January 9, 2023

The Legislative Bulletin is produced weekly during the legislative session.

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Legislative Bulletin headlines and articles.

Critical housing bond proposals will be heard the first week of session
Both the House and Senate have scheduled hearings for Governor Inslee’s proposal to send a $4 billion bond referendum to voters to fund and build affordable housing and provide associated services. As the AWC Housing Solutions Group highlighted, the state needs billions of additional investments in affordable housing if we are to meet the identified need. This proposal makes a significant starting investment towards that end. More

Proposed state constitutional amendment aims to protect local government public works funding
A bipartisan bill would establish a public works revolving account in the state Treasury, to be used strictly for the purpose of providing loans and grants to local governments for infrastructure projects. The bill comes in the wake of repeated sweeps of the Public Works Assistance Account by the state Legislature. The proposal requires an amendment to the State Constitution, meaning if the bill is passed this legislative session, the measure would go before the public in the next general election. More

Governor’s 2023-25 budget proposals scheduled for hearings
Governor Inslee’s proposed budgets for 2023-25 are scheduled for hearings on January 10 in the Senate and January 11 in the House. The proposals address key city priorities around housing, behavioral health, infrastructure funding, and expanding police training. See the article and city budget impact summary for more details.

Has your city received BIL funding? AWC would love to hear.
It’s been one year since the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was passed and notices of funding opportunities for federal infrastructure dollars began to open. Several Washington cities have applied to BIL funded programs, and some have even won. If your city or town has been awarded, or is in the process of applying for, BIL funding, AWC would like to learn about the project and share your story. Please contact Brianna Morin, Legislative & Policy Analyst, by February 1.

Improve local internet access—Engage your residents to report their broadband speeds by January 13
The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) National Broadband Map shows where internet service is reportedly available or not—down to your residents’ neighborhood and home levels. The information comes from internet service providers and might not be accurate. Your residents can look up their location and challenge any inaccuracies. These maps will ultimately impact where federal BIL broadband funding is allocated, so engaging residents to ensure accurate data on coverage is important. More

Have you registered for City Action Days?
February 15-16 | Olympia

It’s our first in-person City Action Days in three years and is already on track to sell out. If you haven’t been to one before, or can’t remember what it’s like to attend, check out this video to catch those vibes and then register now before it’s too late! We can’t wait to see you there!

Read our updated fact sheets
We recently updated our legislative fact sheets in time for the legislative session. Learn more about each priority issue and find data and talking points that you can easily share with your legislators. Don’t forget to schedule meetings with them—each fact sheet will help you understand the city standpoint and frame your legislative ask with a consistent, unified voice.

It’s here! The 2023 session kicks off today!
After months of telling you that session was just around the corner, it's now actually here. The 105-day session kicks off today with some pomp and ceremony—and the rest of the week is filled with formalities like the Governor and Chief Justice’s addresses to the Joint Legislature along with a plethora of committee meetings. Those committee meetings include sorting out logistics, work sessions on general topics, and public hearings on specific bills. Read the rest of this Bulletin for the download on some of the bills up for hearing this first week.

AWC city action calls
Fridays at 12:30 pm | Online
Back by popular demand—Join our Friday lunchtime city action calls where you can get timely updates on the legislative session directly from our team of lobbyists. Each Friday at 12:30 pm, call in via Zoom to hear your AWC lobbyists provide updates on the latest action on the hill and progress on bills of importance to cities. Make sure to sign up in advance each week. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing the Zoom link for that week’s call. Register now. The first call begins on January 13.

Affordable housing
Middle housing mandate is back and is even more restrictive. Companion bills have been introduced that propose to increase middle housing in areas traditionally dedicated to single-family detached housing by mandating specific upzoning and prohibiting a prescriptive list of development regulations. More

Bill would eliminate external design review boards. However, cities would retain the ability to address housing development design standards administratively. More

New requirement proposed for tree protection ordinances. With the goal of increasing housing development options in urban areas, a proposal would mandate any city that requires protection of trees during development to establish an option to meet obligations using a “tree bank.” More

Innovative proposal to address our housing crisis has been introduced to facilitate the conversion of existing buildings for residential purposes. While adaptive reuse of existing buildings is intriguing, some elements of the bill overly restrict city authority. More

Broadband & telecommunications
The FCC announced the opening of the next National Broadband Map data submission window for broadband access data as of December 31. The window is open through March 1 and local governments are eligible to participate.

Budget & finance
The House Finance Committee will be briefed on the recommendations of the State Tax Structure Work Group on January 12. More

COVID-19
Your city may need to send tax forms to ARPA recipients. If your city provided direct financial support to businesses or nonprofits using ARPA funds, you may need to send out tax forms to those organizations. More

Emergency management & cybersecurity
A bill that would create an Extreme Weather Response Grant program is scheduled for a hearing the first week of the 2023 legislative session. More

Energy
Water and electric utility shutoff during extreme heat prohibited under new bill. Cities would be required to reconnect customers previously disconnected due to non-payment. More

General government
A bill to amend the Washington Voting Rights Act has been scheduled for public hearing this week. More

HR & labor relations
Bills on providing employee records and discrimination in hiring for cannabis use are up for hearing in the Senate in Week 1 of session. More

House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee begins session with hearings on recording independent medical exams and allowing some workers who voluntarily leave their jobs access to unemployment benefits. More

Human services
Attorney General Bob Ferguson (AG) announced five resolutions with drug companies totaling over $400 million for Washington state and eligible local governments. More

Open government
A bill that aims to reduce administrative burden of redacting and releasing video from body worn cameras is scheduled for a hearing the first week of the 2023 legislative session. More

A new bill impacting open public meeting requirements would penalize individuals for failing to notice comment deadlines. More

Public safety & criminal justice
Blake fixes are top of mind for legislators as session begins. More

The Attorney General’s (AG) Office has released a new opinion on use of "physical force" by law enforcement, interpreting laws passed in 2021 (HB 1310 and HB 1054) and clarified in 2022. More

Public works & infrastructure
Send us your feedback on public works contracting proposals related to prevailing wage adjustments and responsible bidder criteria. More

Transportation
Freight Mobility Board heads toward major bends in the road. A new bill proposes to modify the Board’s size, purpose, and duties. More

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