SB 5804, sponsored by Sen. Yasmin Trudeau (D–Tacoma), permanently directs funding sources currently dedicated for statewide local infrastructure systems to assist the state in meeting its court ordered obligation to address fish blocking culverts.

The bill establishes new authority for the state to issue tax obligation bonds for $5 billion with the intent to fund projects that improve salmon and steelhead habitats and mitigate the impact of fish passage barriers.

To increase the state’s bonding capacity, the bill redirects three of the Public Works Assistance Account’s four funding streams (public utility tax, solid waste collection tax, real estate excise tax) to the general fund, leaving only loan repayments on current PWAA projects to fund the account. The legislation does not include an end date for the diversion. The proposal would all but defund the account indefinitely and future Public Works Board funding for projects would depend on dwindling loan repayment revenues and biennial appropriations from other sources.

To back the new bonds, the bill replaces a portion of the public utility tax on electric utilities with a new tax on those same utilities specifically dedicated to repayment of the bonds. The bond proceeds will be directed to the newly established Federal Injunction Salmon Habitat (FISH) Restoration Account. Money from that account “must be used solely for fish habitat restoration projects identified in response to the federal court injunction issued under United States v. Washington to improve salmon and steelhead habitat restoration and mitigate the impact of fish passage barriers.”

In the bill’s public hearing in the Senate Means & Ways Committee, Senators expressed their intention to demonstrate the state’s commitment, through SB 5804, to meeting legal and treaty obligations as the state and Tribes enter into renewed negotiations over the 2013 federal injunction.

Cities oppose the bill as it destabilizes the PWAA and risks eliminating it altogether. They object to diverting direct funding for essential local infrastructure systems, given their own significant funding needs, to pay for state-owned culvert projects, leaving local infrastructure dependent on future legislative appropriations. They also note that, despite the sponsor’s stated intent, current bill language does not explicitly allow FISH Restoration Account funding for local projects, which risks leaving in place locally-owned fish blocking culverts up- or downstream in the same waterways, likely resulting in no net benefits to fish and fish habitats.

AWC staff have been engaging the bill sponsor and other stakeholders to identify a better approach that does not rely on permanently diverting revenues that are dedicated to local infrastructure.

SB 5804 is scheduled for executive session in the Senate Ways & Means Committee on Tuesday, April 8 at 1:30 pm.