2026 legislative priorities

Our laboratory accreditation and landfill methane reduction programs are authorized to collect fees to cover the costs of operating the programs. Under current law, however, fees collected by these programs are deposited into the General Fund-State. This creates uncertainty in funding and program instability, as the fee revenue may not then be directed back to the program it was intended to support. Under this draft proposal, Ecology would specify dedicated funding accounts for each of the following two programs:

• Laboratory accreditation program: Established in Chapter 43.21A.230 RCW, this program accredits environmental laboratories to ensure that labs are producing credible, defensible data.
• Landfill methane reduction program: Under Chapter 70A.540 RCW, we work with landfills to reduce their emissions methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas that is contributing to climate change.

Directing the fees collected into dedicated accounts will help ensure the fees collected support the work they’re intended to fund and provide sustainable, dependable funding for these important programs.  

For more information about this draft bill proposal please contact:

Joanna Ekrem
Senior Program Planner
Air Quality Program
Joanna.Ekrem@ecy.wa.gov
360-704-0514

Pallavi Mukerjee
Legislative Lead & Policy Coordinator
Environmental Assessment Program
Pallavi.Mukerjee@ecy.wa.gov
564-223-9665

According to Ecology’s latest study (2022), more than 37.8 million pounds of litter accumulates on our roadways and public areas every year. Since 1971, our state has funded litter prevention and clean-up work through a 0.015% tax on the sale of 13 commonly-littered products. However, the tax hasn’t been updated since its inception and current revenues only cover the removal of a fraction of the litter accumulating every year.

Our draft proposal seeks to modernize the litter tax to include the three material types most commonly found as litter that are not currently covered: construction and demolition debris, auto rubber products, and vehicle debris. Adding these products to the litter tax will help ensure Ecology can do the critical work needed to keep our environment clean and litter-free. The litter tax is established under Chapter 82.19.020 RCW. During Tribal consultation and stakeholder engagement later this summer, Ecology is open to input on any additional changes to our litter prevention and clean-up work, established under Chapter 70A.200 RCW.

For more information about this draft bill proposal please contact:

Julie Robertson
Legislative Coordinator
Solid Waste Management Program
Julie.Robertson@ecy.wa.gov
360-763-2728

Mia Altieri
Legislative and Planning Assistant
Solid Waste Management Program
Mia.Altieri@ecy.wa.gov
(564) 669-1136