SB 5934 from Sen. Mike Padden (R–Spokane Valley) started out as a school project, and now it’s on its way back to the Senate for concurrence. If agreed to, it will head to the Governor’s desk to become law.
The original proposal required all landscaping to have a certain percentage of pollinator habitat, which was a bit too far for the Legislature. What they arrived at is as follows:
- Cities, homeowners’ associations, and common interest communities that are not condominiums may regulate, but may not ban, beehives.
- Cities and counties may, but are not required to, encourage building permit applicants to include pollinator-friendly landscaping by sharing lists of appropriate plants, creating incentives, or providing other information.