WSAC Legislative Bulletin - January 18, 2010

The LSC met last Thursday in Olympia for the first Committee meeting of the 2010 Legislative Session. LSC is operating with a new format this year. The Committee meets at WSAC and attends to decision making for the first two hours and then breaks for two hours to attend meetings or hearings on the Hill and then returns to WSAC for lunch and additional staff briefings. The Coastal Caucus meets shortly after LSC adjourns.

On January 14, the LSC made the following decisions:

Oppose the Governor's request legislation to merge the County Road Administration; the Transportation Improvement Board; and the Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board into the Department of Transportation.
Support SB 6209 that would allow the county road fund to invest funding into park and ride lots.
Oppose the proposed transfer of funding out of the County Rural Arterial Trust Account.
Support legislation that would decriminalize driving while license suspended 3 (DWLS 3).
Support additional public health funding while maintaining the existing general funding.

WSAC Bills Lists: January 14, 2010

The next scheduled LSC meeting is January 28th in Olympia.

For More Legislative Session Information Visit:

WSAC's Legisaltive & Policy Center

WSAC's Legislative Priority - County Fiscal Health

County Fiscal Health Priority Bills Scheduled for Hearings Next Week in the House

County and city priority fiscal health bills are scheduled for hearings will be heard in the House Finance Committee on Tuesday, January 19 at 1:30 pm. Thanks to Rep. Ross Hunter (D-Dist. 48), House Finance Committee Chair, for scheduling these bills and Rep. Nelson and Rep. Springer for sponsoring them. A special thanks to the Governor for her advancement of HB 2773.

HB 2650, HB 2749, and HB 2773 are the three fiscal flexibility proposals that will be heard on Tuesday by the Finance Committee. These bills, all different, eliminate some restrictions including supplanting requirements, expand purposes of some current revenue sources, and otherwise address restraint of existing revenues. Currently HB 2749 only provides a utility tax inside the urban growth areas for the twenty-nine GMA counties. We continue to work with the sponsor and the chair to allow the utility tax for the entire unincorporated area for all thirty-nine counties.

While not all local governments will benefit from each provision of each bill and may not choose or can use some of the provisions, the package of bills is a very good start towards our goal of increased flexibility and fiscal home rule. A comparison of the bills is attached. King County Executive Constantine, Pierce County Executive McCarthy and Skamania County Sheriff Brown will represent the county family along with city officials from Tacoma, Sammamish, and Kent.

None of these bills will be easy to pass. All of these bills have some opposition. Please take the time to make a call or send an email to the Committee and your legislators asking that they support the legislation. Also, please alert us to what your legislators tell you.

As always, if you have any questions, comments or concerns, please do not hesitate to call or email your WSAC staff. We want to make sure you have ever thing you need when you contact your legislators and thank you for your time and help with this most important county issue.

County Fiscal Health & Flexibility Proposal Matrix

Back to Top

Community & Economic Development

Economic Development

Creating Community Facilities Districts (SB 6241)
This legislation would effectively authorize a private developer, via a petition and authorization from a local jurisdiction, to create a district for the purposes of funding infrastructure related to a development. The infrastructure improvements may or may not reside within the defined community facility district. The definition of infrastructure improvements is broad, but they must have a life of five years or more. Property taxes and benefit charges are authorized. In practice, this legislation would only apply in situations where a few property owners (developers) would have enough land to create a new development that would warrant this authority.
This bill will be heard in the Senate Economic Development, Trade, and Innovation Committee on Monday, January 18 at 1:30 pm.

Prevailing Wages for Construction Projects that Involve Public Funds, Loans or Incentives (HB 1992)
This bill would extend the application of the prevailing wage requirements to construction projects (including private ones) that involve tax incentives, loans provided by a public entity, or public land or property that is leased or sold below market value. The bill is scheduled for a public hearing in the House Commerce and Labor Committee on Friday, January 22 at 8 am.

