
February 17, 2025 See you at City Action Days We are excited to see many of you at City Action Days this week. It is a great time to make city voices heard in the legislative process. Even if you can’t make it to Olympia, take a moment to reach out to your legislators and share your priorities and our weekly AWC Bill Hot Sheet. Its crunch time this week as the first cutoff deadline of the session is Friday, when bills must be passed out of policy committee. The next key deadline is for bills with a fiscal impact to pass out of a fiscal committee by February 28. Our Hot Sheet and Bill Tracker are great ways to track which bills are still awaiting action. You can help amplify the city voice by adding your name to two different letters—one in support of revising the property tax cap and the other advocating to preserve the Public Works Assistance Account. Look for more information below in the Take Action section. Have other questions about what is going on in the legislative session? Reach out to the Government Relations team. We are always happy to help. Candice Bock Government Relations Director AWC legislative priority to revise the property tax cap needs your help with myth busting We appreciate the cities that signed in support and/or testified on behalf of this important proposal last week—and it’s not too late to weigh in. Please reach out to your legislators, make sure they know why cities support this issue, and help bust some common myths. Read about three myths we’ve recently heard and how you can counter them with facts. More AWC is working to amend costly update to public water system planning requirements A bill that aims to increase transparency and consumer protection in water system rates would drastically increase city water utility staff workloads if adopted. A provision of HB 1906 requires that public water utilities submit a current system plan to the Dept. of Health every three years. Currently, most systems submit plans every 10 years. A proposed amendment to reduce the three-year reporting requirement has been submitted to the bill sponsor. Contact your legislators to express support for the amendment. More Smattering of bills make commonsense updates to Public Records Act Several bills are on the move that look to make commonsense fixes to the Public Records Act (PRA). By themselves, each bill makes a small improvement to the state’s public records law, but together they represent an important leap forward. The bills make important adjustments to exemptions and protecting records against commercial exploitation. AWC encourages cities to sign in their support. Check out our coverage: New bill clarifies existing PRA exemption on employment investigation records (HB 1934) More Bill to improve the PRA protection against commercial use sees action (HB 1964) More Sign on to our city letter asking the Legislature to revise the property tax cap As AWC’s legislative priority to lift the arbitrary property tax cap from 1% to an optional 3% heats up in the Legislature, so does the opposition and misinformation. We are asking city officials to sign on to AWC’s joint letter showing our strong support to legislators and asking that they address this important issue after more than 20 years of cities advocating for it. Read the letter and sign on today. The more that join the cause, the stronger the message to legislators that we’re all pulling together on this critical issue. The deadline to sign on is February 28. Sign on to AWC’s letter to legislators opposing a sweep of the Public Works Assistance Account This year, the Public Works Assistance Account (PWAA) is at risk of losing over $100 million to the state’s general fund. We cannot let this happen: City officials must raise their collective voices in opposition to a sweep of the PWAA. Sign on to AWC’s letter, then contact your legislators in both the House and Senate and let them know that continuing to divert funds from the PWAA erodes your city’s ability to fund basic local infrastructure and goes back on agreements made with city leaders. Without concentrated efforts from local elected officials, the Legislature is likely to sweep the account. Read the letter and indicate that you want to sign on by February 28. How to meet with your state elected officials during session In this brief video, AWC Government Relations Special Projects Coordinator Jacob Ewing gives you everything you need to know to schedule and prepare for meetings with your state elected leaders—along with some great tips to make your messaging more effective. Building these vital relationships can take time, but the most important step is to begin. Get started here. CityVoice Podcast: State of the Cities—Discussing the state of the city workforce AWC first released a State of the Cities report back in 2005, with the goal of providing a view of the conditions and issues cities face in Washington. In early 2025, AWC published the most recent edition of the report. In this episode of the CityVoice Podcast, we sit down with Matt Doumit, AWC Legislative & Policy Analyst, to discuss the state of city workforces in Washington. We discuss the changing demands on city workers, provide an overview of city workforce cost drivers like salaries and workers’ compensation, and update listeners on recruitment at cities. Listen here. Visit AWC’s bill tracker for easy access to the bills you’re most interested in and to filter by the information you’re looking for, whether it’s a brief description of a bill, the status of bills you’re tracking, or AWC’s comprehensive coverage. Tip: Don't forget to bookmark the tracker and check it regularly for the latest updates. This week’s bill highlights: Affordable housing The perfect match—Taxing short-term rental lodging for affordable housing(HB 1763) More Bill reduces number of required