Providing Affordable Health Care (HB 2098)

This bill outlines the Governor’s affordable health care plan based on the recommendations of the blue ribbon commission on health care costs and access.

The bill is similar in intent to HB 1569, but rather than mandating that association benefit plans be part of the state’s health insurance connector, it creates an advisory board to design and submit a plan to the Governor and the legislature by December 1, 2007. The connector will be designed to serve as a statewide, public-private partnership for non-large group health insurance plans. No definition of "non-large group" is provided and it is not clear whether or not this would impact AWC’s Employee Benefit Trust, though we do expect this report to form the basis of efforts to create a universal health care program, beginning in 2008.

Special Meeting Notification (SB 5457)

This bill would require that if a public agency has fewer than 1,000 registered voters, it must provide notice of special meetings to any resident who has made a written request to be so notified. Unfortunately, if a special meeting attracts particularly large numbers of interested citizens and they don’t have fax or e-mail, this would require the public agencies to contact interested parties by telephone or in person. AWC has raised this concern to the Chair of the Senate Government Operations Committee, where the bill was heard.

Requiring Website Postings of Certain Information (SB 5420)

SB 5420 would require all public agencies to post to their websites the following information: ordinances, resolutions, rules, regulations, orders, and directives adopted by its governing body. At the hearing on February 5, interested parties expressed strong concern because the timelines proposed in the original bill were simply impractical. Several suggestions were submitted to help alleviate these concerns, some of which were incorporated into the bill.

HB 5240 passed out of the Senate Government Operations and Elections Committee with amendments that made it more palatable. It is important to note that cities or towns with a population of less than 8,000 are now exempt from this proposal. The amended bill would require the following:

The agenda of all regular meetings of any municipality that owns or maintains a web site shall be posted within seventy two hours before a meeting. Except in cases of emergency, the agenda of all special or emergency meetings shall be posted within twenty-four hours before a meeting.
The text of any ordinance, rule, or regulation that is under consideration at the meeting shall be included on the web site at the same time the agenda is posted.
The minutes of all regular and special meetings of any municipality that owns or maintains a web site shall be posted within 15 business days after a meeting (the original bill language required posting within 5 days).

Some parties are still concerned about the 15-day timeline for posting meeting minutes.

Ballot Titles (SB 5418)

This bill would require that a concise description in a ballot title for a local referendum or any other question submitted to the voters by a local government include a statement describing the amount the measure will increase or decrease taxes if the measure has tax implications. As currently drafted, this bill could affect such things as levy lid lifts and bond measures. Several interested parties are working on an amendment to mitigate these concerns.

Filling a Vacancy in the Office of Mayor (HB 1391)

This proposal clarifies that incumbent council members in mayor-council cities or towns are eligible to be appointed to fill a vacancy in the office of mayor without having to resign their council seat first. In addition, the bill removes the restriction that second class cities must only choose a mayoral replacement from among the sitting council members. The bill is now in the House Rules Committee.

Mid-Term Increases in the Cost of Medical Benefits (SHB 1392/SB 5525)

The Attorney General, in a recent memorandum, determined that a mid-term increase in the cost of medical benefits provided to council members or mayors would constitute a prohibited increase in compensation. Research into current state statute reveals that for other local governments, such as county elected officials and fire protection district and utility commissioners, there is an exemption to the compensation issue for costs associated with medical benefits. This proposal simply adds cities to the current local government exemptions.

SSB 1392 was amended and passed out of the House Local Government Committee to also include municipal court judges along with cities in the current local government exemptions. SB 5525 is scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Government Operations & Elections Committee on February 12 at 10 am.

Extending Existing Mental Health Parity Requirements (HB 1460/SB 5446)

These companion bills would require all disability insurances to provide coverage for mental health services to the same degree they provide coverage for other medical and surgical services (see last week’s Bulletin for more information). HB 1460 is scheduled for public hearing in the House Health Care & Wellness Committee on Monday, February 12 at 1:30 pm and executive session later in the week on Thursday, February 15.

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