Local Capital Asset Lending Program (HB 2451/SB 6218)

The Local Option Capital Asset Lending (LOCAL) program is a voluntary debt vehicle designed to provide low cost financing for local governments. The economies of scale coupled with efficient management of the LOCAL program allows participants to receive the benefits of lower financing costs. Currently, voter approved excess levies can be used for debt payments by local governments but cannot be used to pay financing contracts through the LOCAL program. HB 2451/SB6218 enables local governments to use voter approved excess levies to pay financing contracts through the LOCAL Program. This bill potentially reduces local government financing costs by providing access to a low cost financing vehicle for capital projects. The House version of the bill is scheduled for hearing in the House Capital Budget Committee on Tuesday, January 9 at 3:30 pm.

Energy & Utilities

Reducing Climate Pollution in the Built Environment (HB 1747)
HB 1747 is a bill from the 2009 session that would, among other things, require energy codes to be 70% more efficient by 2031, require utilities to create an energy benchmark for public facilities, and require utilities to report energy performance ratings for all public buildings to the Department of General Administration. The bill will be heard in the House Technology, Energy & Communications Committee on Thursday, January 21 at 10 am.

Regarding the Siting of Small Alternative Energy Facilities (HB 2516)
This bill allows parties to use the EFSEC permit process to site small alternative energy resource facilities in lieu of the permit process of cities or counties. It specifically applies to wind turbines of 170 feet or less that have a generating capacity of 300 kilowatts or less. In addition, the bill allows the council and any local government in the state to enter into an interlocal agreement for the purpose of permitting small alternative energy resource facilities within the geographic jurisdiction of the local government. This is an express preemption of siting small facilities and cities are opposed to the bill. A hearing is scheduled for Monday, January 18 at 1:30 pm in the House Technology, Energy & Communications Committee.

Regarding the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (HB 2527/SB 6471)
These companion bills transfer the duties of EFSEC from the Commerce Department to the Utilities and Transportation Commission and revise application costs for energy facility site certification. A hearing is scheduled for Monday, January 18 at 1:30 pm in the House Technology, Energy & Communications Committee and Tuesday, January 19 at 10 am in the Senate Environment, Water & Energy Committee.

Provision of Telecommunications Services to Public Utility Districts and Rural Port Districts (HB 2600)
This bill allows public utility districts to expand operations to include retail telecommunications services after the utility enters into a partnership with a nonprofit organization or a federally recognized tribe or its political subdivision, for the joint provision of telecommunications services to the end user. The partnership would require the approval of the voters in the utility district. A hearing will be held on this bill in the House Technology, Energy & Communications Committee on Wednesday, January 20 at 8 am.

Defining a Green Home and an Energy Efficient Home (SB 6244)
SB 6244 would require the state building code council to adopt rules to define "green home" and "energy efficient home" for certain residential units and residential buildings. The bill also prohibits a person from selling, offering for sale, or processing any residential unit within this state as a green home or energy efficient home unless the home meets the approved definition. This bill will be heard in the Senate Environment, Water & Energy Committee on Tuesday, January 19 at 10 am.

Land Use, Resources & Environment

Land Use

Land use legislation continues to be a hot topic this legislative session. The House Local Government & Housing Committee will again hear several bills of interest including HB 2566 (exemptions from impact fees for low income housing), HB 2740 (dealing with the Land Use Petition Act), and HB 2383 (relating to the international wildland urban interface code). The Senate Government Operations & Elections Committee will be hearing SB 6214, the companion to HB 2442 (mentioned in last week's bulletin), both of which restructure the Growth Management Hearings Boards. The Natural Resources, Ocean & Recreation Committee is taking up SB 6350 which deals with spatial planning for marine waters.

Finally, the Governor is pursuing legislation that would restructure the Environmental Hearings Office and amend various timelines for both environmental and land use appeals (SB 6422). This bill originated out of the Governor's summer initiative to reform natural resources agencies.

