Environmental justice assessment notices

This request covers three programs which in the past have either 1) been successfully piloted, 2) have a track record of success but inconsistent funding, or 3) have been built using other revenue streams that will dry up in the 2025-27 biennium. A final request describes an asset mapping exercise to identify all small business training and education activities at the local, state and federal level to identify gaps, reduce redundancies and build a more cohesive training and education system that is intuitive for small businesses to use.

Access to accurate, vetted business education and training is a historical barrier to those in underrepresented and underserved communities. For instance, while 90% of small businesses make it through their first year or two, 80% of black-owned businesses fail. The survival rate of any small business is 50% at year five, in part because owners don’t have the expertise and education to address the most common barriers to success – lack of capital or customers, poor location, incorrect pricing strategies, or lack of focus on core competencies.

The Washington State Small Business Training & Education Center is a trusted site that provides free access to education, training, tutorials, webinars and academies developed by, and in many cases taught by, small business owners.

This budget request will continue to provide stability to this vital resource where one’s bank account or first language aren’t barriers. Any individual can access the site and tap into its knowledge base. No registration is required.

Mystartup365.com provides a business owner with all the training they need, from concept through exit strategy. In between they can learn how to master financials, improve decision-making, build a business plan, secure funding and reach new customers and markets. They can do this in any one of 58 languages from the comfort of their office or home, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Email comments Stakeholder interviews

Proposing a change to RCW 42.56 Public Records Act which would exclude critical energy infrastructure information from public disclosure. This would encourage energy providers such as electric utilities to report physical and cybersecurity threats and damage with the Energy Resilience & Emergency Management Office, State Fusion Center, and other relevant agencies for coordination on response and restoration activities.

Advisory Groups, Email Comments, Focus Groups, Stakeholder Interviews

The purpose of this action came from the 2025 State Legislature which provided a 2025-27 Capital Budget appropriation for a one-time grant solely as state assistance to the cities of Aberdeen and Hoquiam for:
* Aberdeen-Hoquiam flood protection project.
North Shore Levee.
* North Shore Levee-West segments.

Anticipated benefits from the 2025-27 Capital Budget proviso include providing state funds that supplement other local, state, and federal funds for the ongoing Northshore Levee mitigation efforts for flood control by the communities in Hoquiam and Aberdeen. The project once constructed will remove large areas of Aberdeen and Hoquiam from the floodplain and will place them in a mapped Zone X through a Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Protected properties will benefit from the elimination of mandatory flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The levee system will include two levies, and an interior drainage pump system as required by FEMA. The North Shore Levee implementation efforts bring significant environmental and public health benefits. Residential households, developers, shellfish industry and consumers, and Tribes may experience these benefits.

Ecology’s Office of Chehalis Basin (OCB) plans to conduct engagement, focused on connecting with overburdened communities and vulnerable populations, for the purpose of the environmental justice assessment of this 25-27 Legislative provision in May 2025. OCB will conduct public engagement in July 2025, through an informational blog post and article in area media outlets, as well as provide time for public comments through emails to OCB contacts. We will respond to comments regarding overburdened communities or populations with vulnerabilities and will seek further involvement as needed to address concerns. Through methods yet to be determined, OCB will identify additional opportunities to engage overburdened communities in Grays Harbor County and the local communities and provide opportunities for their involvement in this legislative funding opportunity. OCB will invite Tribal consultation and conduct staff outreach with impacted Tribes which includes but may not be limited to the Quinault Indian Tribe and Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation.

Ecology is proposing a new grant program that will invest $1 million in a Spokane River Basin Toxics Reduction grant program. The funding for this program comes from the state 2025-2027 operating budget, which provided Ecology with funds to address toxics and other contaminants in the Spokane River Basin. Eligible projects will be determined based on toxics reduction, feasibility of the project, benefit to the watershed, consideration of Tribal government priorities, alignment with other established watershed protection plans, and impact to overburdened communities. This grant program will invest state funds in Spokane watershed communities including Tribes for projects that reduce pollutants found in the river such as PCBs, PFAS, and mercury. These projects will result in cleaner water and healthier fish that are safe to eat.

Ecology has presented and requested feedback on this potential grant program in three public meetings of the Spokane River Advisory Committee. In addition, Ecology has collaborated directly with members of the community that are interested in this proposed grant program. Through the fall of 2025, Ecology will initiate additional ways for members of overburdened communities, vulnerable populations, and community-serving organizations to inform this proposed grant program. Ecology does not plan to host a public comment period on this action.

