Legislative Bulletin Bill Room (360) 786-7573 Legislative Hot Line 1-800-562-6000 January 28, 2000 http://www.wacounties.org Bulletin #3 COUNTIES RALLY IN OLYMPIA Over 160 county officials, legislators and state agency staff met in Olympia for two days this week for the Annual Legislative Rally. Events kicked off with Legislative Steering Committee Co-Chairs Bettie Sue Morris and LeRoy Allison presenting two informational handouts to the members for distribution to the Legislature. The first handout was a Legislative Alert with county recommendations for I-695 response. It emphasized the need to replace criminal justice, public health, transit and air program funding. The second handout was a fact sheet on the uncertainty of future county revenues. With the passage of I-695 most county and state attorneys have concluded that there can be no increase in the property tax without a vote of the people. The property tax makes up over 40% of the county general fund revenues. When you couple this with the sales tax (20% of the general fund), which counties are suffering a decline from the impacts of annexations and incorporations, the conclusion is that there will not be enough funds to pay for essential public services. Copies of both of these handouts are attached to the back of the Legislative Bulletin. You are urged to send this to your legislators and ask them to pass legislation that replaces your lost MVET funding. Clyde Ballard, Co-Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Val Ogden Co-Speaker Pro Tem, both addressed members of WSAC and WACO at the luncheon. Ballard said there was not enough money to do everything. He did say that the House Republicans want to address transportation issues this session, and not wait until the Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation makes their final report at the end of the year. He said they will use tobacco dollars to replace some criminal justice, sales tax equalization and distressed counties funding. He emphasized that HB 2395, HB 2392 and HJM 4018, all designed to offer a moratorium on state rule making, was broadly supported by the House. He wrapped up his comments by saying he looks forward to working with the counties and noted that he had met with the WSAC officers the previous week. Ogden noted that there was widespread support to replace 90% of the lost public health dollars and echoed Speaker Ballard's comment about HB 2392, a joint task force of legislators, county and city officials and citizens that will look at the future funding needs of local governments. She also said that in the future a local fiscal note should be attached to any bill impacting local governments and if there was no funds to pay for it, then it should not pass. In speaking of local transit and transportation problems she said the state cannot solve all of the problems and said that local governments will have to use their local taxing capacity for transit and other revenue shortfalls. ************************************** STATE PROPERTY TAX CREDIT As reported last week, SJR 8212 received the constitutional two-thirds and passed the Senate by a vote of 43-5 with one Senator excused. The measure has been forwarded to the House and now resides in the House Finance Committee. So far, we have heard little word of support from House members in either caucus. Concerns have been raised by the Governor's office because the fiscal impact would jeopardize some of the Governor's educational reform plans. WACO, in conjunction with CTED, sent a questionnaire out to assessors and treasurers this week asking them to come up with an estimate of costs to implement this measure, as well as the ongoing costs for future administration. These numbers are being prepared so that information will be available if, and when, this measure is scheduled for hearing in the House. Last week, the Assessors' Association voted to take no position on this measure until an adequate analysis is made on what the costs of the implementation and administration were made available. This week, the Treasurers' Association took a similar position. Although there was no specific vote by either group, the consensus of both was that the legislature must provide funding to cover these costs, particularly in light of the impact of I-695. ************************************** AUTOMOBILES, CAMPERS, TRAVEL TRAILERS-PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION Governor Locke's Senate request bill, SB 6115, concerning the motor vehicle property tax exemption, has passed the Senate and is in the House Finance committee, along with the two similar House bills, HB 2309 and HB 2336. The House Committee has already heard testimony on these two measures and the fact that neither bill has passed from the committee may be an indication that they may plan to act on the Senate bill, a quicker route to the Governor's office. ************************************** TIMBER TAX REWRITE SB 6322 died before it got started. This is the measure which the Assessor's Timber Committee worked on throughout the interim and last week agreed to try to advance it this session. This measure was influenced by the encouragement of the Washington Forest Protection Association (WFPA) and their assurances that they would actively support its passage. On Wednesday afternoon, about two hours prior to the hearing, we were notified that WFPA, although still in support of the bill, could not testify in favor because questions had been raised by some of their members. WFPA asked that the measure be pulled so that they could work during the interim to see if they could resolve any uncertainties. This sudden reversal is at the very least discouraging and undermines any confidence that even if we satisfy their concerns, some other landowner may raise other objections next year and we would find ourselves in the very same situation. At the hearing, representatives from the Christmas Tree Growers, signed up indicating they had "concerns" with