2023 Legislative Update: Week 10

Weekly Update

Last week was focused on policy committee hearings of bills sent over from the opposite chamber. We also saw some bills start to get voted out of committee. This will continue to be the main focus related to bills in the coming week as we work towards the opposite house policy cutoff where all bills have to move out of those committees by March 29th.

We will also see some bills start to be heard by the fiscal committees given there is a quick turnaround of just one week between opposite house policy cutoff and opposite house fiscal cutoff on April 4th. The other big focus next week will be on budgets. On March 20th, the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council will release the next quarterly revenue forecast.

While we won’t know the budget landscape with certainty until that comes out, folks in Olympia are expecting a fairly flat forecast, which won’t provide a lot of funding for new or increased investments. With the release of the forecast, we will start seeing budget proposals released. Here is the timing of budget releases as we know at this point:

Economic & Revenue Forecast

The release of the spring quarterly economic & revenue forecast is the first step in the release of budgets. This paints the picture of what budget landscape the legislature has to work with in crafting their proposed budgets. The forecast is scheduled to come out around 2pm on Monday, March 20th .

Senate Capital Budget

The Senate capital budget will be released at 10:30am on Monday, March 20th and heard in Senate Ways & Means that same day at 4pm. It is scheduled for executive session on Tuesday, March 22nd at 5pm. Senate Operating Budget The Senate operating budget will be heard in Senate Ways & Means on Friday, March 24th at 2pm. Given this timing, we expect we’ll likely see the budget on Thursday this week. But we don’t know the exact timing for that release. It has not yet been scheduled for executive session.

Senate Transportation Budget

While the exact timing isn’t known for sure, we have heard the Senate transportation budget is anticipated on Wednesday, March 29th .

House Operating, Capital & Transportation Budgets

The House did not include hearings for any budgets on their schedule for this week. We have heard that it is likely they will be releasing their budget(s) on Monday, March 27th , but that is not confirmed. We will keep you posted once we know more.

To prepare for the release of the operating budget, you can refer to the Senate Ways and Means Committee Citizen’s Guide to the Washington State Operating Budget. While this was prepared back in 2021, it is still a helpful resource in understanding the operating budget including how it is created, where the funding comes from, and more.

After the release of the respective budget proposals, the Senate and House will each appoint a “conference committee.” These conference committee members will work to resolve differences between the two chambers’ approaches prior to the release of finalized 2023-25 budgets that will be considered by both chambers prior to adjournment of the 2023 legislative session, which is scheduled for April 23rd .

TVW’s Legislative Review does clips each day highlighting some of the hot topics of the day. You can find links to the Legislative Review videos here.

Session Primers

A Primer on Necessary to Implement the Budget

We use the term Necessary to Implement the Budget (NTIB) frequently so I am going to provide a brief overview of what that term means. There is not an actual list where you can see what bills are NTIB but it typically includes bills with spending allotments as well as those that have finance and revenue changes.

Any bill deemed NTIB are exempt from the cutoffs and therefore can be passed at any time during the legislative session. Whether a bill is considered NTIB is a decision by leadership and there can be quite a bit of discretion with this designation. This means that bills can be considered NTIB not just for financial reasons, but also for political reasons.

There are several bills that may be of interest to the Bellevue Chamber:

• SB 5491: Allowing for residential building of a certain height to be served by a single exit under certain conditions
• SB 5200: Capital budget
• SB 5187: 2023-2025 fiscal biennium operating appropriations
• HB 1293: Streamlining development regulations
• SB 5290: Consolidating local permit review processes
• SB 5058: Exempting building with 12 or fewer units that are no more than two stories from the definition of multiunit residential building
• SB 5586: Employees’ paid family and medical leave data

Upcoming Events Report

Law & Justice (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 3/20 @ 10:30am

2SHB 1579 – Public Hearing – Establishing a mechanism for independent prosecutions within the office of the attorney general of criminal conduct arising from police use of force. (Remote Testimony Available).

Housing (House) – HHR B and Virtual JLOB – 3/20 @ 1:30pm

E2SSB 5045 – Exec Session – Incentivizing rental of accessory dwelling units to low-income households.

ESSB 5197 – Exec Session – Addressing landlord-tenant relations by providing technical changes to eviction notice forms and modifying certain eviction processes.

SSB 5386 – Exec Session – Reducing administrative complexity by increasing transparency of revenue flows for activities funded by document recording fees.

SSB 5491 – Public Hearing – Allowing for residential buildings of a certain height to be served by a single exit under certain conditions. (Remote Testimony Available).

Ways & Means (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 3/20 @ 4:00pm

SB 5200 – Public Hearing – Concerning the capital budget. (Hearing is on the Proposed Substitute.)

Capital Budget (House) – HHR B and Virtual JLOB – 3/21 @ 8:00am

ESSB 5301 – Public Hearing – Concerning housing programs administered by the department of commerce. (Hearing is on the Proposed Striking Amendment.)

