Legislative floor action update – 5 pm deadline

Last week we highlighted several bills that we needed your help with as the Legislature moved to the floor to consider bills. Today is the deadline for bills to move out of their house of origin. Here’s an update on where things stand as of this morning.

Priority bills for support

HB 1363: This bill revises the restrictions on police pursuits. Cities support this bill but are concerned about how much it was narrowed in the policy committee. Importantly, the bill returns to a reasonable suspicion standard, but the list of crimes for which a suspect can be pursued is again very narrow. The bill also has a two-year sunset. Here is AWC’s support letter for the original bill signed by over 200 city officials.

This bill is still stuck. It’s going to take a lot to get this bill passed by today’s 5 pm deadline.

But wait, there’s more! With just four hours to go before the 5pm deadline, the Senate under rarely-used authority pulled their version of the vehicular pursuits bill straight to the floor. SB 5352 had never been scheduled for a hearing but was resurrected in a surprise move. Senator Dhingra introduced a striker that amends the bill to closely mimic HB 1363, including limiting the types of crimes that could warrant a pursuit. The bill passed in a close, 26-23, bipartisan vote.

HB 1628: This bill creates new local REET authority to fund affordable housing. It also creates a new tier in the state REET for affordable housing. Additionally, it has provisions to harmonize the uses for the existing local REET 1 and 2 to make those funds easier to administer, and it makes permanent temporary flexibility to use the existing funds for limited operations and maintenance and affordable housing purposes. See our sign-on letter with more than 70 cities, representing large, small, and geographically diverse communities, supporting this proposal.

This bill still needs action to move it out of committee, but the bill is apparently exempt from cutoff deadlines because it impacts the state budget.

HB 1670: This bill revises the property tax cap to tie it to inflation and population growth up to 3%. This would be a significant improvement over the current arbitrary 1% cap, allowing cities to better meet the needs of their residents. This is a difficult proposal because it is considered a “tax” vote for legislators. They need to know why this increase in local revenue options is helpful to your community. Talk about what services you can better fund for your residents with this extra flexibility.

This bill is also bogged down and still stuck over a reluctance to take a difficult tax vote and a belief in the House that the bill would not succeed in the Senate.

SB 5303/SJR 8201: These bills create and amend the Washington State Constitution to establish the Public Works Revolving Trust Account. Loan repayments from local governments made from the Public Works Assistance Account and the Public Works Revolving Trust Account will be paid into the Public Works Revolving Trust Account, guaranteeing that necessary funds are protected and made available to cities. The Public Works Assistance Account has been a crucial funding source for cities in supporting critical infrastructure projects and ensuring resiliency.

SB 5303 passed the Senate with an overwhelming 46-3 margin of support. However, the related Senate Joint Resolution is currently stuck and hasn’t yet been brought up for a vote.

Bills that are still a work in progress

HB 1110: The middle housing proposal is still very much a work in progress, and we appreciate the bill sponsor’s willingness to work with us. We have worked and continue to work diligently with the bill sponsor to try to address our concerns. We are still concerned with the bill’s widespread mandate to allow four-plexes (six-plexes with affordability measures). We encourage cities to engage in this conversation with your legislators. AWC’s goal is to target density increases to residential areas where there is sufficient infrastructure to support that level of density – including near transit, arterials, community parks, and schools. As the bill currently stands, it requires middle housing in nearly every residential area with only limited exceptions.

HB 1110 passed the House late Monday with significant amendments to address a number of cities’ concerns and create a good balance between increased density and impacts on infrastructure. Look for a more complete write up in next week’s Legislative Bulletin.

SB 5466: This transit oriented development proposal is in line with much of what AWC proposed as part of our housing solutions process. However, there are provisions that unnecessarily preempt parking regulations in areas where there is still likely to be significant vehicle usage. Additionally, there are concerns about the distance (3/4 of a mile) from the high-capacity transit facility that must accommodate significantly greater density. We are continuing to work with the bill sponsor and other legislators to find options to address these concerns.

This bill passed the Senate with strong support and a few amendments. AWC continues to work on some issues with the bill sponsor.

Bills to oppose

HB 1025: This bill expands the ability to bring claims and lawsuits against cities for law enforcement actions. The likely outcome will be more litigation driving costs for settlements and attorneys and increasing insurance costs for cities. This is an unnecessary expansion of liability given that Washington already has a broader waiver of governmental immunity than many other states.

This bill did not advance and appears dead for this session.

HB 1337 and SB 5235: These bills both create new mandates around allowing for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). AWC is more comfortable with SB 5235 as it provides for requirements to allow more ADUs but does not include the significant micromanagement of development regulations reflected in HB 1337.

Both of these bills passed their respective bodies. AWC remains opposed to HB 1337. We have adjusted our position to “other” on SB 5235 as it continues to undergo modifications and we examine how it will interact with the provisions in the middle housing proposal, HB 1110 (see above).