the bill. Also, the Farm Foresters signed up expressing "concerns" and an individual landowner signed up "con." At our request, Senator Loveland removed the bill from the hearing schedule. Obviously, there was no chance of the measure moving forward. The potential lingering memory of negative testimony could seriously hurt the measure next year. We asked for representatives of all of the organizations concerned to name some individuals to meet with the assessors to sort things out prior to the next legislative session. Maybe this way we can avoid a similar reoccurrence of this fiasco next year. ************************************** LEOFF 1 MEDICAL COSTS (SB 6792) Senator Sid Snyder and Senator Jeannine Long have introduced legislation that will dedicate $50 million from the LEOFF 1 surplus for payment of extraordinary LEOFF 1 medical services. In addition it will reduce the employer and employee contribution rate from six percent to zero, a savings of $5 million annually to all local governments. The bill is signed by 33 senators and has broad bi-partisan support. The $50 million will not be available until after 2001, pending the results of a study done by the Joint Committee on Pension Policy. The study will be conducted with an advisory committee of six employer representatives and six employee representatives. You are urged to let your senators know you support the bill. ************************************** LAW AND JUSTICE ************************************** GOVERNOR-REQUEST BILL WOULD ASSESS NEW PENALTY FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CONVICTIONS In June 1999, Governor Locke appointed a Domestic Violence Action Group to review the tragic situation of Linda David, a disabled Snohomish County woman who was brutally abused. Many of the Action Group's recommendations are included in SB 6400 and HB 2402. Among other provisions, these bills require a new, non-waivable penalty assessment of $500 for gross misdemeanors and $250 for misdemeanors for any offender convicted of a domestic violence crime in district or municipal court. The $500 penalty is comparable to that already assessed in superior court. Half the revenue from the new assessment goes to local governments, half to a new state Domestic Violence Reduction Account for services to victims. While final fiscal notes are not yet available, local governments may have reason to be concerned about the revenue distribution as well as possible increased costs to law enforcement. For example, adding the proposed additional penalty could negatively impact collections of other fines and penalties - already only about 50 percent. And even if there were 100 percent collection of this new penalty, local governments would receive only $143 of the $500 assessment. That's because after the initial 50-50 split, the local government share would be subject to another statutory split sending 43 percent to the state Public Safety & Education Account. WSAC and AWC staff is working with the Governor's office and others who support the bill to establish a revenue distribution that is fair to local governments. ************************************** SENTENCING GUIDELINES STUDY WOULD REVIEW LOCAL IMPACTS Senate Concurrent Resolution 8418 and House concurrent Resolution 4426 direct the state Sentencing Guidelines Commission to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of sentencing policy, including fiscal impacts to the state and local governments. The Commission must present a report to the legislature, with recommendations, by December1, 2001. If implementation of the recommendations would exceed correctional capacity, the Commission must also present alternatives consistent with available capacity. WSAC staff testified in favor of the resolution at House and Senate hearings, and emphasized the need to extend the fiscal review to local law enforcement, court administration and jails. ************************************** TRANSPORTATION ************************************** REGIONAL TRANSIT BILL INTRODUCED Thirteen House Democrats have introduced a bill to provide additional funds for Sound Transit, the Puget Sound-area regional transit authority. HB 2964 authorizes a .065% sales and use tax credit, if adopted by the governing body of the transit authority. This credit would facilitate expansion of high-capacity transportation services by off-setting the taxes paid by regional transit authorities. The bill may be scheduled for a committee hearing next week. ************************************** TRANSPORTATION CO-CHAIR UNVEILS PACKAGE OF LOCAL OPTIONS House Transportation co-chair Ruth Fisher introduced a bill this week to provide a package of local-option taxes and enhancements to help fund county and city transportation needs. HB 3051 offers the following, all subject to voter approval: Counties, or a transportation benefit district in a county that has not imposed a local vehicle license fee, may impose such a fee up to $60 per vehicle. Currently, a $15-per-vehicle fee is authorized for counties, with only four counties participating. Counties may impose a gas tax of up to 5 cents per gallon. Counties and cities may impose a parking tax on employers or employees for employee parking. Cities may establish a city street taxing district. This bill likely will be scheduled for public hearing next week in the House Transportation Committee. ************************************** HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES ************************************** LANDMARK PATIENTS' BILL OF RIGHTS LEGISLATION MOVES TO FULL SENATE FOR DISCUSSION Senate Health Care and then Senate Ways and Means have voted to move the Patients' Bill of Rights, SB 6199, on to the full Senate. The bill has been amended to alleviate any lingering concerns the RSNs and other human services programs that have medicaid funding streams might have had about impact. It clarifies that the intention is to only apply to the Healthy Options managed care plans on the