Special Legislative Bulletin Update - April 18, 2005
As we noted in last Friday’s regular Legislative Bulletin, bills were to be passed out of the opposite house by 5 pm on Friday April 15.

Since that deadline came just hours after publication of the Bulletin we are sending you this update with the latest action alert, and to reflect status of bills that have changed since Friday.

We are down to the wire as the 2005 legislative session is scheduled to end by Sunday April 24.

Municipal Finance & Economic Development

Local Government Financial Assistance (ESSB 6050)

ESSB 6050, the only remaining legislative proposal to provide needed funding for financially distressed cities and counties this session, is encountering substantial resistance in the House. The bill passed out of the House Finance Committee on Friday April 15. Without additional support, the bill will not move to the House floor during this last week of the legislative session.

While House members recognize the financial problems of those jurisdictions funded under the bill, the current funding source, a new tax on satellite television services, will be a hard vote for many legislators.

Call your legislators today. All legislators need to hear that cities and counties need financial help this year.

ACTION NEEDED: Please CALL your Legislators TODAY to urge their support for ESSB 6050. Tell your legislator that they should not leave Olympia for the year without providing assistance to cities and counties. Remind them of the difficult financial situation faced by many cities.

Card Room "Freeze" Bill (SSB 5994)

AWC had supported this bill as a step towards its priority of clarifying local land use and zoning authority regarding gambling. SSB 5994 failed to pass out of the House Rules Committee for floor consideration before Friday’s deadline. However, the issue remains "in play." As noted below, the language of the bill was attached to SB 5287 and passed out of the Senate Ways & Means Committee on Monday, April 18.

State Gambling Tax on House-Banked Card Rooms (SB 5287)

SB 5287 would impose a 5% state tax on house-banked social card rooms. Local taxes on card rooms would be limited to 10%, but local rates higher than 10% would be grandfathered and taxes above 10% would be credited against the state tax.

The Senate Ways & Means Committee amended this bill to include the language of SSB 5994 to freeze the number of card rooms in the state and passed the bill out of committee on April 18.

The Senate’s version of the operating budget included references to passage of SB 5287, making the bill necessary to implement the budget, but the House budget did not. This issue may be part of the ongoing budget negotiations.

Personnel & Labor Relations

Establishing Objectives for Fire Department Services (SHB 1756)

This bill was passed by the Senate during the final hour before the 5:00 pm cutoff last Friday, on a 36-10 vote. Because it was amended by the Senate Government Operations Committee, it now must go back to the House for concurrence.

The bill requires local governments to maintain written policies on fire department services, functions, organizational structure, expected number of fire department employees, and service delivery objectives, including a performance objective of meeting the response time objectives 90% of the time.

Beginning in 2007, they must also issue annual reports that specify circumstances in which objectives are not being met, the predictable consequences of any deficiencies, and the steps necessary to achieve compliance.

The amended bill clarifies that it is not the legislature that sets the standards for reporting and accountability, but rather the appropriate local governments. Although that clarification is helpful, we remain concerned about the potential liability the legislation imposes on cities. We believe requiring response time goals and a report outlining "deficiencies" enhances the potential for legal action.

Transportation & Infrastructure

Regulating Automated Traffic Safety Cameras (SB 5060)

SB 5060 would allow local governments to use automated traffic enforcement systems such as photo radar, photo devices at stop lights, and photo devices.  The existing pilot study using photo enforcement has shown a dramatic improvement in traffic safety. The bill passed the House on a 61-33 vote.  The Senate has concurred and now the bill is eligible for action by the governor.

Energy & Telecommunications

Preemption of Transmission Siting (SHB 1020)

Initially, this bill would have allowed developers or utilities to take transmission siting projects to the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) in lieu of working the local cities and counties on their projects. The preemption language was eliminated as the bill was substantially amended on the Senate Floor and now provides for two things: 1) creation of an Interconnection Technical Advisory Group, and 2) provision of tax incentives for solar energy systems.  The bill passed the Senate on a 46-0 vote and will now go back to the House for concurrence.