AWC Legislative Bulletin - Volume 31, No. 4
February 1, 2008
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In this issue:
What You Need to Know Now
From the Director: Governor Gregoire and Legislative Leaders Address CLAC Attendees
Energy & Telecommunications
General Local Government
Infrastructure, Transportation & Economic Development
Land Use & Housing
Law & Justice
Municipal Finance
Personnel & Labor Relations
Online Legislative Advocacy Tools
AWC Legislative Contacts & Officers
General Local Government
Requiring Taping of Executive Sessions (HB 3292)
At the request of the state Attorney General and the state Auditor, HB 3292 would require all local governing bodies to "make a verbatim audio recording" of all executive sessions and retain the recordings for two years. The bill states that recordings of executive sessions will be considered public records not subject to public inspection or copying under the public records law except by court order and only under judicial review.
Cities and many other local governments do not support a requirement to tape executive sessions. We maintain it will stifle appropriate discussion and infringe upon the attorney-client privilege. In addition, local governments are concerned with the technology and associated costs necessary to insure quality recordings. The bill has been scheduled for public hearing on Monday, February 4 in the House State Government and Tribal Affairs Committee at 8 pm. Cities will be speaking and signing in opposed to this bill, as will other local government entities.
The following bills relate to the Public Records Act and are of great concern to cities:
HB 2839 was heard this week in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Affairs and would overturn a portion of the Soter v. Cowles decision. In that case, a school district preemptively sought a court ruling whether records requested under the Public Records Act would be exempt as attorney privileged or work product documents. The Court ruled in favor of the school district and the records were not disclosed.
This bill would disallow agencies from petitioning for a judicial determination whether records are exempt from disclosure. Without this option, agencies will have to either release documents, rely on third parties named in the documents to seek protection, or take the risk that a court will later disagree and the agency will have to pay daily penalties. AWC remains very concerned about his bill. We maintain that local governments need a vehicle to be proactive and seek guidance without risking penalties.
HB 3231 was also herd this week in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Affairs. Under this proposal, the current Public Records Act exemption for records relevant to a controversy to which an agency is a party but which records would not be available to another party under the rules of pretrial discovery, is narrowed to apply only in cases of an on-going controversy. In addition, any records created prior to the filing of litigation or a notice of legal claim is subject to disclosure.
Under HB 3251 a self-insurance program is not able to define the terms under which an entity complies with the Public Records Act. The bill states that a self-insurance program may not cancel or threaten to cancel insurance coverage based upon an entity's decision, in consultation with its attorneys, to release public records in compliance with the public records act.
The bill is scheduled for executive session February 5 in the House Committee on Insurance and Financial Services & Consumer Protection at 8 am. This is very concerning to AWC's Risk Management Service Agency. Cities and other public groups have been contacting the committee members to relay their concerns with this proposal.
AWC staff will be working with the appropriate committee members on all of these bills to make them aware of cities’ concerns and urge them to not pass it out of their committees.
Filling the Vacancy in the Office of Mayor (HB 1391)
Great news! On January 28, HB 1391 passed the House on a 93-0 vote. This bill clarifies that incumbent council members in mayor-council cities are eligible to be appointed to fill a vacancy in the office of mayor without first having to resign their council seat. In addition the bill proposes to remove the restriction that second class cities must only choose a mayoral replacement from among the sitting council members. AWC would like to thank Rep. Deborah Eddy (D-Kirkland) for her sponsorship of the bill.
Allowing Public Funding of Local Office Campaigns (EHB 1551)
This bill removes the prohibition against the use of public funds to finance political campaigns for local office. However, before a local government may adopt public funding, it must be submitted to the voters for approval or rejection. If a county, city, town, or district establishes a program to publicly finance local political campaigns, only funds derived from local sources may be used to fund the program. On January 28, the bill passed the House on 56-34 vote.
Exempting Agricultural Structures from Building Code Requirements (HB 2767/SB 6609)
HB 2767 was heard in the House Local Government Committee on January 31. SB 6609 is scheduled for a hearing on Monday, February 4 in the Senate Government Operations Committee at 10 am. The bill allows certain agricultural buildings that house farm equipment, hay, grain, poultry, livestock or other horticultural products to be exempt from all building codes, but not from setback requirements or utility easements. Cities, counties, fire personnel and building code professionals expressed concern about this proposal because of the hazards that could arise in an emergency.
Requiring Prepaid Postage on Absentee Ballots (SB 6199)
SB 6199 would require all county auditors to include prepaid postage on all absentee ballot return envelopes. The county auditors estimate this will add at least $1M to the cost of elections each year. Cities and other local governments share in the costs to run elections. A hearing has been scheduled for Monday, February 4 in the Government Operations & Elections Committee at 10 am.
Building Code Liability (SB 5892)
This bill states that a county or city would be liable for damages caused by their negligent failure to enforce the provisions of the state building code. Liability is limited to 50 percent of the actual damages proved. Actions for damages would be subject to mandatory arbitration. Cities are opposed to this bill. A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, February 5 in the Senate Consumer Protection & Housing Committee at 1:30 pm.
Studying Association Plans (SB 6365, HB 2689)
These bills call for a study to be done and were anticipated to require excessive reporting to the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) and opportunities for the OIC to regulate association plans such as the AWC Benefit Trust. Senate Leadership has indicated the senate bill will not be acted upon this session, given the heavy opposition from a variety of existing association plans that was expressed during testimony this week.
AWC took a consistent, yet slightly different approach by providing information regarding the niche our Benefit Trust fills for member cities by meeting legislative mandates for LEOFF benefits and retiree healthcare access, as well as our investment in wellness activities to improve members’ health and keep down costs. These benefits would not be possible without the pooling effect of this association plan.
Universal Catastrophic Health Care Coverage (HB 2640)
By request of the Office of the Insurance Commissioner, Rep. Dawn Morrell (D-Puyallup) introduced HB 2640, which would provide universal health care for all Washingtonians for catastrophic care. It is scheduled to be heard on Tuesday, February 5 at 6 pm in the House Appropriations Committee.
The care would be provided for through a payroll tax. While it is not expected to advance this session, it does provide a blueprint for upcoming discussions about healthcare. AWC will express our interest in including incarcerated individuals, who are currently excluded in the bill.
These bills would authorize tribal police officers to act as general authority Washington state peace officers. HB 2476 passed the House Committee on State Government and Tribal Affairs and was referred to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government & Audit Review.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will hear the companion bill, SB 6524, on Feb 1. The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs support the bills with conditions; however, the Washington Sheriff’s Association opposes the bills citing concerns over rules, jurisdictions, qualifications and liability.
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