public side. The amendments in Ways and Means also reduced the right to sue provisions to more narrowly define the conditions over when the right to sue exists. Without the change the bill would have cost tens of millions of dollars in premium increases over the next several biennia. It is expected the full Senate will move the bill over to the House quite quickly where the road may be rougher. ************************************** NO MOVEMENT ON INDIVIDUAL MARKET BILLS There is no movement on the competing individual health insurance market bills, HB 2360 and 2362. HB 2360 is the House Republicans' version and extends the waiting period to 12 months among other provisions. HB 2362 is the House Democrats' version. It would expand the waiting period to 6 months from the current 3 months. It also creates a (play or pay) model similar to that adopted in New Jersey where insurers are required to provide 5 standard health plans or else contribute higher assessments to the subsidy fund for covering losses. The parties continue to meet sporadically to negotiate but optimism is scarce that a compromise will be found. ************************************** LOCAL PUBLIC HEALTH PRESENTATION MADE TO HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS Last Thursday, January 20, a panel consisting of Mike Shelton, Island County Commissioner and WSAC Vice-President, Mary Selecky, Secretary of Health, Dr. Federico Cruz, Tacoma-Pierce Health Department, and Dr. Alonzo Plough, Public Health - Seattle-King County presented the impacts of I-695 on local public health to the House Appropriations Committee. Each took a slightly different tack in their presentation making for a complete picture of the concerns. Secretary Selecky covered some of the background of where we got the MVET and what local health and the state-local relationship are all about. Commissioner Shelton covered the impacts to a smaller county and the importance of public health from an electeds point of view. He also got an opportunity to discuss the ferry system with Co-Chairman Huff. Dr. Cruz covered the severe impacts to Tacoma-Pierce and Dr. Plough explained how the loss of the primary source of flexible funds in King County had a multiplier impact since other funds could not be shifted to replace them. The Committee was quite receptive to the panel, perhaps even more then when the full-blown impacts of I-695 were presented earlier in the session. Public health seems to be resounding among everyone as something that must be preserved and protected. We need to continue letting people know how important it is and thanking them all for their support so far. It still appears likely that the tobacco settlement funds in the Health Services Account will be used to help us. But it is extremely important that everyone recognize the potential shortfalls in this account in the next biennium and the tough discussions that will occur. ************************************** HOUSE HEALTH CARE AND HOUSE CHILDREN & FAMILY SERVICES HOLD JOINT HEARING ON RE-ORGANIZATION OF DSHS Tuesday evening, January 25, there was a joint hearing on the possible re-organization of DSHS by the House Health Care and the House Children & Family Services Committees. HB 2627, relating to creating a division of long-term care and rehabilitative services, was introduced. It appears to be an outgrowth of the recommendations from the re- organization work group of the Joint Legislative/Executive Task Force on Long-Term Care which recommended that the Aging Administration be combined with the Health & Rehabilitative Services Administration. However, it remains unclear just what perceived problems will eventually be solved by moving parts of DSHS around without addressing specific issues or resource questions. The problems of serving those who are dually diagnosed with more than one disability seems to be a real concern. Another valid issue is the perceived difficulty of access into many of the disability systems. However some of the original concerns relating to boarding home and adult family home licensure and monitoring that started the work of the task force appear to be on the road to being resolved. One big remaining piece is increasing the training level of many of the caregivers in the residential portion of the long-term care system. This is especially true in light of the increasing acuity of residents and their needs for specialized care. Several bills dealing with increased training have been introduced and the Governor includes a modest proposal in his budget. County systems in DD and mental health were represented on the task force re-organization work group. However, drug and alcohol has been thrown into the mix in the proposed legislation and they were not particularly well-represented nor were any of the smaller disability groups such as traumatic brain injuries or chronic long-term diseases. We did support the idea of better collaboration among the various groups especially aging and the other populations at the state level. However, the proposed legislation goes much farther than the work group and it would be difficult to support the current draft. ACHS members and interested electeds should pull this bill down and review it. Please let Jean Wessman, WSAC staff, know your thoughts about the proposal. ************************************** HEARINGS OF INTEREST IN HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES THE WEEK OF JANUARY 31 - FEBRUARY 4 This is the final week of hearings in the house of origin. A giant cheer will erupt on Friday as hundreds of bills die and things calm down. House Children and Family Services: On Monday, 1:30 PM, they will hear Rep. Kagi's blended funding bill, HB 2807. This allows for blending of funds from DSHS and OPSI at the state level. It is a wonderful concept but WSAC has expressed its concern to her about doing the blending at the state level and how that might impact local control over dollars due to the way the funding streams come down