
February 24, 2025 Cutoffs are upon us Cutoff deadlines dictate the legislative process timeline. They are a series of deadlines for bills to reach specific milestones throughout the legislative session. Bills were required to pass out of their assigned policy committee by last Friday, February 21, to continue advancing. This week, bills with a fiscal impact need to pass out of their assigned fiscal committee by end of the day Friday, February 28, or they are considered dead* for the session. Of course, being the Legislature, they often make exceptions to the cutoff rules, meaning nothing is guaranteed. The main exception is that bills deemed “necessary to implement the budget” (NTIB) are exempt from cutoff deadlines. Who deems a bill NTIB? Typically, budget writers and legislative leadership make that call. We can guess which bills may be NTIB based on their impact on the budget, but those folks actually decide which bills they will keep alive as NTIB. With the first cutoff deadline behind us, a few bills have dropped off our weekly Bill Hot Sheet. After the upcoming fiscal cutoff, a few more might be done for the year. The next big deadline is March 12, the date by which bills must pass out of their House of Origin (the house in which they were introduced). City Action Days a big success Thanks to everyone who attended City Action Days—it was a great gathering of over 300 city officials. We appreciate everyone who came to learn more about the legislative process and engage with their legislators. As always, if you have questions about the process or specific bills, reach out to the Government Relations team. Candice Bock Government Relations Director No bill is ever truly dead. They have been known to spring back to life as “zombie bills” from time to time for budget or political reasons. Parking preemption bill passes out of Senate with amendments* With a wide margin of support, the Senate passed a narrower version of its parking reduction mandate. Although no changes were made to the parking space limitations or the uses it applies to, SB 5184 now only applies to cities with a population greater than 20,000. For the 59 cities this bill still applies to, from Port Angeles to Seattle and Richland to Spokane, we will need your engagement with your House delegation to stop this proposal. More Recycling Reform Act bills pass the first hurdle Both companion bills passed out of their respective policy committees ahead of the cutoff and are on track to do the same in their fiscal committees. HB 1150 and SB 5284 were both amended in their policy committee. The key change for cities is that packaging producers will phase in reimbursement and will not fully fund the collection and processing costs for residential recycling services—but very close. We understand that compromise is essential to get any proposal across the finish line, and this is the compromise made in Minnesota that achieved that result. AWC continues to support this bill and asks that you reach out to your legislators to do the same. More From a flurry of public safety funding bills this session, AWC still favors this approach We are so thrilled to see a blizzard of public safety funding bills this legislative session, and hope that cities will join us in loud support our favored approach, HB 1428. The bill helps cities address critical community safety needs by increasing a vital state-shared revenue source by 50% with an additional $25 million per biennium distributed directly to cities and towns. Contact your Representatives to let them know why your city likes this idea and how it would support ongoing and sustainable public safety needs in your community. 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 cities 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. More Sign on to AWC’s letter to legislators opposing a sweep of the Public Works Assistance Account 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. City Action Days 2025 is a wrap! With more than 350 attendees, the Saint Martin’s University venue was hopping and the vibe was energetic and positive, despite the expectation of a tough budget road ahead. For those who weren’t able to attend in person, check out all your colleagues in our Flickr album so you can see what you missed! Then read the top takeaways from this year’s City Action Days to learn more. Everett Herald op-ed: Cities need modest tax hike to meet growing needs We are grateful to two mayors, Everett’s Cassie Franklin and Mountlake Terrace’s Kyoko Matsumoto Wright for penning this op-ed in strong support of AWC’s legislative priority. We are asking the Legislature to revise the arbitrary 1% property tax cap to an optional rate that more closely tracks with population and inflation, up to 3%. Reach out to your legislators to ask them to pass an update to the property tax cap this legislative session. Find talking points and other resources to help you frame your ask. 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 Commercial to residential conversions law faces changes (HB 1757) More Budget & finance New bills tee up options to provide property tax relief for homeowners and renters (SB 5770, SB 5771, SJR 8203) More Portion of state’s fish landing tax to be reeled in to help cities dependent on commercial fishing (HB 1806) More Cannabis Amendments to permitting home grows include more requirements for local law enforcement (HB 1449) More Economic development Senate version of public facilities bill squeaks out of committee (HB 1037/SB 5053) More Environment & natural resources More changes to the Organics Management Law proposed (HB 1497) More General government I’ll drink to that! Bill permitting libation zones survives the policy cutoff deadline (HB 1515) More Ranked choice voting scheduled to advance out of committee (HB 1448) More VRA preclearance scheduled for Appropriations Committee vote (HB 1710) More HR & labor relations AI Bargaining bills survive first policy committee cutoff (HB 1622/SB 5422) More PFML premiums bill working its way through the process (SB 5292) More Contact your Senator now to oppose UI benefits for strikers (HB 5041) More Cities asked to contact legislators about concerns with PFML job protections bill (HB 1213) More Human services Amendments trim definition of ‘co-response,’ remove supports for co-responders (HB 1811) More Land use & planning Wildland urban interface substitute bill provides a balanced approach (HB 1254) More Pensions Changes to pension contributions gettin gconsideration (HB 1467/SB 5357) More Public safety & criminal justice House advances expanded medical exemptions to drug, paraphernalia prosecutions (HB 1574) More Another city-supported local sales tax for public safety bill joins the mix (SB 5775) More Good news! Public defense funding bill gets amended to include city funding (HB 1592) More AWC is seeking feedback from cities on a bill with negative impacts to local police volunteers (HB 1399) More Bill creates new, additional funding mechanism to support local law enforcement (HB 2015) More Amendments to bill changing trial competency evaluations do not improve it for cities (HB 1218) More Public works & infrastructure Responsible bidder bill improved by amendments; AWC continues to engage proponents (HB 1549) More AWC seeking amendment to ease prompt-pay implementation; asks for city input (SB 5176) More AWC, public sector partners working to mitigate impacts of prevailing wage proposal (SB 5061) More Transportation Cities oppose proposal to redirect traffic safety camera revenues to the state (SB 5757) More City relocation assistance payments to small business owners may increase fourfold (HB 1733) 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 Friday, February 28. 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. The JLARC lodging tax reporting system is open for reporting 2024 lodging tax expenditures Annual reports are due May 16. More AWC representative requested to serve on advisory panel to review the development of optional Energy Code Standard Plan sets for residential housing prepared by the Washington State University Energy Program. The plan set must be completed by June 30, 2025, so this is a short-term commitment. The first meeting will be held in March. Email Shannon McClelland if you are interested. 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.
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