Now that we’re halfway through the 2025 legislative session, we wanted to update you on the status of our legislative agenda. With your support, we’ve been able to advance our priority legislation and ensure that environmental justice is a core feature of policy and budget negotiations:

Integrating Environmental Justice into SEPA (House Bill 1303)

Thanks to your repeated support, HB 1303 is still alive! However, it has undergone significant changes: the bill now focuses on integrating environmental justice into the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA). While we still support HB 1303, we are no longer calling it the Cumulative Risk Burden (CURB) Pollution Act since the bill no longer calls for a cumulative impact analysis of polluting facilities. To learn more about the bill changes and why we still support HB 1303, go to our CURB landing page.

We still back HB 1303, and we hope you’ll continue supporting it too! The bill is currently in the House Rules Committee, awaiting a vote on the House floor.

Thank you to our coalition members as well as our many partners and allies for testifying at multiple committee hearings, and thank you to everyone of you who answered our call to sign in PRO!

Energy Assistance Bill (House Bill 1903)

HB 1903 did not advance out of the House Appropriations Committee and is no longer moving forward this session. While the bill had strong bipartisan support, funding challenges ultimately prevented its passage. However, we remain committed to finding solutions to help low-income Washingtonians afford basic utilities. We will continue exploring alternative strategies to ensure that Washington families have access to the energy assistance they need. Thank you to all of you who signed in PRO on this bill!

Key Budget Priorities for Overburdened Communities

The next half of the legislative session will heavily focus on budget advocacy. While we recognize Washington’s financial challenges, cutting funding for vulnerable communities will only deepen health disparities and increase long-term costs. Investing in environmental and climate justice must remain a priority to reduce pollution, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and build healthy communities for all Washingtonians.

The Front and Centered coalition continues to advocate for funding that meets the state’s obligation to overburdened communities, as required under the Healthy Environment for All Act and the Climate Commitment Act.

Our budget recommendations for the 2025–27 biennium would ensure that Washington State meets its legal and moral obligations to overburdened communities by advancing equity, health, and environmental justice:

1. Environmental Justice Fund — Create a shared fund to support participatory budgeting and community-driven environmental justice solutions beyond the two-year budget cycle.
2. Environmental Violations Reporting Tool — Stand with communities by establishing a statewide online tool to report environmental violations, with multi-agency coordination and language accessibility.
3. Community Climate Land Acquisition Fund — Fund community-controlled land acquisition and climate resilience projects, prioritizing Black reparations and frontline community leadership.
4. Statewide Community Assemblies — Support regional, identity-based, and issue-specific assemblies to guide environmental and climate justice investments.
5. Capacity Building Fund — Establish sustained funding for community-based organizations to organize, engage, and influence climate and environmental planning.
6. Ongoing Participatory Budgeting — Expand funding for community-led decision making in climate and environmental investments.

Thank you for your continued support! Together with you, we look forward to continuing our work towards a Just Transition and a more equitable Washington State.