to us especially the lump sum capitated payment in mental health. She intends for the bill to be an interim study and we can work out the details this summer. On Wednesday, February 2 at 1:30 PM, they are hearing an interesting bill, HB 2912, on requiring DSHS to maintain records on children in state custody who are using psychiatric medications. This bears watching to ensure patient confidentiality is protected. On Thursday, February 3 at 1:30 PM they will hear HB 2865, expanding the hearsay rules for vulnerable adults, which has the potential for more cases of abuse or neglect to finally get prosecuted. House Health Care: On Tuesday, February 1 at 1:30 PM, they will be hearing three mental health bills of interest, HB 2663, 2664, and 2683. These are in order, the atypical antipsychotic medication bill, the administrative lid/single audit bill, and the bill protecting patients in state hospitals. WSAC will testify on the first two supporting the concept but suggesting changes in the atypical bill and waiting for JLARC on the administrative bill. Both bills are scheduled for executive session on Wednesday, February 2 at 6:00 PM. Over in the Senate, the Senate Health & Long-Term Care Committee is having DD night on Monday, January 31 at 6:00 PM with three DD bills. These are SB 6597, 6795, and 6623. These are in order; quality improvement through increasing case review, codifying Olmstead, and regulating the wages of community services program employees. On Thursday, February 3 at 1:30 PM, the Committee will be hearing several bills on creating low-cost prescription drug programs. Senate Human Services & Corrections will have a couple of mental health bills on February 1 at 8:00. They are SB 6438, 6439, and 6682. These are department request bills on information exchange, terminology changes on discharge language, and a workplace safety plan for state hospitals. On Tuesday, February 1, 6:00 PM two more mental health bills are scheduled, SB 6487 and 6554. The first is another information exchange and a change to the language surrounding least restrictive alternatives to come into compliance with a recent court decision, In Re Detention of R.W.. On Thursday, February 3 at 8:00, the Committee will hear this year's version of an amended Chemical Dependency ITA bill, SB 6749. This is particularly a King County request bill, which will allow them to process additional commitments through needed clarification of several sections of the act. It doesn't appear that it will add statewide costs unless counties choose to act more frequently on these cases. The following weekend, bills with fiscal impacts will go to House Appropriations and Senate Ways and Means and then the week of February 7 - 11 on to the two Rules Committees and full House and Senate. ************************************** ENVIRONMENT, LAND USE & RESOURCES ************************************** GMA AND RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ISSUES GET ATTENTION Three bills have been introduced to increase planning options for "rural counties," defined as those counties with a density under one hundred people per square mile. Both the House and Senate Committees with jurisdiction over GMA are holding work sessions on rural counties and economic development. HB 2467 expands upon the 1997 rural provisions and authorizes rural counties to allow small-scale business up to fifty employees to operate and expand in rural areas, consistent with the rural character of the area. HB 3021 includes the provisions of HB 2467 and also requires an economic development element in GMA comprehensive plans. SB 6681 authorizes any rural county to confer with its cities and develop alternative methods of achieving the GMA planning goals. It is scheduled for public hearing in the Senate State and Local Government Committee on February 2 at 1:00 p.m. There appears to be support in the House Local Government Committee for clarifying the ability to operate and expand small-scale businesses in rural areas given the legislative sentiment to protect and enhance rural economic development. Although now limited to "rural counties," cities will likely oppose the SB 6681 approach as they did in 1997. OLD GMA ISSUES BACK BEFORE LEGISLATURE AGAIN Efforts to require special districts to plan and operate consistent with county and city adopted GMA plans have new life. HB 1954 (Rep. Ruth Fisher, D- Pierce County) and its Senate companion SB 6519 (Sen. Julia Patterson, D-King County) requires new county-wide planning policies by July 1, 2001, developed collaboratively with cities and special districts, to include the following: sanitary and storm sewer facilities drinking water facilities park and recreational facilities fire districts schools transportation, including roads and mass transit WSAC testified that although coordination with special districts will improve service delivery in the long-run, there likely will be substantial initial costs. Others testified in support of the bill and suggested that it be strengthened to clarify that special districts also must comply with county and city comprehensive plans and development regulations. This amendment is included in SB 6519 and in an expanded House version of the bill, HB 2906, also sponsored by Rep. Fisher. This requirement will probably be opposed by port districts. HB 2795 expands flexibility for land use on family farms. It is scheduled for hearing on Monday at 1:30 in House Local Government. Two bills to merge the Shorelines Management Act into GMA also are scheduled for Monday at 1:30 in House Local Government. HB 2806 is sponsored by Rep. Gary Chandler (R-Grant County) and HB 3031 is sponsored by Rep. Joyce Mulliken (R-Grant County). SB 6355 would change the standard of review for Growth Management Hearings Boards back to what it used to be. WSAC opposed this at a hearing earlier in the week. SB 6446 clarifies the existing requirement in GMA to review and, if needed, revise, comprehensive plans and development