HB1332 – Updates Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council operations.
Prime Sponsor – Representative Wylie (D, 49th District, Vancouver) (By request of the Site Evaluation Council.)
Current status – Did not pass out of opposite house by fiscal cutoff; sent to the “X” file March 9th.
In the House (Passed)
Returned by Senate Rules to the House Rules Committee for third reading. Reintroduced and retained in present status for 2020 session; on third reading. Returned to 2nd reading, replaced with a striker which (unless I missed something)  was simply the text of the 2nd Engrossed version returned by the Senate, advanced to 3rd reading, and passed by the House.

In the Senate –
Referred to the Committee on Environment, Energy & Technology in the Senate. Had a hearing February 20th; passed out of committee February 25th. Referred to Rules.
Next step would be  – Dead bill…
Legislative tracking page for the bill.
SB5329 is an identical companion bill in the Senate.

2019 History
In the House (Passed)
Had a hearing before the House Committee on Environment & Energy January 28th. Substitute bill with minor changes passed out of committee February 14th. Referred to Rules for 2nd reading. Passed by the House with a floor amendment March 8th.

In the Senate
Referred to the Committee on Environment, Energy, & Technology. Had a hearing March 14th; a striker with some minor adjustments passed out of committee March 26th. Referred to the Rules Committee.

2019 Comments – The 2019 substitute bill removed the representative from the Association of Washington Cities, restored the temporary representative from an area in which a project is being considered, added a second tribal representative, and made some other minor changes. (The changes are summarized on pp. 5-6 of the Senate Bill Report.)
The floor amendment requires completing consultation with tribes before determining whether there are still unsettled questions about material facts.

The changes in the Senate striker are summarized on its last page.

Summary –
The bill adds some language about the State’s need to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and increase its reliance on clean energy to the section of the code about its intentions, and says that the bill intends “to streamline application review for energy facilities that use alternative energy resources to meet the state’s energy goals.”

The Council would have its own staff, rather than relying on the UTC’s. The bill reduces its size, and would no longer add a member from an area where a project has been proposed during the time it’s reaching a decision about its recommendation to the Governor on that project. (Instead, there’s a member representing the Association of Washington Cities and one from the Washington State Association of Counties.) It adds a tribal representative.

After the environmental review of the project, the Council can hold a public hearing about whether or not genuine issues of fact on matters the council deems material to its recommendation exist. If it then decides there aren’t, and that the project is consistent and compliant with local land use requirements then it can skip the requirement for holding a formal adjudicative hearing under the Administrative Procedures Act, and proceed to make a recommendation.

Details –
The bill eliminates a member from DNR, and a number of optional memberships for various agencies, and it makes a number of small procedural changes expanding the Council’s discretion and powers.