March 27, 2023

The Legislative Bulletin is produced weekly during the legislative session.

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Legislative Bulletin headlines and articles.

Act now! Police pursuits bill scheduled for vote in House committee
Contact your legislators before Tuesday’s critical vote and sign on to AWC’s letter by the end of day Thursday. Now is a crucial time for cities to reach out to their legislators with support for changes to restrictions on police pursuits. SB 5352 would allow law enforcement to engage in police pursuits with a “reasonable suspicion” standard in certain situations while balancing the inherent risk of pursuits. House members need to hear from cities that SB 5352 represents important incremental progress in revising the restrictions, and how the current law is negatively impacting public safety. More

It’s budget season, starting with Senate operating & capital budget proposals
On March 23, the Senate released its $69.2 billion operating budget proposal for FY 2023-25. Overall, it includes several new investments in city programs, including housing and substance use treatment items necessary to implement State v. Blake. The capital budget proposal released on March 20 provides $400 million for the Public Works Assistance Account, allowing the sunset of the multiyear revenue diversion to education, and makes investments in affordable housing. The House budget proposals are slated for release today, Monday, March 27. More

Middle housing density bill clears another hurdle
With one month to go, one of the primary bills for increasing density in cities by mandating middle housing authorization continues to move forward. HB 1110 passed out of the Senate’s policy committee with few substantive changes. Next stop: Senate Ways & Means Committee, where the bill may receive its final tune up before coming for a vote. More

AWC public opinion survey results

In December 2022, AWC conducted a public opinion survey to gauge our communities’ opinions. The survey identifies where residents’ concerns land and outlines some pressing issues for cities to focus on throughout the state. Read a snapshot of what we learned along with charts and graphics that present the findings.

Register for Small City Connectors
May 11 | Millwood
May 12 | Soap Lake
May 25 | Cosmopolis
June 1 | La Conner
Small cities—it's time to connect! Join your fellow small city and town leaders from across the state for an evening of food, in-person networking, and discussion. Small City Connectors provide city leaders with a unique opportunity to meet with peers, share best practices, and discuss common challenges. Register today!

Submit an AWC Annual Conference session proposal
Annual Conference is coming up quickly in Spokane this June 20-23. Do you have an idea for a conference session? We want to hear about your city’s stories, programs, and partnership innovations. Your perspective could educate and inspire hundreds of other elected officials, city department directors, staff, and decision-makers. Sessions should be educational, address critical city issues, and provide resources for attendees to take back to their communities. Final review of proposals takes place in late April. Learn more about the selection criteria and submit your session proposal soon! More

The final four…weeks of session
Your NCAA bracket may be busted, but you can still be part of the final four with one month of session left on the clock. AWC priorities are still in the game and important budget investments for cities are under consideration. Don’t miss your shot to talk to your legislators about proposed legislation to revise police pursuits, clarify drug possession laws post-Blake decision, expand housing affordability and availability, fund infrastructure, and invest in behavioral health needs. Track the bills we’re focused on with this week’s Hot Sheet. Let’s wrap up this March madness in strong form and make these last four weeks a slam dunk!

Attend 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.

Broadband & telecommunications
Washington may not see a state broadband map any time soon, given recent amendments to House broadband bill. HB 1746 recently took a significant turn, with a new intent section and a shift in focus for the State Broadband Office. More

General government
Senate moves forward on Voting Rights Act expansion without AWC amendments. HB 1048, amending the Washington Voting Rights Act, was voted out of committee last week without AWC’s proposed amendments to protect cities from extraordinary costs. More

HR & labor relations
HR & labor bills seeing action as second policy cutoff approaches. Several bills are seeing action, or are scheduled for action, ahead of Wednesday’s opposite house policy cutoff. More

L&I moving ahead with permanent outdoor heat exposure rulemaking. L&I started the rulemaking process for permanent ambient heat exposure rules for outdoor workers, after two years of temporary emergency rules. L&I is accepting comments on the draft rules until May 11. More

Public safety & criminal justice
Blake bill scheduled for committee vote in the House. The House Community Safety, Justice, & Reentry Committee heard over two hours of testimony last week on SB 5536. AWC thanks the many mayors and city officials who took time to participate in the hearing. More

Public works & infrastructure
There’s still time: express your support for procurement standards bill scheduled for Tuesday. If you missed the chance to communicate your position on HB 1621 last week, it’s not too late; but time is running short. More

Prevailing wage bill rescheduled for hearing this week – express your concerns to legislators now. Last week, we encouraged cities to tune into the activity around SB 5726. The bill has since been rescheduled to Tuesday. Take this chance to weigh in. More

AWC still working to refine apprenticeship utilization proposal as it nears its end goal. We’ve proposed a stairstep approach to HB 1050, along with other implementation recommendations for L&I. More

Transportation
Keep pace with the transportation bills rolling through the Legislature. From impact fee revenue use to freight mobility, bridge jumping, and revenue forecasting, we’re covering the transportation issues important to cities. More

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