SB 6355 proposes new Authority with Eminent Domain power impacting rural communities

Thanks to a heads up from Nancy Churchill from Influencing Olympia Effectively, the WREN was able to react to a bill pulled in after cutoff with less than 48 hours notice for a hearing. First action by the Senate Ways and Means Committee was to waive the 5 day notice requirement. The following is a compilation of testimony on behalf of the WREN.

Testimony in 60 seconds at the public hearing, February 26, 2026:

For the record, Sue Lani Madsen testifying representing the Washington Rural Environmental Network, the WREN, a small bird with a voice louder than its size.

The WREN is signed in Con on SB 6355 creating a new unelected Electric Transmission Authority, with a ten member Board of Directors appointed solely by the Governor and holding the power of eminent domain with a simple majority vote. Six people holding the power to take property for electric transmission corridors. Those corridors will primarily impact rural Washington.

Rural Washingtonians are used to legislation from Olympia without consideration for rural concerns, but this time it feels particularly autocratic. SB 6355 was “held at desk” and sprung on the public with two weeks to end of session and less than two days notice of a hearing. The tyranny of the majority has rarely been on such bold display.

This bill is most decidedly NOT necessary to implement the budget, in spite of the fig leaf of adding a required fee, and should be rejected out of hand. And in spite of the late notice, there are Washingtonians paying attention. I’ll be submitting extensive written comments drawn from feedback from citizens across the state. Please show your respect for the importance of an open and transparent process and vote no on sending SB 6355 out of committee.

Additional summary of concerns for rural ratepayers (as best as could be gathered with less than 24 hours notice) submitted as written testimony:

Eminent domain is an extremely touchy subject in rural Washington. Do not expect rural residents to go down without dragging out the process with every possible legal tool, especially when the Authority exercising eminent domain has been created with such disregard for its subjects.

Not-for-profit, consumer-owned electric cooperatives serving rural Washington communities are not included with a seat on the proposed board. Neither are PUDs or municipalities. This oversight mut be corrected.

The Authority is set up to fail from lack of practical, operational information on transmission and electrical generating facilities. Lack of viewpoint diversity is always a set up for poor governance. The board would be greatly enhanced by including the perspectives of utility linemen who work the lines and property owners who live near existing transmission corridors.

The Authority is given broad discretion to withhold as confidential any information it deems “proprietary technical or business information.” This lack of commitment to transparency will increase community conflict, undermine confidence in siting decisions, and drive mistrust of government in rural Washington deeper. RCW 42.56.141 establishes a precedent for handling sensitive data on wolf management; consider a public records exemptions accountability committee specifically empaneled to provide neutral review on siting through rural communities.

Affordability is stated as a goal, yet has so far eluded ratepayers as the drive for renewable energy drives out access to more efficient and less costly sources. This bill lacks adequate guardrails to protect non-participating rural ratepayers from a cost shift. Adding new “local investment commitment” fees adds more cost to already costly projects without adding project value, and directly conflicts with the goal of affordability. It does, however, give the majority the ability to ramrod the bill through as necessary to implement the budget. Moving this bill through with a surprise hearing and a budget fig leaf increases rural Washingtonians perceptions of the majority party controlling state government for over 30 years as autocratic and uninterested in public input.

The complexities added by tariff requirements and the WUTC exemption will be another costly add-on for rural power providers. Writing this bill without significant impact from rural electrical power providers has undoubtedly created many such unintended consequences. By forgoing an open and transparent development of the legislation prior to filing or a robust legislative process, unintended negative consequences are guaranteed.

We agree Washington must address strengthening and extending the existing electrical transmission grid. One solution left off the table in energy discussion is reducing the need for additional transmission corridors by placing energy production closer to urban energy demand. This includes siting both industrial wind turbines and Small Modular Reactors closer to population centers, with reduced transmission line loss a result of closer proximity. Washington could be a leader in emerging SMR technology, providing safe, stable, baseline power to offset the destabilizing grid impact of variable and unpredictable renewable sources like wind and solar.

SB 6355 deserves to be legislatively electrocuted. Start over with an open and transparent public process with ALL stakeholders at the table to address the need for Washington to modernize and expand electrical grid capacity.