2023 Legislative Update: Week 5

February 12, 2023

By Lyset Cadena

Contract Lobbyist, Bellevue Chamber

Weekly Update

One third of the 2023 session is done, and committees were busy voting on bills before the first deadline next Friday, February 17 . If a bill has not moved out of its policy committee by February 17, it will be considered dead (unless it’s deemed necessary to implement the budget).

Even though committees were busy with executive sessions, bills dealing with Blake, vehicle pursuits, environmental justice, and affordable housing discrimination continued to have hearings.

There was also floor action last week, including the Senate passing SB 5082, which removes the state’s requirements for advisory votes on revenue legislation to appear on the ballot and voters’ pamphlet. The House passed two bills meant to help address HOA’s restrictions on the number of people living in a unit and prohibiting cities from imposing restrictions or requirements on new housing units constructed within existing buildings located in a multifamily zone.

The next cutoff is just one week later, Friday, February 24th which is the house of origin fiscal cutoff. To build in more time to hear bills, the Senate Ways & Means committee has added a committee meeting on Saturday, February 18th from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. That will mean a fiscal Saturday with a marathon of hearings.

The number of bills being introduced slowed even more this week but there are still new ones being introduced every day. So far this session there have been over 1,600 bills introduced (some of which are companion bills). For comparison, by the end of week 5 in 2021 (the last long session), 1,300 bills had been introduced, and in 2019 (the last in-person long session), more than 2,200 bills had been introduced.

There are several bills scheduled for a hearing this coming week that may be of interest to the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce:

HB 1387: Requiring the criminal justice training commission to establish a program to
recruit and train a pool of applicants who may be employed by certain law
enforcement agencies in the state.
SB 5466: Promoting transit orientated development
SB 5572: Improving traffic safety
SB 5618: Increasing the local property tax revenue growth limit
SB 5707: Establishing a housing court pilot program
HB 1723: Concerning equity and environmental justice in the growth management act
SB 5533: Concerning the creation of a model vehicle pursuit policy

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

Fiscal Notes

Bills generally have fiscal notes attached when the subject matter of the bill requires funding. A fiscal note is an estimation of the expected fiscal impact a bill will have on state and/or local government within a specified timeframe. If a bill has a fiscal note, it is linked under the ‘Fiscal Note’ section of the bill page. You can also go straight to the OFM fiscal note page to search for fiscal notes by bill number or bill title. Since legislation often changes as it continues through the process, fiscal notes can change as well. They also serve as an important tool in writing the state budget. Fiscal note requests are sent to OFM where they are directed to state agencies that would be impacted by the bill to determine the fiscal impact.

When you read a fiscal note, the narrative explanation section is usually very informative. But, the details also really matter. Make sure to look at the source/account of where the fiscal note says funding would come from. Funding from General Fund-State has a direct impact on the state budget. But the funding source also might be federal funding, an agency’s existing admin account, or some other specific source. The fiscal notes also project out for the current biennium as well as the next two biennia.

Upcoming Events Report

Labor & Commerce (Senate) – SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 2/13 @ 10:30am

SB 5259 – Exec Session – Ensuring commerce and workplaces are safe from product theft.

Community Safety, Justice, & Reentry (House) – HHR D and Virtual JLOB – 2/13 @ 1:30pm

HB 1387 – Public Hearing – Requiring the criminal justice training commission to establish a program to recruit and train a pool of applicants who may be employed by certain law enforcement agencies in the state. (Remote Testimony Available).

HB 1530 – Exec Session – Expanding eligibility for employment of certain law enforcement and prosecutor office positions.

Environment & Energy (House) – HHR C and Virtual JLOB – 2/13 @ 1:30pm

HB 1735 – Exec Session – Adding net ecological gain as a voluntary element of comprehensive plans under the growth management act.

Housing (House) – HHR B and Virtual JLOB – 2/13 @ 1:30pm

HB 1695 – Public Hearing – Defining affordable housing for purposes of using surplus public property for public benefit. (Remote Testimony Available).

Transportation (Senate) – SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 2/13 @ 4:00pm

SB 5383 – Public Hearing – Concerning pedestrians crossing and moving along roadways. (Remote Testimony Available).

SB 5466 – Public Hearing – Promoting transit-oriented development. (Hearing is on the Proposed Substitute.) (Remote Testimony Available).

