S-3904.1
SENATE BILL 6165
State of Washington
69th Legislature
2026 Regular Session
By Senators Boehnke and Dozier
Read first time 01/15/26. Referred to Committee on Environment, Energy & Technology.
AN ACT Relating to limiting the exercise of eminent domain for the purposes of constructing electrical transmission facilities on agricultural lands; amending RCW 80.50.060 , 54.16.020 , 35.84.030 , and 80.32.060 ; adding a new section to chapter 8.25 RCW; and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that: (a) Washington's agricultural lands are a finite and irreplaceable resource that is essential to the state's food security, economic vitality, and rural heritage; (b) the state is experiencing a significant and irreversible loss of productive farm and ranch acreage, which threatens the long-term viability of the agricultural sector; (c) to meet the state's growing energy needs, there is an increasing demand for the construction and expansion of electrical transmission infrastructure; (d) current planning and siting practices for transmission lines often disproportionately target agricultural lands because they are frequently flat, already cleared, and perceived as a lower-cost option for infrastructure build-out; and (e) the use of eminent domain to site transmission lines on private agricultural land is devastating to farm families, disrupts multigenerational farming operations, and accelerates the conversion of working lands to nonagricultural uses.
(2) The legislature further finds that: (a) Public lands are held in trust for the benefit of the people and are intended for public use; and (b) the transmission of electricity for the general welfare constitutes a public use that is compatible with many existing public lands and corridors.