February 20, 2023

The Legislative Bulletin is produced weekly during the legislative session.

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Legislative Bulletin headlines and articles.

Priority housing revenue bill amended as it passes the first hurdle
It will take significant new revenue to address half of our underproduced housing need – housing that requires public subsidy. While we are hopeful that the Governor’s bold $4 trillion bonding bill gains the traction it deserves, we are also supporting another proposal that aligns with the direct funding pillar of AWC’s Housing Solutions Group proposal using new real estate excise tax (REET) dollars to fund housing. An amended version passed out of the policy committee and contains improvements that AWC advocated for. More

Cities spoke and legislators listened on vehicular pursuits
HB 1363 was voted out of committee last week and, while the amended version is not the full solution we are requesting, this is a significant step forward. The amended version includes a sunset provision of July 1, 2025, and would allow pursuits when there is reasonable suspicion that a person in the vehicle has committed a selected list of crimes, poses a serious risk of harm to others, and the pursuit is necessary to identify them. Although we are encouraged that HB 1363 is moving forward, cities still need to reach out to legislators and ask them to support this bill. It still faces opposition and a difficult path to full passage. More

Action needed: Property tax cap fix gets holiday hearing in the House and needs city support to advance out of committee by this week’s deadline
HB 1670, which changes the arbitrary 1% property tax cap to tie it to your city’s cost drivers – inflation and population up to 3% – was heard in the House Finance Committee. City support is needed to encourage passing the bill out of committee before the committee’s vote scheduled for February 21. Please talk to your legislators and ask them to urge members of the House Finance Committee to pass the bill before Friday’s fiscal committee cutoff deadline. More

AWC city action calls – Members only
Fridays at 12:30 pm | Online
Join our city action calls for AWC members each Friday to hear updates directly from your team of 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. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing the Zoom link for that week’s call. Register now for this Friday's call.

AWC Lobby Day
March 16 | Olympia
City officials are invited to Olympia during a crucial time in the legislative session to tell legislators that strong cities are the key to a great state. Add your voice and let legislators know how they can help support and enhance strong cities.

After a major legislative cutoff date, legislators begin negotiating their differences in earnest while aiming to conclude work by April 23. Lobby Day is a key time to meet legislators face-to-face and on the floor to share the positive or negative city impacts of the difficult budget or policy decisions they face.

Register to join us for as much of the day as you can and start making appointments with your legislators now.

Nine things we learned at City Action Days
If you didn’t have the chance to attend City Action Days this year, rest assured your colleagues represented cities around the state with energy and enthusiasm. It was a sold-out event with more than 350 participants representing almost half the cities in the state. With appearances from Governor Inslee and a cadre of legislators, it’s clear that the opportunity to talk with cities is a strong draw. Attendees networked with one another throughout the event and had a great afternoon on the hill—launching the second half of legislative session with a strong city voice. Catch up on these top nine takeaways! More

Lawmakers explore "Missing Middle" to address housing shortage
To tackle the lack of affordable housing, state lawmakers are considering a controversial zoning mandate. If the middle housing bill (HB 1110) passes, many cities will have to accept duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes in single-family zones. Listen to this Seattle Channel story to explore whether the bill “measures up or misses the mark” with guests Nancy Backus, Mayor of Auburn; Representative Jessica Bateman, (D–Olympia); Michael Pollard, VP of Entitlements, Shelter Homes; Keith Scully, Mayor of Shoreline; and Nadine Woodward, Mayor of Spokane. More

City Action Days full of fun and momentum to carry us into the intense cutoff week
We had a great time connecting with more than 350 city officials at last week’s City Action Days here in Olympia. It was an excellent opportunity to share the latest updates on legislative action and encourage cities to use your voices to be heard throughout the legislative process. Remember that your city voice is powerful!

As we enter week seven of session, many bills are up against the Friday fiscal committee cutoff. This will be a hectic week of last-minute maneuvering to keep bills alive. Nevertheless, there is still much work to be done. There are about two months of session remaining, with some of the biggest decision points ahead. Make sure you continue engaging with your legislators using this weekly Legislative Bulletin and our weekly Bill Hot Sheet to stay current on the issues impacting cities.

Budget & finance
House hears State Tax Structure Work Group proposal to replace state B&O tax with margin tax. The House Finance Committee heard the State Tax Structure Work Group’s proposal to replace the state B&O tax with a new margin tax. AWC continues to monitor these discussions due to the potential for impacts on local tax authority. More

DOR begins implementing capital gains tax while awaiting decision by the Washington Supreme Court. The Department of Revenue (DOR) has begun implementing collection of the new state capital gains tax approved by the Legislature in 2021. Meanwhile, it is awaiting a decision on the constitutionality of the tax by the Washington Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments on January 26. More

Cannabis
Bill requiring new voter approval on bans of local cannabis establishments and impacting local regulatory authority passes out of committee. HB 1650 would prevent local governments from prohibiting cannabis retail businesses in their jurisdiction after July 1, 2027, unless the prohibition was approved by voters after July 1, 2023. More

General government
Keep contacting your legislators to oppose these expensive and problematic bills. Problematic and expensive liability bills, HB 1025 and SB 5059, advanced out of their policy committees. Cities have been opposing them, and there is still a chance to stop them ahead of Friday’s fiscal committee cutoff. Keep an eye out for these bills to get scheduled for last-minute action this week. More

A prescription for going to the park – Legislature considers funding pilot programs to get people outside. Parks Rx programs provide no-cost and low-cost interventions to connect doctors and patients to local park resources to influence positive health outcomes. More

Wait, what does this bill do? Senate proposes restrictions on automated decision systems. SB 5356 addresses software or other computer programs used by both public and private agencies to aid in the decision-making process. More

HR & labor relations
Bills imposing “good faith” on self-insured cities and third-party administrators amended, voted out of committee. Two bills that create a duty of “good faith and fair dealing” in workers’ compensation programs managed by self-insured cities or their third-party administrators each passed out of their policy committees with amendments last week. More

Human services
Trueblood and a new potential costly role for local jails. As amended, SB 5440 allows the Department of Social and Health Services to contract with willing jails to fund construction and operational costs for clinical intervention units that will provide enhanced oversight, monitoring, and support to in-custody defendants while they await services related to competency to stand trial. More

Pensions
Pre-cutoff pensions roundup. Here are reminders of a few of the pensions bills that AWC has highlighted so far this session and a summary of where those bills stand as we approach Friday’s fiscal committee cutoff. More

Public safety & criminal justice
Bill expanding victims’ services heard last week. AWC submitted written testimony supporting the intent of the bill but with concerns about costs. More

HB 1445 gives Attorney General investigative power over law enforcement misconduct. AWC opposes the bill and has asked sponsors to balance punitive measures with voluntary compliance, focusing on technical assistance. More

Public works & infrastructure
Washington’s disposable wipes labeling law updated to align with federal requirements. Since its enactment in 2020, a discrepancy in the law was identified, revealing a mismatch in timing with federal legislation. HB 1213 fixes the incongruity. More

Bill to expand the definition of public work not ready for “prime time.” The meaning of “public work” will remain unchanged for now after a proposal to significantly amend the definition died in committee last week. More

Utility connection waiver proposal fixed to save costs for ratepayers. A bill aiming to lessen the cost of providing services for low-income persons was amended and improved as it hurtled through the House and passed into the Senate. More

Transportation
Voluntary road usage charge program proposed by House Transportation chair, up for hearing on Tuesday. The bill takes Washington one step closer to a statewide road usage charge (RUC) system and signals to the federal government that we’re contemplating an RUC as an alternative revenue source to the gas tax. More

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