The Airport Communities Pod

In Olympia, Senator Tina Orwall has introduced two ambitious bills: SB5652 and SB6240. Each has so many moving parts we're still trying to digest them all. In the broad strokes:

• SB5652 is about trying to address some very thorny problems that have not moved forward: Port Package updates, air quality, public health.
• SB6240 takes a slice of an existing aviation fuel tax to fund those programs.

Rather than comment on the current state of each bill--which will surely change, we decided to present our comments on what we've heard from you--especially on Port Packages. What these bills should be.

This video talks about the sound insulation piece--the issue we began with in 2017.

We do want to keep it simple. And we wish we could sound less 'whiny'. Ironically, in previous decades there was no shortage of--which never passed. In recent years, the problem has been the opposite--we've shown we can pass bills. Today, we struggle to pass the right bills--usually when they try to do too much. It's hard to tell people they're trying to do too much--and not sound whiny.

Last year's air quality monitor proviso was the right approach. Simple. Straightforward. Low friction. Immediate impact. Our hope is to help make SB5652/SB6240 more like that.

Learn how you can make a difference, read our STNI: 2026 Legislative Agenda