State Sen. Matt Boehnke, a Republican from Kennewick, announced that he’ll introduce a bill for the 2025 legislative session to improve the process for siting energy projects such as the Horse Heaven Clean Energy Center. The governor has too much decision-making power in the process and the legislation will change that, Boehnke said in an announcement.

“I maintain that the governor, as a political official, should not be part of this process,” Boehnke said in the announcement. “I believe the (Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council) is better positioned to review proposed projects objectively. When my bill becomes law, the council will have the final say on project approval and mitigation measures. The governor would not.”

Boehnke pointed to the Horse Heaven wind project, which saw Gov. Jay Inslee reject the council’s recommendation to slash the project’s size. The council came back with revisions, and the project recently got the go-ahead.

“This new agreement could allow the developer to build all but a handful of the turbines originally proposed, which goes against what many Tri-Citians want. They are concerned that their voices were not heard and that the governor has too much power in this type of process. I plan to change that,” Boehnke said in the announcement. He said the new legislation will be filed before the 2025 session starts on Jan. 13.

It won’t interfere with any specific project, the announcement said.