Washington Democrats' widest reaching climate change bill is dead

A cornerstone of Washington Democrats’ climate agenda is now officially dead in the state legislature, leaving the party’s green energy dreams in doubt.

Once considered the most ambitious climate legislation this session, House Bill 1099 would have written carbon (CO2) emission reduction into the state’s land use codes included in its Growth Management Act by 2034. Counties and cities would have been obligated to promote greenways, study CO2 emissions’ impact on underrepresented communities, and reduce competition between residential housing and parking developments. The bill applied to the state’s denser urban counties, namely those around the Puget Sound.