<p>Second special session concludes on June 21 after 165 days, and there’s still no action on operating or capital budgets. That’s about to change rapidly as the end of the state’s fiscal year looms on Friday, June 30. Quiet backroom conversations are likely to yield a quick callback for all legislators to convene for a shortened third special session for rapid decisions that will impact cities across the state.</p>
<p>We are cautiously optimistic that our remaining budget and policy issues will be positively addressed. We have been talking with several key legislators and administration officials involved who are working on agreements, and we know they are hearing from city officials about issues that matter. That evidence provides some hope, but no guarantees.</p>
<p>AWC delivered <a target="_blank" href="/portals/0/documents/legislative/061317Leadershipbudgetletter.pdf">this letter</a> last week to fiscal committees and leadership, which includes our key messages on vital issues for cities in the final budget.</p>
<p>These next two weeks are crucial for you to reach out to your legislators – once again to thank them for their efforts, remind them of what you need, and ask for their voices to carry those messages to their budget and caucus leadership. Other interests and voices are flooding their inboxes and voicemails, so we need make sure those do not drown out our messages, and that our priorities remain in the forefront of their minds.</p>
<p>This is (hopefully) our last <strong><em>Legislative Bulletin</em></strong> of the session, where we provide you with key information about any policy issues still in play. When session concludes, we will send out a quick summary of what happened, and then we will work on our more detailed <strong><em>Final Bulletin</em></strong> that will be sent out after the Governor’s 20-day window required to act on bills passed during this final stage.</p>
<p>More than 450 city officials from every legislative district will be in Vancouver, Washington this week for our Annual Conference. We will rally those voices to echo in the halls of the State Capitol. Adding your voices on what matters to you can make a difference!</p>