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House Bill 1105, to make supplemental appropriations for the 2013-15 state operating budget. Passed the House on Jan. 29 by a vote of 83 –15.

This is the first measure to pass both houses of the legislature this session. After adoption of Senate amendments the bill will add $217.9 million to the current state budget’s spending level of $33.8 billion. The earlier House-passed version of the bill sought to add slightly more spending, $299.2 million. Governor Inslee signed the bill on February 19, 2015.

This measure requires the legislature and legislative agencies, through the joint legislative systems committee, to develop processes for both mobile devices and computers to allow the public to provide testimony on pending legislation through prerecorded videos and written statements. The bill was referred to the House State Government Committee on February 17, 2015. Earlier in the session, the Senate changed its procedural rules to allow remote testimony via live video transmission. These measures are part of the open government recommendations advocated by the Washington Policy Center.

The bill would impose new energy efficiency standards for certain products sold or installed in Washington, including halogen and LED lamps, heating and air conditioning systems, and certain fluorescent light fixtures. The products specified in the bill are not currently covered by federal standards, and proponents urged passage of the bill to help curb energy waste and make Washington a leader in adopting such standards. The bill was referred to the Senate Energy, Environment, and Telecommunications Committee.

This measure would outlaw so-called “ticket bots,” computer software that automatically beats humans trying to buy seats for popular sporting events. The bill makes it a violation of the state Consumer Protection Act to use a computer program to buy up tickets and then re-sell them at higher prices. The bill is currently in the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee.

This bill would adopt a comprehensive law that would use the regulations in place for the recreational marijuana market to provide regulation for the medical use of marijuana. Among the provisions of this measure are to ensure that patients retain their ability to grow their own marijuana for medical use and to possess more marijuana-infused products, useable marijuana, and marijuana concentrates than what is available to a nonmedical user. The bill is in the House Committee on Health Care and Wellness and is scheduled for a public hearing on March 5th.