regulations at least every five years. The bill requires that review and revision of critical areas ordinances to include best available science be completed by September 1, 2002. But revision of comprehensive plans to reflect the 2000 census information need not be completed until September 1, 2003. The extra is critical because census data likely will not be available until fall 2001. There are several other bills proposing amendments to GMA and to local permitting processes, too numerous to list. Check the Committee schedule for House Local Government and Senate State and Local Government for others. ************************************** NORTHWEST POWER PLANNING COUNCIL BEGINS TO AMEND ITS FISH AND WILDLIFE PROGRAM The Northwest Power Planning Council plans to use the Multi-Species Framework Project to re-create its Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program. This could have important ramifications for regional salmon recovery efforts in Eastern Washington. The Council is seeking recommendations for amendments to the existing program. A notice and accompanying materials can be found at www.nwppc.org. A public meeting to provide an overview of the amendment process will take place on February 1 at the Council office in Portland, 851 SW Sixth Avenue, Suite 1100. Other meetings around the region, including technical issue workshops, will occur during March. Program amendment recommendations are due to the Power Planning Council on April 18; adoption is scheduled for late August. The Council can be reached at 1-800-452-5161. ************************************** PERCEPTION OF SEPA BIAS TRIGGERS SENATE RESPONSE There appears to be a perception that SEPA's public review and procedural requirements are inadequate to protect against bias in the environmental review process. As a result, the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality and Water Resources is considering two bills that propose to prohibit project sponsors from serving as the lead entity responsible for completing an environmental impact statement. Specifically, SB 6475 requires that a lead entity be determined under agreement by all agencies with jurisdiction over the project and all agencies with expertise on the environmental impacts involved. SB 6493 takes a different approach by targeting only public projects that cost over $1 million. SB 6493 requires that the EIS for any public project costing over $1 million be completed by (1) the nearest city with a population over 100,000 if sponsored by a county; or (2) the affected county if sponsored by a municipality. The sponsoring jurisdiction is required to cover the cost of the EIS, however. Both bills would result in a loss of county control over the timing and quality of EIS development. They would presumably result in inefficiency, requiring alternative jurisdictions to perform environmental review in cases where conflict of interest may not be a concern. Further, it is unclear whether the perceived problem is a problem in fact, evinced by the fact that the relief provided in SB 6475 exists under current law. WSAC's Legislative Steering Committee will consider the two bills on January 28, 2000. ************************************** NMFS EXPRESSES SUPPORT AMIDST CONCERN ABOUT NEW SHORELINE RULES During the past few days, the Department of Ecology has received tempered support from NMFS regarding the new draft proposed Shoreline Rules. At the Joint Natural Resources Cabinet (JNRC) Meeting on January 26, Bob Turner of NMFS and Peter Skowlund of the Department of Ecology engaged in a heated discussion of how the new draft proposed Shorelines Rules might fit into the current NMFS 4(d) rulemaking process (which provides ESA liability protections to those activities covered in the 4(d) rule). After much discussion, an informal conclusion was reached that the new draft proposed rules are insufficient to receive ESA liability protections under 4(d) rulemaking. Bob Turner informally stated that any 4(d) protection that encompassed the new shoreline rule would have to contain stronger regulatory language used in conjunction with other regulatory and non- regulatory mechanisms. On Thursday, January 26, NMFS released a letter supportive of the statements made in the JNRC meeting. According to the letter, NMFS supports the current rulemaking activity as a suitable mechanism for ensuring compliance with ESA. NMFS further encourages the state to quickly move forward with its rulemaking to develop a program that meets ESA concerns. NMFS also expresses its willingness to work aggressively to bring the shoreline rules under 4(d) protections to be finalized this June. However, NMFS finds the current draft rules to be substantively lacking for 4(d) assurances. Specifically, NMFS finds the current draft rule lacking in how it addresses the cumulative impacts of single family residence development, ecological functions that must be restored and protected, and existing bulkheads, shoreline armoring, and vegetation alteration and control. NMFS supports the current proposal to earmark $3.8 million over the next year for Shoreline Master Program updates and technical assistance from Ecology. ************************************** OTHER LEGISLATIVE NEWS ************************************** DCTED DE-MERGER HAS LITTLE OPPOSITION Everyone from counties to businesses engaged in international trade to low-income housing advocates testified this week in support of splitting the Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development into two agencies: The Department of Community Development and the Department of Trade and Economic Development. The House and Senate bills are HB 2382 and SB 6396. The Department of Community Development will be headed by Busse Nutley, a former Clark County Commissioner. Martha Choe, a former member of the Seattle City Council will be Director of the Department of Trade and Economic Development. The only controversy over the split is which agency will get the