From the Director: Legislature to Convene – Low Expectations

This is the second year of the biennium and most believe the Legislature will conclude its business in the allotted sixty days if not even a bit earlier. We have heard from the Governor and many legislators not to expect significant changes to the budget. They will tweak the 2007-09 budget but attempt to save as much money as possible for the next biennium’s budget given the predictions for a cooling of the economy. Major new policy initiatives are also not likely given the short session, a desire to save money and the upcoming elections.

The Governor has prepared and presented her supplemental budget. She focuses on maintaining the state’s strong fiscal health, public safety, housing, ferries, and storm recovery. Other issues expected to be addressed include: transportation and the 520 bridge, family leave, and sex offenders.

On January 2, AWC President Rich Munson, AWC Vice President Karen Rogers and I met with the Governor Gregoire to discuss the following AWC policy priorities:

• Infrastructure Funding
• Housing
• Public Safety (including gangs, sex offenders, and support for law enforcement)
• Financing Challenges for Cities

The meeting was very positive. While we don’t expect quick fixes to any of the issues outlined above, the Governor understands our issues and wants to work with us seeking solutions. We also discussed with the Governor legislation the State Attorney General is advancing requiring the taping of executive sessions. AWC is very concerned with the impacts of this proposal. The Governor indicated sensitivity to our concerns but noted support for the legislation as long as the measure includes the appropriate safeguards. We will continue to "work" the issue.

This Bulletin lists AWC’s legislative priorities for the upcoming session. Please take a minute to review these priorities and contact your legislators as appropriate. As indicated above, expectations are low for this session. Regardless we will advance these priorities with the understanding that many of these issues will take a number of years to resolve.

As a reminder, we will begin production of our weekly Legislative Bulletin on January 18. Look for updates on our 2008 legislative priorities in our weekly Bulletin or on our website at www.awcnet.org. We will include bill numbers for these priority issues as they become available.

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