From the Director: AWC Board Adopts 2006 Legislative Priorities
By Stan Finkelstein
The AWC Board met on December 2 and adopted AWC’s legislative priorities for 2006.

The Board adopted the package as presented by AWC’s Legislative Committee. The 16 priorities are included in this Bulletin. The short 2006 session concludes the second year of AWC’s two year legislative process. As a result, the 2006 legislative package consists of those 2005 priorities not addressed in 2005, one significant addition, and a few other adjustments. The significant addition is Streamlined Sales Tax (SST), ranked as the top priority by AWC’s Legislative Committee.

SST Update

As well documented, the SST issue was very divisive in 2004 and 2005. City agreement was reached in the fall of 2005 and, per Executive Committee direction, AWC immediately began drafting legislation and working with other interested parties. The AWC Board has ratified the SST Principles as presented to them and AWC staff will continue to pursue legislation guided by these principles. Please see our website for these principles and other information related to the SST issue.

AWC lobbyists have met with a number of legislators over the last two months on the SST issue. Many legislators are supportive of the bill and will assist us in securing 100% mitigation. Other legislators have expressed concerns that passage of this bill may be deemed by the general public as a tax increase and therefore very difficult to accomplish during an election year. 

Please, we need your help NOW! Contact your legislators before they come to Olympia and urge them to support passage of SST legislation with full mitigation in 2006. Remind them that:

• Downtown businesses are disadvantaged unfairly due to unequal tax treatment. They collect state and local sales tax while most out of state internet sellers do not.
• Full mitigation is imperative for those cities negatively impacted by the sourcing change in order for those cities to accommodate their local economic activity including the siting of warehouses (see the Municipal Finance section for more information).

Thanks for your help with this request. We will need the help of every one of you to secure passage of this very important legislation. 

Please contact me or Jim Justin at jimj@awcnet.org if you have any questions on this issue.

In Closing

The 2005 Legislative session was very successful for AWC and cities. This success was a result of your hard work and contacts with your legislators. While we don’t expect 2006 to be as active given the short session, a very condensed agenda, and the upcoming elections; we encourage you to continue to remind your legislators of your issues and needs. Never stop delivering the messages and requests. While it may not help us immediately, the 2007 session is not that far away.

Happy Holidays!

 
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