DCTED seat on the Forest Practices Board. Prior to the 1993 merger of the agencies, the Department of Trade and Economic Development sat on the Forest Practices Board; the current designee - Steve Wells, an Assistant Director of DCTED -- is slated to move to the Department of Community Development. The Governor's proposal returns the seat to DTED but allows for interagency staff loan so that Wells can continue on the Forest Practices Board. The timber industry supports the Governor's proposal but would like to see a time limit on the interagency staff loan. The environmental community wants The Department of Community Development to have the seat on the Forest Practices Board. ************************************** OPEN SPACE/AGRICULTURE/MAX VALUE CAP SB 6545 is scheduled for hearing next Tuesday afternoon in the Senate Ways & Means Committee. This measure is sponsored by Senator Snyder, the Senate Majority Leader. We understand it was being introduced on behalf of some cranberry farmers who have experienced a sudden and significant reduction in the sales price of their product. A copy of the bill was faxed out to all assessors earlier this week. Simply stated, the bill says that the open space agriculture value will be the lesser of two thirds of the market value or the value as currently calculated by statute. At this time, we are unaware of any county that has ag lands valued under the open space act at greater than two thirds of the value, so we are not sure that the bill will have any effect. In the past, I have heard assessors comment that the five year "averaging" of income data to come up with the current use value extends back too far. Originally, farmers wanted five years of data used to protect from large valuation jumps because of increases in income; however, income increases over time seem to be much more stable. Dramatic reductions do occur when the market prices go down. So, what's designed to be protection in increasing markets, serves to be a real disincentive when there is an economic downturn. Scott Furman, Chairman of the Assessors' Open Space committee, has agreed to see if there would be any interest on the part of the assessors to recommend a reduction from five years to three years. This would reduce the amount of data assessors would have to retain and would allow the value of the properties to be adjusted more quickly to significant downturns in economic conditions. ************************************** JAIL BOOKING/REPORTING SYSTEM The WACO/Sheriffs' priority bill which would implement a statewide city and county jail booking and reporting system, ESHB 2337, has been passed by the House, with a couple of technical amendments. The system would serve as a central repository for offender information and jail statistical data. LAW ENFORCEMENT STUDY SHB 2370, directing the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) to conduct a study of counties with populations over 150,000 to determine total costs and expenditures for law enforcement for the county and cities within the county, passed out of the House Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee Wednesday evening. E-911 ADVISORY COMMITTEE SB 6378 (E-911 advisory committee) was heard in committee on January 25th. Under current law the E-911 advisory committee will sunset December 2000. The intent of SB 6378 is to extend the committee for five additional years. All testimony was in favor of extending the committee because there are still problems that need to be worked out, including wireless that has presented many challenges for the E-911 centers. The bill will continue to be monitored as it moves along during the session. Several other E-911 bills will most likely not get hearings. ************************************** COUNTY CLERKS' BILLS MOVING SB 6155, Removing social security numbers from dissolution files, will be heard in Senate Judiciary on Monday, January 31, at 10:30 a.m. Thanks to the clerks for their assistance in getting SB 6155 on the agenda. In a short session, there is a lot of competition to be heard. Please contact Senator Heavey and your senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee to urge their support. HB 2328, Lowering anti-harassment filing fees, and HB 2329, judgment summary real property descriptions, were both given a "do pass" recommendation from the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. HB 2328 and HB2329 will proceed now to the House Rules Committee. If either had impacts in excess of $50,000, they would have been routed to a financial committee before Rules. The Rules Committee is where all bills go before they are "pulled' to the floor for a vote of the entire membership. The Rules Committee can be a real "bottleneck" as the first cutoff date approaches, so it is extremely important to contact your Representatives on Rules and urge them to "pull" HB 2328 and 2329. SB 6154, Clerks accepting credit cards, is now in Senate Rules waiting to be "pulled" to the floor. The Senate rules require two "pulls" to get it to the floor. Please contact your Senators on Rules to "pull" SB 6154. ************************************** CORRECTION/DOMESTIC VIOLENCE BILLS SB 6400 and HB 2402, reported in the January 20 Notes from the Hill, outlined new penalty assessments for repeat misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor domestic violence offenses. Those penalties can be levied in municipal and district court only. The penalty assessments are the outcome of Governor Locke's Task Force on Domestic Violence and the intent is to make the penalties consistent with crime victims' assessments that are levied in Superior Court. SB 6400 and HB 2402 were both heard on Wednesday. LIMITING JIS PERSONAL INFORMATION SB 6359, which limits the personally identifying information entered into the Judicial Information System (JIS) of parties' to an order of protection, will be heard next Friday, February 4, in the Senate Judiciary Committee at 10:00 a.m. After discussions with