This rulemaking will introduce a number of statutory changes to the Clean Buildings Performance Standard based on the recommendations of the Clean Buildings Workgroup and as passed in HB 1543 (2025). These changes are made with the intent of making it easier for buildings to comply with the standard. For example, the passage of HB 1543 gave Commerce the authority to grant extensions to buildings where there are circumstances that prevent compliance.

Email comments GovDelivery Emails Commerce-hosted Listening Sessions, including the Fall 2025 Community Involvement Session

Three changes to bring RCW language in line with implementation needs, including coordinated updates to statutes to improve clarity and consistency:

1. Clarify the definition of Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH)

2. Align definitions of “shelter” across RCWs

3. Add a definition of “imminently homeless” to RCW 43.185C

Advisory groups, focus groups, and surveys

Amend RCW 59.18.040 to include emergency shelters (including non-congregate emergency shelter) from the exempted living arrangements of the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act

Advisory groups, web-based comment form, surveys

In order to ensure there is consistency with best practices in serving homeless youth and efficiency in delivering OHY programming, Commerce proposes amending the following statutes:

RCW 43.63A.305 to include transitional housing as an eligible activity for the Independent Youth Housing Program and eliminate the 12% cap on administrative cost.

RCW 43.185C.315 and RCW 43.185C.010 to replace the derogatory term “Street Youth” in statute and replace it with the term “unaccompanied homeless youth” which has the same functional definition.

RCW 43.330.710 to clarify that OHY programs for young adults may provide services to emancipated minors who otherwise meet program eligibility criteria.

The definition of HOPE Centers in RCW 74.15.020 to align with the definition of HOPE Centers outlined in RCW 43.185C.010 clarifying that youth remain for 90 days.

RCW 74.15.020 to require Host Homes to notify OHY upon registering with the secretary of state.

RCW 43.330.726 to clarify that eligibility for Community Support Teams services extends to youth seeking shelter, as well as the roles and responsibilities of CST convening entities when a parent, guardian, or legal custodian objects to the support or assistance of the CST;

RCW 43.185C.280 and RCW 43.185C.285 to clarify that Crisis Residential Center administrators should notify parents unless a compelling reason exists not to, as defined in RCW 13.32A.082.

RCW 43.330.710 to add flexible financial assistance as an allowable cost of all OHY programs where a youth or young adult may need discrete support or funding to secure safe housing and such flexible funding may be paid directly to youth OR third-party vendors, such as landlords, in order to secure safe and stable housing.

RCW 43.330.702 to expand the definition of “child,” “juvenile,” “youth,” and “minor” to include homeless young adults under age 21 who are in transitional living programs at the time they reach the age of 18 for the purposes of licensing requirements for group care facilities under 74.15 RCW and not under any other statute or for any other purpose.

RCW 43.330.702 to clarify that emancipated minors are considered young adults for the purposes of eligibility for OHY programs which serve young adults.

RCW 43.330.724 to reauthorize the Housing Stability for Youth in Courts Program

Advisory groups, committee meetings, web-based comment form, surveys

Commerce complies with dozens of legislative reporting requirements every year. Many of the reports: have due dates that don’t align with the availability of the information needed for the report; were the priority of a previous Governor but not the current Governor; or would better serve communities as updates on the Commerce website rather than as a legislative report. Commerce staff can strengthen communities by spending less time on reporting requirements and more time doing the work to implement programs in the communities.

This ARL will help us address this by streamlining the reporting workload for program staff, freeing them up to do more impactful work in and with communities. As part of the ARL process, we will review our current list of statutorily-required legislative reports and create a list of see which reports can be eliminated or changed to the more efficient website publication process. That list will be the focus of this ARL and will lead to changes in the relevant reporting statutes. The changes will free up program staff to do more programmatic work. It will save money from reducing the need to hire third-party contractors to write the report for us, when we don’t have staff available to write them. It also lessens the amount of time and money that usually goes into editing those third-party reports.

We will be having conversations with the Gov’s office, OFM, other state agencies, local governments, and the legislature to best determine which reports make sense to repeal or amend. Once the list is complete, we will present it at a HEAL Community Involvement Session for review and comments by interested community members. We will also accept emailed comments.

Amend RCW 43.185C to modernize and streamline the statute. The key changes include:

– Replacing outdated terminology to ensure language reflects current understanding and values around homelessness and equity.

– Aligning timelines for the State Homeless Housing Strategic Plan and the Annual Report to reduce redundancy and improve strategic coherence.

– Removing obsolete statutory requirements that are no longer operational or relevant to current systems or funding streams

Surveys, web-based comments form

Legislation to exempt affordable housing units (those affordable to households at 60% of the Area Median Income or lower) from property taxes. This would include a simple, fair calculation to help exempt units in buildings that have mixed affordability limits.

Advisory groups, web-based comments, surveys