AWC Aggressively Pursues Legislative Priorities

On November 21, 2008, the AWC Board adopted an ambitious legislative agenda for this legislative session, an extremely unique session given the approximately $8 billion state budget deficit that is expected to be announced in upcoming revenue forecasts. Cities are also experiencing financial difficulties, and AWC is advancing a number of bills addressing our priorities and providing assistance to cities. A number of bills that support our major and other key priorities are listed below. A complete list of bills supporting all of our priorities can be found at www.awcnet.org/prioritybills. In addition, a more detailed description of these bills can be found in their respective sections of this Bulletin.

Infrastructure funding

• Street Utility Authority (HB 1947) – This bill would authorize the creation of a street utility by cities to serve the residents and businesses in utility areas through the preservation and maintenance of streets for areas with an identified street utility service.
• Promoting economic development and community revitalization (ESB 5045/HB1525) – This legislation would expand the community revitalization financing program to allow local governments to finance public improvements using not only the increased local property tax revenues, but also increased sales and use tax revenues from a locally defined area and a state match of local revenues, up to $1 million per year, per project, deducted from state sales and use tax revenues.
• Concerning the use of LIFT for downtown development and redevelopment (HB 1109) – This is a narrow reauthorization of the Local Infrastructure Financing Tool (LIFT) for cities under 100,000 planning under the Growth Management Act.
• Transportation Benefit Districts (HB 1591) – This bill proposes favorable modifications to the existing transportation benefit district statute.
• Stormwater Funding (HB 1614/SB 5518) – These bills provide a new and stable source of stormwater grant funding to cities both around Puget Sound and others required to implement either a Phase I or Phase II NPDES permit.

Fiscal health and flexibility

• Proposed State Operating Budget, 2009-2011 (HB 1244/SB 5600) – The Governor’s proposed budget continues to allocate important funds to local governments. This includes: streamlined sales tax mitigation funds to jurisdictions that are negatively impacted by sourcing; support to local public health jurisdictions; support for criminal justice programs; and appropriations to the City-County Assistance Account.
• Adjusting the property tax levy lid limits for certain local services (SB 5432 and SB 5143) – SB 5432 would eliminate non-supplanting requirements for multi-year levy lid lifts. It would allow permanent emergency services levies to increase by the greater of 101% or inflation and replace the 60% vote requirement with a simple majority vote. SB 5143 allows jurisdictions with a permanent EMS levy to use a limit factor of 6% or less.
• Brokered Natural Gas (HB 1422) – HB 1422 would clarify the definition of "use" for taxation of natural/manufactured gas in response to a May 2008 Court of Appeals decision that could impact the 46 cities with this tax.

Annexation and city/county governance transition

• Annexation reform (SB 5808, SB 5084) – SB 5808 includes provisions that authorize a new interlocal agreement method that would allow a city, county and fire district to agree upon a governance transition plan that would allow annexations to move forward following a public involvement process. As introduced, the process could also move forward if just the city and county agreed, but would then be subject to potential review by a Boundary Review Board and voter referendum. Both bills address the issue of allowing non-code cities to use the 60% property-owner petition method of annexation. Current law requires a 75% agreement in non-code cities, but only a 60% agreement in code cities.

Land use and gambling

• Regulating house-banked social card games (HB 2162) – This bill would allow cities to limit the number of house-banked social card games to those licensed and operating as of the effective date of this legislation.

City flexibility package

AWC is pursuing a number of proposals that support flexible and cost-effective options for cities to provide essential services. Some of these include:

• Modifying provisions of local option taxes (HB 1147/SB 5433) – In addition to removing some of the requirements on how funds collected from the mental health sales tax are spent, these bills would remove non-supplanting requirements from the three-tenths percent public safety sales tax and the multi-year levy lid lifts.
• Allowing qualifying counties and cities to forgo the requirements of one review and revision cycle mandated under the Growth Management Act (HB 2005) – This bill would allow cities under 12,500 population, if population has not grown by more than 17% in the 7 years since the last GMA or critical area update, to "skip" the next update – thus not having to conduct such an update for another 7 years.
• Mitigating medical costs for offenders (HB 1780) – This bill would repeal the expiration date and continue the current practice regarding financial responsibility for costs of medical care provided to arrestees, avoiding additional city costs.
• Concerning real estate excise tax expenditures for parks and capital projects (SB 5630/HB 1744) – This legislation would "harmonize" the locally collected first and second quarter REET and allow its use for parks maintenance and operations purposes.

Success on these issues will be difficult and only possible with significant direct city official assistance. Please take the time to contact your legislators and stress the need to address these issues. State government is experiencing a very difficult budget situation. But so are cities, and we are in need of help!

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