affordable units for religiously-owned properties (HB 1859) More House companion to sales tax credit for housing bill is up for a hearing (HB 1717) More Budget & finance Washington’s temporary lodging tax idea takes the field with hopes of scoring World Cup revenue (HB 1882) More Cannabis Bill would reduce the amount of space required between cannabis businesses and other public buildings (SB 5758) More Environment & natural resources Environmental justice SEPA bill is slashed in committee (HB 1303 / SB 5380) More General government VRA preclearance bill voted out of committee with a helpful amendment for cities (HB 1710) More Bill restructuring claims under the Voting Rights Act is on the move (HB 1750) More HR & labor relations PFML job protections bill amended and voted out of committee (HB 1213 / SB 5539) More Cities voices needed on presumptive workers’ comp claims for city jails (HB 1070) More AWC urges cities to oppose AI bargaining bills (HB 1622 / SB 5422) More Land use & planning Another permit streamlining proposal emerges (SB 5611) More Do you use a hearing examiner? This bill would require it (SB 5719) More Are historic landmarks a thing of the past? (HB 1576) More Public safety & criminal justice Cities support public safety sales tax credit proposal to fund officers and criminal justice needs (HB 1095) More Another “sales tax for new police officers” bill could be improved for cities (HB 1896) More Bill proposes new penalties for eluding police and resisting arrest (SB 5333) More Public works & infrastructure New terms for self-performed public works addressed in bill speeding through House (HB 1966) More New requirements proposed for developers seeking waivers for city utility connection charges (SB 5662) More Transportation Road usage charge companion bill introduced, scheduled for hearing this week (SB 5726) More Public works directors: Take MRSC’s transportation project delivery survey AWC is working with MRSC to identify barriers to streamlined delivery of local transportation projects. To help with this effort, MRSC needs to hear directly from you about the most significant factors that impede efficient project delivery in your jurisdiction. The results of this brief survey will be part of a report to the Joint Transportation Committee of the state Legislature and the Governor's Office that will include specific recommendations for eliminating the bottlenecks that delay projects. Take the survey by Wednesday, February 26. Take DOH’s water and wastewater affordability survey The state Department of Health (DOH) and Department of Commerce (Commerce) are assessing the feasibility of a statewide low-income assistance program for water and wastewater utility customers in Washington. This survey seeks information on your organization's existing assistance programs to gain a comprehensive understanding of available resources. Help DOH and Commerce report to the Legislature about the potential for a water utility assistance program: Take the survey. Apply for AWC’s grant for energy audits of city-owned buildings by February 28 Does your city own a building of 20,000+ square feet in need of an energy audit? AWC has funding to help. We have received $3.8 million in grant funding from the Department of Commerce to assist cities in conducting energy audits of their qualifying “Tier 1” and “Tier 2” buildings and to gather data on estimated costs to comply with state’s Clean Buildings Performance Standard. Visit our program webpage to learn about eligibility and how to apply. Keeping up with the impacts of executive actions on your community's federal fund awards As federal agencies release guidance on federal funding, and court orders put some executive actions on hold, your city should communicate and prepare for potential impacts. Read the National League of Cities’ action alert and use their form to communicate with Congressional leaders about the importance of federal funding in your community. More NLC hosting office hours on February 19 to discuss updates to the Streamlining Federal Grants Act The Streamlining Federal Grants Act is bipartisan legislation that aims to reduce the complexity of applying for federal grants, improve federal training and assistance for applicants, and identify barriers to participation. NLC office hours provide an opportunity to learn about the proposed changes, provide feedback, and ensure that the bill reflects the needs of your local community. Register to attend. Congress expected to reintroduce local wireless and cable preemption bill A bill like one opposed by cities last year to preempt local authority over wireless siting, rights of way management, and cable franchises is expected to be introduced in Congress soon. Cities should contact their Congressional delegation to provide information about the role of local government oversight in infrastructure deployment. More Want the latest on all the legislative action? Join AWC’s City Action Call this Friday (city members only) During the legislative session, AWC hosts City Actions Calls every Friday at 12:30 pm. In these meetings, AWC lobbyists provide legislative updates and city officials have the opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback. The calls occur every Friday during the legislative session. You’ll need to register each week. Connect with your legislators at local town halls Legislators will be hosting their own town hall meetings over the coming weeks, sometimes in person and sometimes virtually. Check your legislators’ websites to find out when and where they will be, and plan to attend. Listening in and voicing the issues important to your city at local town halls is a great way to ensure your legislators and constituents are aware of your city's legislative needs.
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