HB 1488 Passed by House and Senate, What Happens Next?
What is House Bill 1488?
House Bill 1488 contains language that WACD members have been working toward for two years. It’s a simple little bill with significant impact for conservation districts and the communities they serve. HB 1488 allows conservation districts to propose a fee structure on real property sufficient to meet the needs of the communities they serve. That fee structure is adopted, or modified and adopted, by the local county legislative authority.
Passage
On March 3, the Washington State House passed a substitute version of HB 1488. The substitute removed the cap that has existed on rates-and-charges per-parcel fees adopted by the local county legislative authority.
On March 26, the Washington State Senate amended the bill to put a $25-per-parcel cap on rates-and-charges fees. A mechanism to adjust the cap in response to inflation was added. The adjustment is intended to help rates-and-charges fees keep pace with inflation, i.e., to help communities enjoy a continuous level of service from the conservation district that serves them.
Learn more about HB 1488 at: https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary/?BillNumber=1488&Year=2025&Initiative=false
What happens next?
Since the bill language differs in the House and Senate versions, the bill will next go to a House-Senate conference where final language will be negotiated. Once there is concurrence on the final language, the bill will be sent to the Governor for final approval.
Many people helped
We owe special thanks to many people for getting HB 1488 to this point. WACD priorities are based on resolutions adopted by the statewide membership, and each resolution starts at an individual conservation district. The Pierce Conservation District was the first member district to bring forward the idea of lifting the cap on rates-and-charges to assure better service for their community. WACD formed an informal “rates-and-charges committee” with representation from several conservation districts that met many, many times over the past year to work on this issue.
The Snohomish Conservation District found the first bill sponsor. WACD’s lobbyist then carried the bill door-to-door to gain additional support among the House and Senate. Throughout this process, conservation districts were in constant communication with their elected officials.
What WACD learned along the way is that many legislators know and appreciate their local conservation district, recognizing the value conservation districts provide to communities across the State of Washington. This was as important an outcome as the actual passage of HB 1488.