Finance (House) – HHR A and Virtual JLOB – 2/14 @ 8:00am

HB 1473 – Public Hearing – Investing in Washington families and creating a more fair tax system by enacting a narrowly tailored property tax on extreme wealth derived from the ownership of stocks, bonds, and other financial intangible property. (Remote Testimony Available).

HB 1556 – Public Hearing – Concerning property tax rebates for homeowners and renters. (Remote Testimony Available).

HB 1761 – Public Hearing – Increasing the personal property tax exemption. (Remote Testimony Available).

HB 1795 – Public Hearing – Making the estate tax more progressive. (Remote Testimony Available).

HJR 4206 – Public Hearing – Concerning the taxation of personal property. (Remote Testimony Available).

Local Government, Land Use & Tribal Affairs (Senate) – SHR 3 and Virtual JACB – 2/14 @ 8:00am

SB 5332 – Public Hearing – Prohibiting locating homeless encampments near schools and early learning facilities (Remote Testimony Available).

SB 5618 – Public Hearing – Increasing the local property tax revenue growth limit. (Remote Testimony Available).

Law & Justice (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 2/14 @ 10:30am

SB 5707 – Public Hearing – Establishing a housing court pilot program. (Remote Testimony Available).

Local Government (House) – HHR E and Virtual JLOB – 2/14 @ 10:30am

HB 1723 – Public Hearing – Concerning equity and environmental justice in the growth management act. (Remote Testimony Available).

Community Safety, Justice, & Reentry (House) – HHR D and Virtual JLOB – 2/14 @ 4:00pm

HB 1387 – Exec Session – Requiring the criminal justice training commission to establish a program to recruit and train a pool of applicants who may be employed by certain law enforcement agencies in the state.

Housing (House) – HHR B and Virtual JLOB – 2/14 @ 4:00pm

HB 1636 – Exec Session – Concerning foreclosure protections for homeowners in common interest communities.

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

HB 1817 – Public Hearing – Establishing a housing gap voucher pilot program. (Remote Testimony Available).

Local Government (House) – HHR E and Virtual JLOB – 2/15 @ 8:00am

HB 1446 – Public Hearing – Incentivizing cities and counties to increase employment of commissioned law enforcement officers. (Remote Testimony Available).

Housing (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 2/15 @ 1:30pm

SB 5674 – Exec Session – Defining affordable housing for purposes of using surplus public property for public benefit.

Appropriations (House) – HHR A and Virtual JLOB – 2/15 @ 4:00pm

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

Community Safety, Justice, & Reentry (House) – HHR D and Virtual JLOB – 2/16 @ 8:00am

HB 1363 – Exec Session – Concerning vehicular pursuits.

Housing (House) – HHR B and Virtual JLOB – 2/16 @ 8:00am

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

Law & Justice (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 2/16 @ 8:00am

SB 5258 – Exec Session – Increasing the supply and affordability of condominium units and townhouses as an option for homeownership.

SB 5707 – Exec Session – Establishing a housing court pilot program.

Local Government, Land Use & Tribal Affairs (Senate) – SHR 3 and Virtual JACB – 2/16 @ 10:30am

SB 5618 – Exec Session – Increasing the local property tax revenue growth limit.

SB 5651 – Exec Session – Concerning equity and environmental justice in the growth management act.

Capital Budget (House) – HHR B and Virtual JLOB – 2/16 @ 1:30pm

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

HB 1709 – Public Hearing – Concerning housing programs administered by the department of
commerce. (Remote Testimony Available).

Appropriations (House) – HHR A and Virtual JLOB – 2/16 @ 4:00pm

SHB 1445 – Public Hearing – Concerning law enforcement and local corrections agency misconduct through investigations and legal actions. (Remote Testimony Available).

Ways & Means (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 2/16 @ 4:00pm

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

SB 5303 – Exec Session – Creating the public works assistance revolving account.

SB 5732 – Public Hearing – Protecting senior citizens’ and disabled veterans’ property tax exemption eligibility. (Remote Testimony Available).

State Government & Elections (Senate) – SHR 2 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 2/17 @ 8:00am

SB 5418 – Exec Session – Expanding the definition of public work.

Housing (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 2/17 @ 10:30am

HB 1367 – Public Hearing – Eliminating unnecessary homeless funding budget and auditing requirements. (Remote Testimony Available). (If measure is referred to committee.)

SB 5741 – Public Hearing – Establishing a housing gap voucher pilot program. (Remote Testimony Available). (If measure is referred to committee.)