Local Government, Land Use & Tribal Affairs (Senate) – SHR 3 and Virtual JACB – 3/21 @ 8:00am

ESHB 1293 – Public Hearing – Streamlining development regulations. (Remote Testimony Available).

Law & Justice (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 3/21 @ 10:30am

SHB 1132 – Public Hearing – Concerning oversight and training requirements for limited authority Washington peace officers and agencies. (Remote Testimony Available).

Local Government (House) – HHR E and Virtual JLOB – 3/21 @ 10:30am

2SSB 5290 – Public Hearing – Concerning consolidating local permit review processes. (Remote Testimony Available).

ESSB 5334 – Public Hearing – Providing a local government option for the funding of essential affordable housing programs. (Remote Testimony Available).

2SSB 5412 – Public Hearing – Reducing local governments’ land use permitting workloads. (Remote Testimony Available).

Environment, Energy & Technology (Senate) – SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 3/21 @ 1:30pm

ESHB 1329 – Public Hearing – Preventing utility shutoffs for nonpayment during extreme heat. (Remote Testimony Available).

Housing (House) – HHR B and Virtual JLOB – 3/21 @ 4:00pm

ESSB 5466 – Exec Session – Promoting transit-oriented development.

Civil Rights & Judiciary (House) – HHR A and Virtual JLOB – 3/22 @ 8:00am

SB 5058 – Public Hearing – Exempting buildings with 12 or fewer units that are no more than two stories from the definition of multiunit residential building. (Remote Testimony Available).

Environment, Energy & Technology (Senate) – SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 3/22 @ 8:00am

2SHB 1433 – Public Hearing – Concerning energy labeling of residential buildings. (Remote Testimony Available).

Health Care & Wellness (House) – HHR A and Virtual JLOB – 3/22 @ 1:30pm

2SSB 5120 – Exec Session – Establishing crisis relief centers in Washington state.

Housing (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 3/22 @ 1:30pm

ESHB 1042 – Exec Session – Concerning the use of existing buildings for residential purposes.

SHB 1074 – Exec Session – Addressing documentation and processes governing landlords’ claims for damage to residential premises.

E2SHB 1110 – Exec Session – Increasing middle housing in areas traditionally dedicated to singlefamily detached housing.

SHB 1250 – Exec Session – Modifying the low-income home rehabilitation program.

HB 1367 – Exec Session – Eliminating unnecessary homeless funding budget and auditing requirements

HB 1695 – Exec Session – Defining affordable housing for purposes of using surplus public property for public benefit.

Ways & Means (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 3/22 @ 5:00pm

SB 5200 – Exec Session – Concerning the capital budget.

SB 5201 – Exec Session – Concerning state general obligation bonds and related accounts.

Law & Justice (Senate) – SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 3/22 @ 6:00pm

HB 1054 – Exec Session – Addressing the authority of owners’ associations in common interest communities to regulate or limit occupancy by unrelated persons.

SHB 1080 – Exec Session – Concerning body worn cameras.

SHB 1132 – Exec Session – Concerning oversight and training requirements for limited authority Washington peace officers and agencies.

2SHB 1579 – Exec Session – Establishing a mechanism for independent prosecutions within the office of the attorney general of criminal conduct arising from police use of force.

Community Safety, Justice, & Reentry (House) – HHR D and Virtual JLOB – 3/23 @ 8:00am

SSB 5424 – Exec Session – Concerning flexible work for general and limited authority Washington peace officers.

Labor & Commerce (Senate) – SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 3/23 @ 8:00am

ESHB 1106 – Exec Session – Concerning qualifications for unemployment insurance when an individual voluntarily leaves work.

Local Government, Land Use & Tribal Affairs (Senate) – SHR 3 and Virtual JACB – 3/23 @ 10:30am

ESHB 1245 – Exec Session – Increasing housing options through lot splitting.

ESHB 1293 – Exec Session – Streamlining development regulations.

EHB 1337 – Exec Session – Expanding housing options by easing barriers to the construction and use of accessory dwelling units.

Ways & Means (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 3/23 @ 4:00pm

E2SHB 1167 – Public Hearing – Concerning residential housing regulations. (Remote Testimony Available).

E2SHB 1181 – Public Hearing – Improving the state’s response to climate change by updating the state’s planning framework. (Remote Testimony Available).

State Government & Elections (Senate) – SHR 2 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 3/24 @ 8:00am

E2SHB 1541 – Exec Session – Establishing the nothing about us without us act.

Local Government (House) – HHR E and Virtual JLOB – 3/24 @ 10:30am

2SSB 5290 – Exec Session – Concerning consolidating local permit review processes.

ESSB 5334 – Exec Session – Providing a local government option for the funding of essential affordable housing programs.

2SSB 5412 – Exec Session – Reducing local governments’ land use permitting workloads.

Ways & Means (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 3/24 @ 2:00pm

SB 5187 – Public Hearing – Making 2023-2025 fiscal biennium operating appropriations. (Hearing is on the Proposed Substitute which includes the 2023 supplemental budget.)