The short 2022 session is already moving quickly. As a city leader, you need to make sure legislators hear your voice and your city’s perspective throughout session.

So far this year, 688 new bills have been introduced between the House and the Senate. That’s on top of the bills introduced in 2021 (more than 1,000) that didn’t pass last year and are still eligible for action during the 2022 legislative session. That represents a lot of legislation to track. What’s more, given cities’ broad areas of interest, AWC winds up involved in numerous bills – often with very quick turnaround time to act. That’s why it’s important that legislators understand the needs and interests of their cities.

Among the many revolving hot topics this session that truly impact cities—affordable housing legislation is particularly prevalent and includes several bills that preempt local authority. Additionally, a variety of bills responding to police reform changes from 2021 are top priorities for legislators.

For more hot topics, check out our weekly Hot Sheet that highlights bills of interest for cities.

In addition to our adopted 2022 City Legislative Priorities, AWC’s work throughout the session is guided by our Statement of Policy and its core principles:

• Local decision-making authority
• Fiscal flexibility and sustainability
• Equal standing for cities
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Strong Washington state partnerships
• Nonpartisan analysis and decision-making

These principles help us determine how we respond to legislation, but we also need city input. Each week in this Bulletin, you’ll see requests for city feedback on proposals—we hope that you respond to help us better understand how legislation specifically impacts your city so that we may best represent you and your community. Your stories are very impactful to help legislators grasp our city needs.

Your stories are very impactful to help legislators grasp our city needs.

City Action Days

Don’t forget to register for next week’s City Action Days taking place online on January 27. We are excited to welcome the leaders from all four caucuses:

• Speaker of the House, Rep. Laurie Jinkins;
• House Minority Leader, Rep. J.T. Wilcox;
• Senate Majority Leader, Sen. Andy Billig; and
• Senate Minority Leader, Sen. John Braun.

This is a rare and exciting opportunity to hear from this group of leaders—you won’t want to miss out.

Friday city action calls

Looking for more frequent updates on hot legislative topics? Register for our weekly city action calls every Friday at 12:30 pm via Zoom.

Learn how to sign in to testify on a bill remotely

The Legislature’s virtual session allows for more access than typical in-person legislative sessions provide. Watch this brief tutorial that delivers walkthrough instructions about how to sign in on a bill being heard in committee—no matter where you are in Washington.

We appreciate your support during the session and encourage you to get involved by frequently communicating with your legislators about how legislation will impact your city.

If you have questions about the legislative process or issues going before the Legislature, always reach out to the Government Relations team. There is no such thing as a dumb question, and we are always happy to help!