Awaiting Congressional action

Cities across the country are anxiously awaiting Congressional action on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The Speaker has set a new deadline for a House vote by the end of October. The IIJA has stalled as negotiations continue on the Build Back Better Act, the $3.5 trillion package that invests in families, workers, and businesses. NLC has published a good overview of the parts of the bill that benefit cities. These are all tied up as Congress faces an October 18 deadline to vote on raising the federal debt limit. However, Congress did pass a continuing resolution to keep the federal government funded through December 3. They will need to act before that deadline to avoid a federal government shutdown.

The National League of Cities (NLC) has been crucial in representing cities’ interests as Congress wrestles with these huge funding and policy decisions. Federal infrastructure investments are supported by cities across the nation. Find out more about NLC’s efforts and help the cause by signing on to a letter to members of Congress.

AWC 2022 City Legislative Priorities

AWC’s Board of Directors adopted AWC’s 2022 Legislative Priorities on September 24. The Board adopted the recommendations forwarded by the AWC Legislative Priorities Committee.

Read about AWC’s three 2022 City Legislative Priorities:

Pass a transportation package
Adopt a new transportation revenue package that emphasizes maintenance/preservation funding and provides an equitable level of local funding and additional long-term, sustainable revenue options for cities.

Ensure basic infrastructure funding
Provide flexible state and federal dollars through programs like the Public Works Assistance Account to help cities finance basic infrastructure such as drinking water and wastewater.

Protect Transportation Benefit District funding authority
Support expanded local authority for Transportation Benefit Districts (TBDs) so cities can continue using the sales tax funding tool beyond the current time limitations.

Additionally, AWC has identified several significant issues to work on during the 2022 session including:

• Blake decision – Advocate for direct funding for cities to administer diversion programs related to misdemeanor drug possession cases handled by city law enforcement and now adjudicated in municipal courts, as well as Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) services, therapeutic courts, and a diversion tracking database.
• Law enforcement use of force – Support clarification of the civil standards for use of force requirements so law enforcement can better understand the state requirements and know when they can use force to intervene in a situation, including a mental health crisis where a crime is not being committed.
• Open Public Meetings Act – Support a permanent policy that allows greater flexibility for local governments to hold virtual meetings without a physical location during an emergency.
• Zoning mandates – Actively defend against preemption of local land use authority, but support policies that help cities provide more equitable access to housing in our cities.
• Growth Management Act (GMA) – Engage in the GMA reform conversation and look to secure dedicated planning funding in recognition of potential new responsibilities in areas that cities can support.
• Revenue options – Support efforts to review and revise both state and local tax structures so they rely less on regressive revenue options. Changes to the state tax structure should not negatively impact cities’ revenue authority.
• Property tax – Revise the property tax cap to tie it to inflation and population growth factors so that local elected officials can adjust the local property tax rate to better serve their communities.
• Culverts – Seek state resources to correct locally owned culverts as a part of the state’s overall resolution to the culvert injunction.

Your city’s 2022 legislative agenda

Don’t wait! Now is the time to develop your city’s own legislative agenda—one that includes policy positions that are important for your community. You will need time before January to educate your legislators and your community on your legislative priorities. It also takes time to prepare legislation, so you need to work with your legislators as soon as possible to have a better chance for success. Given the short, 60-day session, it is particularly important to start early.

Need a few tips on how to develop a legislative agenda? Check out our AWC strong cities advocacy guide.

Don’t wait! Now is the time to develop your city’s own legislative agenda—one that includes policy positions that are important for your community.

Read our new home rule report

Last month we released a report on cities’ home rule authority – You have it, use it: Home Rule in Washington. Make sure to check it out now. This is great overview of the history and importance of local city authority. It provides excellent background as well as useful talking points about why local decision-making is so important for our communities. Don’t take it from us…the State Auditor’s Office called it a “riveting read.”

Virtual session in 2022?

We don’t yet know how the Legislature will conduct their work in 2022. There is a great deal of speculation that at least some part of it, such as committee meetings, will be conducted virtually. The House and Senate will be gathering for Committee Assembly Days November 17-19, when members meet in their various committees to discuss the topics they worked on in 2021 or might consider in 2022. Both the House and Senate have announced that these meetings will be held virtually.