Natural Resources & Water

WSAC testified in opposition to HB 1998 (coordinated water system planning) along with representatives from King and Pierce Counties. After hearing from both proponents and opponents of the bill , the chair of the House Environmental Health Committee indicated that he did not intend to move the bill forward.

WSAC testified in favor of HB 2503 which changes the definitions of members on the Board of Natural Resources statute. The bill makes the definitions of the two universities that are on the Board (University of Washington and Washington State University) current, and also corrects the reference to WSAC which is a private nonprofit organization.

The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee heard HB 2501 which gives counties the option of forgoing payment in lieu of tax (PILT) payments from the Department of Fish and Wildlife on lands where the Department has leased those lands for cattle grazing.

Human Services, Health & Housing

Some Good News in the Governor's Restoration Proposal

Budget continues be the focus for our county human service programs. This week the Governor announced "Restorations" to the 2010 Supplemental Budget. The restorations to important programs for our clients include:

$4.2 million for Community Mental Health services for non-Medicaid clients
$5.4 million for Outpatient Drug Treatment and Detoxification services
$1.4 million in Jail Services for Mentally Ill Offenders.

You can find the complete letter and additional detailed information on restorations to the 2010 Supplemental budget by Clicking Here

Department of Commerce Homeless Funding Proposal
Department of Commerce is proposing a new way of distributing homeless funds. They are beginning the stakeholder input process and expect to go forward with a proposal in the 2011 legislative session. The proposal includes the following elements:

Funding for six existing homeless programs would be consolidated into a single new program to be administered through county governments as the eligible recipients. Counties may choose another entity to manage for the county.
Five programs would fund a base formula allocation and funding from a sixth program would fund a bonus portion of this consolidated approach.
The proposed total administration for the program is fifteen percent.
Dollars granted by Commerce would be matched by local homeless document recording fees.
A number of required components have been proposed related to use of funds and assessment tools.
Bonus funding would be allocated for certain programs including funding for people with severe and persistent mental health illness and individuals exiting from institutions.

WSAC staff is monitoring this closely and will ensure that counties are part of a workgroup that will be discussing further details of the proposal.

Mental Health Bills
Due to the recent law enforcement and Lakewood tragedy, we expect a number of criminal justice related bills that will have impacts on the mental health system. HB 2882 Detaining persons with mental disorders would change the standards by which a designated crisis responder may take a person with a mental disorder or chemical dependency into emergency custody from presenting an "imminent" likelihood of harm to a "substantial" likelihood of harm.

SB 6292 Providing notice of release from involuntary treatment, would require notification of the release of an involuntarily committed person from an evaluation and treatment facility or state hospital.

Public Health Funding Bill

The legislature has some proposals that would provide dedicated funding for public health. We recognize that there are a number of revenue options being considered and WSAC staff are working with leadership on the numerous revenue proposal and conversations.

HB 2382 concerning the taxation of moist snuff, would change the moist snuff tax from a tax based on wholesale price to a weight-based tax. The bill would direct 37 percent of the tax on moist snuff to the public health services account for the purpose of funding local health jurisdictions. The bill was heard on January 15 in the House Finance Committee.

HB 2388 concerning public health financing, will be heard in a joint session of the House Finance and House Health Care and Wellness committees. This bill would remove the sales and use tax exemption on candy, which is estimated to raise approximately $30 million dollars per year. It would create an account, through which this funding source for public health would be distributed and would establish minimum standards from the public health improvement plan.

Public Safety

Overview of the Lakewood Police Department and Maurice Clemmons Case: On Monday night, the House Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee will hold a work session to review the Clemmons case. 31 people are currently on the agenda, including the Governor.

Public Records Legislation
Next week is a big week for legislation pertaining to open government. On Tuesday, the House State Government and Tribal Affairs Committee will hear HB 2583, which incentivizes dispute resolution outside of court setting. This bill is widely supported by local government associations.

On the same day, the Senate Government Operations and Elections Committee will hear both WSAC bills, SB 6367, which allows government entities to direct requestors to agency website when appropriate, and SB 6368, which is the companion to HB 2583.