Senator Jeri Costa, the bill's sponsor, it is expected that an amendment will be offered that further limits the allowable identifying information. County clerks objected to the use of the parties' mothers' maiden name and anticipate that a "contact" address will be substituted. Senator Costa has been very supportive throughout this process and should be thanked. EXTENDING JUVENILE JURISDICTION SB 6244, allows an extension of juvenile jurisdiction beyond the age of 18 in order to allow collection of crime victim penalty assessments. This proposal would supercede the ruling in State vs I.Y. which said jurisdiction ends with community supervision. The hearing on SB 6244 was continued to Friday, January 28 at 1:30 p.m. in the Senate Human Services and Corrections Committee. Senator Costa is the sponsor and deserves thanks for this one, too. JAIL COST UPDATE Health care treatment for inmates are costing 19 county jails $3,976,890 annually. The cost of incarcerating misdemeanor offender arrested by state agencies for 14 counties, is $7,771,530. MORE ABOUT JAILS... SB 6142 and its companion bill, HB 2796, both provide for the Department of Corrections to pay for prisoners confined in county jails. Lewis County Sheriff John McCroskey was on hand today to support SB 6142 and, as luck would have it, had to make his argument in about 90 seconds. He did it! HB 2796 will be heard next Wednesday, February 2, at 1:30 p.m. in the House Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee. Sheriffs are urged to express their support of both SB 6142 and HB 2796. MORE FOR SHERIFFS HB 2525 deals with certification of bail bond recovery agents and HB 2526 gives the authority to contract with district court to serve bench warrants. In HB 2525, the certification is granted by a bail bonds agent or agency after firearms training provided by the Criminal Justice Training Commission and minimal training in civil procedure, criminal procedure and use of force. Both HB 2525 and HB 2526 will be heard in the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, February 1, at 1:30 p.m. WASHINGTON NATIONAL GUARD AND LAW ENFORCEMENT SB 6561, set for hearing in State and Local Government next week, is not what it first appears. The bill states the following: "For the limited and specific purpose only, of receiving property or money made available by the attorney general of the United States under section 881 (e) of Title 21 of the United States Code, the Washington National Guard shall be considered a law enforcement agency. Nothing in this subsection creates any new law enforcement powers, duties or obligations for the Washington National Guard." TOXICOLOGY LABORATORY FUNDING HB 2330, the bill to fix the flow of liquor license money to the State Toxicology Laboratory, was heard last week in the House Appropriations Committee. Coroners, medical examiners, sheriffs, and prosecutors are urged to contact their members on House Appropriations Committee and urge their support. Remind them HB 2330 is not new money. ************************************** FOR CORONERS, MEDICAL EXAMINERS, PROSECUTORS AND SHERIFFS HB 2588 creates a domestic violence fatality review panel comprised of representatives of each of the affiliates names above and others under the auspices of the Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development. Although strict confidentiality is built into the bills, the records available to the review panel are extensive. WACO would be interested in the opinions of county officials regarding their responsibility to release these records. If you need a copy of HB 2588, please call WACO. The hearing for HB 2588 is in House Children and Family Services on Wednesday, February 2, at 1:30 p.m. ************************************** COUNTY AUDITORS Island County Auditor Suzanne Sinclair and Snohomish County Auditor Bob Terwilliger were in Olympia this week to testify on SB 6363. This Auditor request bill that separates mail ballots and absentee ballots was heard in the Senate State and Local Government committee. Suzanne testified along with Sheryl Moss from the Secretary of State's Office. Senator Haugen and Senator Horn both expressed some concerns about the bill and those areas of concern are being addressed and the bill amended. Please call your Senate State and Local Government Committee members to request this bill be scheduled for executive session and ask them to support this bill. Bob and Suzanne testified on HB 2635 in House State Government on Wednesday. The bill allows for mail ballot elections to be conducted for I-695 tax or fee issues. HB 2635, among other things, would allow a state agency and/or local government to submit ballot issues at any date, regardless of special election dates. The sponsor of the bill, Representative Romero, made it clear that this bill was a starting point and she is trying to assist in meeting the challenges that I-695 has created. Bob and Suzanne testified that they appreciate the effort and help of Rep. Romero and would like to work on this proposal. Both pointed out the difficulties election administrators would have with open election dates. John Pearson representing the Secretary of State's Office also testified on the bill and pointed out some policy issues that are associated with the bill. Next week a number of election bills are scheduled for hearings. In the Senate State and Local Government committee, SB 6495, changing the primary date, will be heard 1/31/00 at 1:00 p.m. In the House Transportation committee HB 2506 is scheduled on 2/2/00 at 3:30. This bill would allow sub-agents to transfer as part of a sale their business with only the approval of the director. In the House State Government committee on 2/2/00 at 1:30 p.m. a number of election bills will be heard: HB 2777 - Regulating a ballot listing for presidential candidates; HB 2815 - Revising late voter registration procedures; HB 2828 - Changing the primary date; HB 1636-Changing primary dates and associated election