While the GMA has been largely effective at establishing urban growth boundaries and curbing sprawl, it could be stronger at encouraging sustainable development and housing density in existing urban areas, as well as requiring a reduction of climate-impacting emissions and responding to a changing climate.
For the past several years, TNC has worked alongside lawmakers, organizational partners, and communities across the state to update the GMA to incorporate considerations of climate change. This policy proposal has been heavily negotiated with local jurisdictions and community organizations, and, in the 2022 legislative session, a previous version (HB 1099) nearly passed into law, only to run out of time on the House Floor in the last few hours on the last day of session. Thanks to the collaborative hard work of many, it has been re-introduced as HB 1181 this legislative session.
