New laws would cut greenhouse gases, further restrict asbestos in buildings

OLYMPIA – Washington will reduce greenhouse gases faster than previously planned and extend the ban on asbestos materials to non-residential buildings under laws signed Thursday.

Gov. Jay Inslee, who made a point of using hand sanitizer before and after the official bill signing, quickly added his signature to 25 pieces of legislation from the 2020 session. He spent the most time on a bill that increases the state’s efforts to fight climate change by a faster reduction in carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gases.

That bill requires the state and state government to reach “net zero” – where any emissions are offset by projects that capture carbon – by 2050, as well as more aggressive reductions in 2030 and 2040 than were previously on the books.

“We have an obligation to step up,” Inslee said. The state is dealing with an imminent crisis of coronavirus but is also keeping an eye on the long-term threat of climate change, he said.

Also in the stack of bills he signed were new laws that:

• Extends the ban on asbestos construction materials from residential to new non-residential buildings and renovations and improves the labeling requirements so that any material that contains more than 0.1% of asbestos be clearly marked.
• Bans discrimination of traditional hairstyles common to certain racial groups, particularly African Americans and Native Americans.
• Allows health care professionals who provide services through telemedicine to be reimbursed at the same rate as in-office care. Proposed originally as an aid to rural areas that have limited health care providers, the telemedicine could make a difference in containing coronavirus and other highly contagious diseases, Sen. Randi Becker, R-Eatonville, the sponsor, said.
• Creates a new specialty license plate to honor Washington apples, with the money to be used for scholarships.
• Revises the size of writing on school bus “Stop” signs to 5.9 inches to meet federal standards. The old state standard was 8 inches.

“We look forward to the day when we get our children back in school,” Inslee said in signing the bill.