procedures; HB 3003-Counting absentee voters for the purpose of mail ballot determination. ************************************** AUTO LICENSING/E-COMMERCE Last week we reported that the Department of Licensing (DOL) was revising their policy for processing vehicle and vessel renewals over the Internet, leaving counties and subagents completely out of the process and in a position to lose tens of millions of dollars. DOL Director Fred Stephens, invited Fred Saeger, Washington Association of County Officials (WACO), Bill Vogler, Washington State Association of Counties (WSAC), county auditors and subagents to a meeting last Wednesday to discuss their change in policy. At the conclusion of the meeting, the local government representatives made it clear that their position was to support the original RFP and to oppose the changes presented by DOL. ************************************** BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ************************************** TIMBER COUNTIES SELECT HUNTINGFORD FOR BOARD OF NATURAL RESOURCES Timber Counties elected Glen Huntingford, Jefferson County Commissioner, to be their representative on the Board of Natural Resources at a meeting in Olympia this week. Huntingford will replace Bob Paylor, who has retired from the Grays Harbor Board of Commissioners. ************************************** COUNTY CALENDAR ************************************** February 1 The county treasurer shall file with the county legislative authority a list of uncollectible personal property taxes stating that efforts have been made to collect the same, but to no avail. The county legislative authority shall cancel such taxes as they are satisfied cannot be collected. RCW 84.56.240 7 The county treasurer shall deliver to the county legislative authority a list of all refunds made during the previous year. RCW 84.69.020 7 The county treasurer shall balance the tax rolls and report to the auditor the amounts of taxes collected and uncollected. RCW 84.56.300 15 County treasurers may begin collecting all property taxes. RCW 84.56.010, .050, .070 15 Filing of autopsy reimbursement requests by coroners and medical examiners due in State Treasurer's office for July- December of (previous year). RCW 68.50.104 21 Presidents' Day - George Washington's and Abraham Lincoln's birthdays observed - Legal Holiday. RCW 1.16.050 29 The State Treasurer shall pay to the treasurer of each timber county, for the account of each taxing district, such district's proportion (determined in December of the preceding year) of the amount in state timber tax accounts collected upon timber harvested in the preceding calendar quarter. RCW 84.33.081(1) ************************************** FYI ************************************** ECOLOGY SEEKS OUTSTANDING RECYCLERS The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) is seeking applications for its annual Waste Prevention, Reduction and Recycling Awards. Six awards will be given to governments, businesses, groups and individuals that had productive waste reduction and recycling programs, and also demonstrated innovative approaches and outreach efforts during 1999. The awards will be given to the best small-business program (under 100 employees), best large-business program (over 100 employees), best federal facility, best small-government program (population under 75,000), best large-government program (population over 75,000), and special recognition for achievement. Nominees could include agencies, stores or offices. Applications are due March 15. Application forms are available by calling 1-800-RECYCLE, or at http://www.wa.gov/ecology/biblio/0007001.html. Applications will be accepted on paper, computer disk, or via e-mail. The awards will be issued on Tuesday, May 2, during the Washington State Recycling Association's annual conference in Pasco. ************************************** COMING EVENTS ************************************** February 11 WSAC Legislative Steering Committee Meeting, Washington Counties Building, 10:30 a.m. 24-25 County Auditors' Records Conference, The Enzian Inn, Leavenworth. 25 WSAC Legislative Steering Committee Meeting, Washington Counties Building, 10:30 a.m. 29 Western State Sheriffs' Annual Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada. Through March 3. March 3-7 National Association of Counties' (NACo) Annual Legislative Conference, Washington Hilton Hotel, Washington, D.C. 27-31 Washington State Association of Coroners' and Medical Examiners' Spring Training, Criminal Justice Training Center, Burien. 28-30 Washington State Association of Sheriffs' and Oregon State Association of Sheriffs' Annual Joint Meeting, Red Lion, Port Angeles. ************************************** JOBS ************************************** DIRECTOR, THE SUNNYSIDE, INC., COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, is recruiting a Director for Sunnyside's comprehensive program of community and economic development. Sunnyside, Inc., is a non- profit corporation which has a 12 year history of providing comprehensive economic development services to the Sunnyside area. The Sunnyside, Inc., office is located at 520 S. 7th Street in Sunnyside. Requirements for this position include a combination of experience and/or education in community and economic development, marketing, public relations and/or business management. Interest in the areas of business recruitment and retention, business planning and finance, supervision and management, written and verbal communications, and intergovernmental community relations are skills for this job. Salary: Up to $55K. Equal Opportunity Employer. To apply contact Sunnyside, Inc. at (509) 839-0399 or e-mail billf@sunnyside.org and request an application packet. The completed application and resume should be submitted to Sunnyside, Inc., P. O. Box 329, Sunnyside, WA 98944. Resumes and applications will be reviewed as received. The position will remain open for applications until filled. **** END ****