Use of Restraints
HB 2747 would prohibit the use of restraints on incarcerated pregnant women, expect under extraordinary circumstances. WSAC is very concerned with the potential safety impacts this prohibition could have on the individual, the community, and staff. We are working with the Sponsor and the Committee Chair to address our concerns.

Bail
The House Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee will hear several pieces of bail related legislation, including HB 2625, which eliminates the practice of allowing release on bail where the bail is based on a bail schedule and not individually determined by a judicial officer. WSAC is very concerned of the fiscal implications of eliminating the bail schedule.

Sex Offender Policy Board's response to the State vs. Ramos
SB 6360 is the result of a workgroup convened over the summer by the by the Sex Offender Policy Board in order to respond to the Court's ruling in the Ramos case. Sex or kidnapping offenders required to register under Washington law are no longer required to report to the sheriff every 90 days. The sheriff must make reasonable attempts to verify that an offender is residing at a registered address by sending a yearly mailing to the offender and/or when funded, entering into a performance base contract with WASPC to actively verify offender addresses.

Transportation & Public Works

This week both the House and Senate transportation committees reviewed the Governor's proposed transportation budget, heard agency overviews, and received updates on various interim transportation studies. The Governor's staff received several questions, and strong objections, regarding the proposed merger of the Transportation Improvement Board, Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board, and the County Road Administration Board.

Street Maintenance Utility (HB 2618)
This is one of the Association of Washington Cities' (AWC) top legislative priorities and it will be heard before the House Transportation Committee on Wednesday, January 20 at 3:30 pm. The bill would allow a city to create a street maintenance utility for preservation and maintenance. The utility would have the authority to set rates for local trips generated within the city. There are a lot of unanswered questions about the bill for many parties. For counties, we are concerned about the regional facilities that generate a number of trips from within the county let alone those outside the county. Who would be required to conduct the trip studies to support or refute the rates? Counties continue to work with cities to see if our concerns can be resolved with the bill.

Use of Wireless Communications Devices While Driving (HB 2365/SB 6345)
Under current law, driving while using a cell phone without a hands free device is a secondary offense. Law enforcement may not stop or ticket a person for this offense alone, but they may add this offense if they ticket you for something else. This legislation modifies exceptions to when a person can use a cell phone while driving and makes the use of a cell phone or other wireless devices while driving a primary offense. This bill will be heard before the House and Senate Transportation Committees on Monday, January 18 at 3:30 pm.

Permits for Certain Major Transportation Corridor Projects (SB 6366)
This potentially controversial bill would have the effect of pre-empting some local government land use permitting requirements for temporary buildings and staging areas associated with major state highway construction projects (those costing more than $1 billion). The bill is up for hearing before the Senate Transportation Committee on January 19 at 3:30 pm.

Requiring Project Improvements, Including Public Transportation Infrastructure Improvements, to be Credited Against the Imposition of Impact Fees (SB 5548)
This legislation would obligate jurisdictions that impose impact fees to provide a credit for public transit infrastructure improvements requested by the legislative authority of the jurisdiction imposing the fees, and establish related provisions for impact fee credits associated with public transit infrastructure improvements. As originally drafted, cities and counties imposing impact fees are strongly concerned that this will effectively gut transportation impact fees. WSAC individual cities, and counties are working with the proponents in an effort to seek compromise language before next week's hearing. This bill will be heard before the Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday, January 20 at 1:30 pm.

Washington State Association of County Engineers (WSACE)

Washington State Association of Counties

Eric Johnson

Executive Director

WSAC Policy Staff

Scott Merriman - Deputy Director

Brian Enslow - Policy Director (Public Safety)

Rashi Gupta - Policy Director (Human Services, Health & Housing)

Josh Weiss - Policy Director (WSAC General Counsel and Land Use, Resources & Environment)

Brad Banks - Policy Analyst (Legislative Bulletin, LSC & Website)