From the Director: Legislature Approaches First Cutoff

On Wednesday, February 28, the 52nd day of the 2007 legislative session, the Legislature will reach its first "cutoff."

All measures, other than those in the fiscal and transportation committees, that have not passed out of their committees in either the House or the Senate by February 28 are deemed technically dead for this session. (The first cutoff for the fiscal and transportation committees is March 5.)

For AWC’s lobbyists, the cutoff is a day to celebrate the death of adverse legislation as well as mourn the demise of beneficial legislation that failed to clear the first committee.

Many years ago, the Legislature recognized that because legislative sessions are limited (105 days in odd-numbered years and 60 days in even-numbered years), a defined timeframe for completion of the stages of the legislative process was needed. They established a series of cutoff dates simply as a means of managing the process. The cutoff dates are adopted by the House and the Senate on the first day of each session and guide the timely completion of the Legislature’s work each year. To see the established cutoff dates for the 2007 session, go to www.leg.wa.gov/legislature/calendar/cutoff.htm.

AWC Priorities at Mid-Session

This coming Thursday will be the mid-point of the 105-day session. At this point, the Association’s issues are being well received. The Legislature has been sympathetic to city concerns regarding a number of adverse issues, and many of those seem to be destined for the dust bin. Conversely, many of our proactive issues are finding favor with the majority of legislators. That’s not to say that the AWC priorities have been universally embraced, but rather that many legislators, Republicans and Democrats alike, understand our issues, are sympathetic to their cities’ concerns, and want to be helpful.

We expect this to be a positive session for local governments and recognize that the efforts of many city officials have contributed to the favorable legislative reaction to our positions.

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