
January 29, 2024 City voices coming through loud and clear this legislative session It can sometimes seem like legislators aren’t listening to cities about their communities’ needs. It can be disheartening to see legislation that preempts local decision-making authority or creates a new responsibility without additional funding. But when cities work together and engage in the legislative process, your voices do get through to legislators and impact the process. That doesn’t mean that everything turns out how we’d like, but you do have real power to influence the process. For example, 150 city officials signing on to a letter of support for revising the local property tax cap will carry weight with legislators. A dozen city officials testifying about the importance of local decision-making in providing affordable housing helps make legislation that is more responsive to city needs. We are grateful to all who have been actively engaging in the legislative process. For any city official who is hesitant to take action, let us know if you need help or advice. We want to make sure your voice is heard. Part of engaging is coming to Olympia in person during the session. We look forward to hosting about 240 city officials at City Action Days next week. Events beyond our control forced us into a new venue and a change of dates this year. Though the timing is not ideal as it coincides with floor action, making it challenging to schedule a sit-down meeting, there are still opportunities to connect with your legislators. If you can’t attend City Action Days, plan to come another time during the session. And, when you are in town, be sure to stop by and say hello at AWC’s offices. Thank you for taking the time to be part of the legislative process and making the city voice heard loud and clear. Candice Bock Government Relations Director Read the letter showing strong city support for AWC’s priority to revise the arbitrary property tax cap Thanks to the 150 city officials representing 90+ cities who signed the city letter in support of revising the 1% property tax cap. While SB 5770 is not yet scheduled for action this week, we are hopeful that this strong support will convince legislators that cities cannot wait another generation to address the needs of our communities. More Contact your Senator with support for SB 6076 for public safety and criminal justice funding SB 6076, sponsored by Sen. Karen Keiser (D–Kent), grants cities the ability to impose by councilmanic action the 0.3% public safety sales tax for criminal justice purposes. The bill is the companion to HB 2211, which had been moving until late last week. AWC strongly supports SB 6076 as a viable path for cities to increase criminal justice funding – funding that could also be used for co-responder and therapeutic diversion treatment services for people experiencing behavioral health and substance use crises. SB 6076 is scheduled for a public hearing on Thursday, February 1. More Attorney General’s Office announces new opioid settlement with Johnson & Johnson Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced last week that the State of Washington has entered a settlement agreement with Johnson & Johnson for deceptive marketing practices that helped fuel the opioid epidemic in Washington. The settlement agreement splits the $123.34 million evenly between the state and local governments. If all eligible cities and counties join, the payment would be made in June 2024. More Help CERB codify its broadband program: Express your support for HB 1982 The Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB) has submitted a bill to the Legislature that would authorize CERB to permanently administer its rural broadband infrastructure program. This would provide cities a sustainable funding source for their community broadband needs through a reliable partner that has served local governments for over 40 years. HB 1982 is scheduled for a public hearing in the House Capital Budget Committee on Thursday, February 1 at 8 am. Sign up to testify or submit written comments in support. For additional information on CERB’s legislative request, check out this one-pager. Housing policy update for the 2024 Legislative Session We sat down with AWC Government Relations Deputy Director Carl Schroeder to learn more about the current landscape after a big year for housing last session. Find out what’s on Carl’s radar for this session, including support and concerns around land use and growth management, the potential for dedicated revenue to support housing for the lowest income levels, and how members can stay informed on housing policy efforts. More AWC's bill tracker Stay current on city-related bills moving through the Legislature and read AWC’s weekly coverage through our new AWC bill tracker. Learn how to use the tracker with these brief instructions and short video. Bills added to the tracker this week: Budget & finance: City letter in support of revising property tax cap (SB 5770); State tourism funding (HB 1869/SB 6080) Emergency management: Extreme weather response grant program (HB 1012) General government: TSWIFT online ticket seller licensing amended (HB 1648); Tower crane safety (HB 2022) HR & labor relations: Governing AI use in the workplace (SB 6299); Expanding temporary disability eligibility (HB 1927/SB 5932) Human services: Path to recovery for high users of behavioral health crisis and criminal justice systems (SB 6295); A statewide drug overdose prevention and education campaign (SB 5906) Land use & planning: Impact fee bills (HB 2451 & SB 6285); state regulation of housing/shelters (HB 2474) Open government: Additional requirements for public comment periods (HB 1105) Pensions: Ad hoc PERS 1 COLA (HB 1985) Public safety & criminal justice: Supporting crime victims and witnesses (SB 5937); First responder wellness and peer support (HB 2311); Gambling treatment diversion court pilot (HB 2055); AG investigations of police departments bill revived (HB 1445) Public works & infrastructure: Safe Dig Law amendments (HB 2409) Transportation: Autonomous vehicle regulation in WA (SB 5594 & SB 5872); Transportation electrification strategy (SB 6304) Tip: Bookmark the tracker and check back regularly for the latest updates. AWC Friday City Action Calls (AWC members only) Join our City Action Calls each Friday at 12:30 pm during the legislative session to hear updates from your AWC lobbyists on the latest action on the hill and progress on bills of importance to cities. Make sure to sign up in advance each week. Register now to receive the link for this week’s call. Learn how legislative cutoff dates work Legislative cutoff dates are an important part of the legislative process. These dates impact bills on their journey to become law, serving as deadlines for committees and floor action. Watch our 90-second explainer video to learn how the cutoff dates work and why they’re important to your advocacy efforts. More
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