, which addresses maple syrup processing operations, such as creating a maple syrup processing license, didn’t make it to a floor vote in the 2025 regular session. However, it is on the House Agriculture & Natural Resources agenda scheduled for Jan. 14. Maple syrup can be made from bigleaf maple trees, and Washington State University Extension has been a proponent for developing a commercial maple syrup industry in the state.

At the request of the Department of Natural Resources, Rep. Chris Stearns, a Democrat for District 47, is the lead sponsor for House Bill 2117 “Adding a tribal member to the board of natural resources.” The bill will amend RCW 43.30.205 Board of natural resources — Composition, and create a new section, which will say, “The Legislature finds that inclusion of a tribal member on the board of natural resources will provide crucial perspective and expertise that will be invaluable as it makes decisions that serve the public.” Its companion bill is Senate Bill 5838.

A bill that will impact school districts is Senate Bill 5994 sponsored by Sen. Adrian Cortes, a Democrat for District 18, and this bill addresses “preserving timber tax distributions for school districts with recent school district levy failures.”

Feb. 17 at 5 p.m. is the last day that the House and Senate will consider bills.

To find a bill by its number, visit https://leg.wa.gov/. To search by topic, visit https://app.leg.wa.gov/bi/topicalindex.