State representative warns of rising utility costs and lays out competing grocery bag bills

State Representative Dye briefed the Washington Women’s Commission on legislative priorities and recent proposals that she said are shaping this short session.

Dye said policies enacted in the state over recent years — including the Energy Transformation Act and the Climate Commitment Act — have increased utility costs for many Washington households. "On average, the average utility bill has increased $400 a year in Washington state," she said, framing affordability as a driving concern for her committee work.

Dye described two competing approaches to grocery bags now under discussion. Her proposal would retain the existing fee structure and the adjusted plastic thickness adopted last session, while adding a litter task force to study best practices. By contrast, she said a majority bill under consideration would implement a complete plastic bag ban, convert to paper bags and charge a 20¢ bag fee; that proposal is being framed by its sponsors as aligning Washington with California and Oregon but would change the state’s fiscal treatment of bag fees.

Commissioners asked whether fee exemptions for SNAP and other public‑benefit recipients would remain; Dye said both bills keep those exemptions in place. Commissioners also asked about fiscal notes; Dye said fiscal analyses were still pending and that she would email staff the relevant bill texts and numbers, including a request to follow the majority bill and her own draft.

Dye discussed broader committee priorities including wildfire liability bills (she described a proposed insurance fund paid via a monthly utility fee) and urged commissioners to share constituent stories and technical expertise as the session proceeds.