This bill amends and adds multiple provisions to Washington law to promote development and deployment of renewable fuels, alternative jet fuels, and green electrolytic hydrogen. It amends RCW 43.330.570 to assign duties to “the office” to coordinate multi-institution research and deployment efforts, review existing initiatives and feedstock supply, consider coordinating public and private funding, request fire and safety recommendations, and develop a plan and recommendations by December 1, 2023. It authorizes the office to seek federal funds into the renewable fuels accelerator account, to compile data on state use of these fuels, and, subject to appropriation, to establish a competitive alternative jet fuels infrastructure grant program with specified allowable uses (planning, engineering, construction, blending infrastructure, etc.), prohibitions (no land acquisition or permitting costs), public-access requirements, and annual reporting beginning December 1, 2026. It also amends RCW 43.21C.535 to require the Department of Ecology to prepare nonproject environmental impact statements for specified clean energy categories (including green electrolytic or renewable hydrogen, utility-scale solar, and onshore wind), limits review to suitable geographic areas, requires consultation with tribes and agencies, and mandates consideration of defined environmental, cultural, species, and environmental justice impacts; Ecology is also directed, subject to appropriation, to explore a nonproject EIS for alternative jet fuel production pathways. The bill adds reporting and procedural controls related to biomethane and scorekeeping for alternative jet fuel. It adds a new section requiring a department (unnamed in the extracted text) to report by January 1, 2026 on biomethane availability for alternative jet fuel, and it requires that this department consult with the alternative jet fuels work group when developing the report. Prior to completing that report the department is prohibited from adopting rules that restrict pipeline flow or geographic origin of biomethane claimed as feedstock and must not limit crediting periods to less than 20 years for voluntary methane capture used as feedstock. Some text of the biomethane reporting requirement is cut off in the extracted material. The act creates tax incentives and definitional changes. It amends RCW 82.89.010 to update numerous definitions and adds new sections to chapter 84.36 RCW and chapter 82.29A RCW to provide state property tax and leasehold excise tax exemptions for leasehold interests in facilities primarily used to manufacture or blend alternative jet fuel that achieve at least 50% lower carbon dioxide equivalent emissions than conventional jet fuel. Exemptions must be claimed on department-prescribed forms, are verified by the department, are valid for 10 assessment years after a facility is operationally complete, cannot be renewed, no claims may be filed after December 31, 2030, and the exemption sections expire December 31, 2043. The department may require Department of Ecology carbon intensity documentation and may adopt rules under chapter 34.05 RCW to administer the exemptions. Many technical definitions are added or clarified (e.g., alternative jet fuel, green electrolytic hydrogen, green hydrogen carrier, manufacturing operation, fueling infrastructure, operationally complete, initiation of construction). An analogous leasehold excise tax provision text is incomplete in the extracted facts. The bill includes a tax preference performance statement and directs JLARC to review the tax preferences, including a racial equity analysis focused on air travel–related pollution near a large international airport, and to produce a preliminary JLARC report by December 1, 2032. Several actions and authorizations in the extracted text are subject to available appropriations. Important context gaps in the provided excerpts include that “the office” and “the department” are not explicitly identified by agency name, portions of the biomethane reporting requirement are cut off, the new leasehold excise tax section text is incomplete, and the bill header referenced additional amendments and chapters not shown in these extracted facts.

If enacted, the bill would push Washington to actively coordinate development and deployment of renewable fuels, green electrolytic hydrogen, and alternative jet fuels by creating an office-led effort to review existing programs, seek funding, and run a competitive grant program for infrastructure like rail spurs, barging, and blending facilities. Companies that build or operate qualifying alternative jet fuel manufacturing or blending facilities could get significant state tax relief (a state property leasehold exemption and a state leasehold excise tax exemption) for up to 10 assessment years, and grant funding could cover planning, engineering, construction, and matching funds—but the tax breaks require facilities to meet a 50% or greater GHG reduction threshold and claims must be filed by December 31, 2030, with the exemptions expiring in 2043. The Department of Ecology would carry out broader nonproject environmental reviews for certain clean energy categories and the state must report on biomethane availability and on grant recipients annually starting in 2026, while JLARC will review tax preference outcomes with a racial equity analysis by December 1, 2032. Those most affected are alternative jet fuel and green hydrogen developers, airports and fuel infrastructure operators, utilities, county assessors, local taxing districts, and state agencies like Ecology; developers may see lower costs and more funding options but must meet emissions and documentation requirements (including possible carbon intensity verification from Ecology), local and state revenue from state levies would be reduced where exemptions apply, and agencies will have added review, reporting, and consultation work. Important details remain unclear in the extracted text—key agency names for some duties are not specified, parts of the biomethane reporting requirement are cut off, and several actions depend on available appropriations—so exact financial impacts and administrative responsibilities could change once those details are filled in.