AWC Legislative Bulletin - Volume 30, No. 2
January 12, 2007  (Plain Text Version)

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In this issue:
From the Director: Governor Gregoire's State of the State
What You Need to Know Now
2007 City Legislative Action Conference (CLAC)
Energy & Telecommunications
Environment & Water
General Local Government
Infrastructure, Transportation, & Economic Development
Land Use & Housing
Law & Justice
Municipal Finance
Personnel & Labor Relations
Online Legislative Advocacy Tools
AWC Legislative Contacts & Board of Directors

What You Need to Know Now

What’s Ahead: Key Issues

Stormwater Briefings

The Department of Ecology is expected to adopt the NPDES Phase II Municipal Stormwater Permit on January 17. Committees in both the House and Senate will hold briefings on the permit next week, hearing from AWC, city officials, and other interested parties. See the Environment & Water section for additional information.

Last Week’s Highlights

• Streamlined Sales Tax: Companion SST bills that include full mitigation (SB 5089/HB 1072) have been introduced in both houses, and the Senate Ways & Means Committee held a hearing on SB 5089 on Thursday, January 11. City officials should continue to remind legislators that adoption of the SST agreement with full mitigation is still extremely important to cities this session. See the Municipal Finance section for more information.
• LIFT Bill Introduced: SB 5115, which incorporates many of AWC’s proposed changes to the Local Infrastructure Financing Tool (LIFT) was introduced last week. See the Infrastructure, Transportation & Economic Development section for more information on this AWC top priority.
• Offender Re-entry: On January 11, the Senate Human Services & Corrections Committee heard testimony on SB 5070, which includes provisions for community transition networks to provide for increased partnerships in services to offenders reentering the community. AWC testified in support of a pilot concept, but reiterated the importance of liability reforms if local governments will be asked to take on more of a role in supervision of offenders. See the Law & Justice section for more information.
• Update/Correction: Last week we incorrectly identified Rep. Lynn Schindler (R-Spokane Valley) as the ranking Republican on the House Local Government Committee – a position she has held previously. She’s still on the Committee and the new ranking member is Rep. Richard Curtis (R-La Center). Welcome aboard!

How You Can Help – Now!

As the session progresses, look here for ways you can help during the coming week. We’ll summarize any "Action Calls" requested on issues of importance to cities, so you can see right away what you can do to help.

Bills on AWC’s Priorities

On our website, we have posted a list of AWC’s 2007 Legislative Priorities and relevant bill numbers. Visit www.awcnet.org/prioritybills frequently. This link will be updated as bill associated with AWC’s priorities are introduced.