Legislative Mid-Session Quick Report
March 12 was the House of Origin deadline for the 2009 legislative session. This deadline saw the end of many bills; while several bills affecting architects also continue to move through the process.
Summary of Cut-Offs
The 12 th was the final day for bills to be voted out of their house of origin, which means that any bill that started in the House, for example, must be passed out of every House committee and voted off the House floor.
If a bill has overcome all these hurdles then it will go to the opposite house (House bills go to the Senate and Senate bills go to the House). Once the bill has moved to the opposite side it repeats the process under a whole new series of cut-off dates (deadlines).
The next cut-offs are: March 30, April 6, and April 17. April 26 will be the final day of the 2009 legislative session. The Governor has 20 days from that date, excluding Sundays, to sign legislation that has made it to her desk or the bill dies.
Some bills that didn’t make it out of their house of origin on March 12 are already dead. The only exceptions to the cut-off rule are: bills that are revived because of a cut-off resolution or those that are "necessary to implement" the budget.
Bills AIA/WA worked on that Are Most Likely Dead
- Altering Association Health Plans, HB 1714 and HB 1712 – these bills would have kept AIA/WA from offering health care plans to members (However, certain members of the legislature are working to get these bills in the budget.)
- Interior Designer licensing, HB 1608
and SB 5514 – these bills did not make it out of committee.
- Removing the funding of art in public buildings, HB 1376 /SB 5163, SB 5693 – these bills would have removed requirements that .5% of funds used on public buildings be spent on art.
- Prohibiting employer communications, HB 1528 and SB 5446 – would have kept any employer from talking to their employee about political issues.
- Boards and Commissions SB 5588, SB 5994 / HB 2151, SB 5995 / HB 2087 – would have eliminated several boards and commissions (these bills are likely to be revived as these bills could be considered "necessary to implement" the budget).
Important Legislation that is Still Alive
Home Warranties / Increased Liability
Today there was a hearing on E2SHB 1393, a milder version of a home warranty liability bill that the AIA|WA opposed. The bill expressly took architects and engineers out of the bill by changing the definition of “construction professional.” However this bill, while improved, has some challenging provisions. The definitions of “inspector” in the bill can still be twisted to include architects (were a lawsuit ever filed). The AIA|WA through its coalition with the AELC (Architects and Engineers Legislative Coalition) gave testimony in opposition to this bill that you can see here.
Licensing Modernization
The AIA|WA testified on the Senate version of the modernization of architects licensing standards, SB 5529, which passed out before March 12. An agreement was made with community colleges that created a compromise regarding the alternate pathway to licensure. You can see the AIA|WA testimony by visiting our blog here.
UW and WSU Contracting Procedures
The bill that passed out of the Senate, SB 5760, would allow the boards of regents for UW and WSU to create their own procurement processes for design-build, GC/CM and job order contracting procedures for projects that do not receive state appropriations. The AIA|WA is opposing this bill.
Proponents of the bill pushed to have the House State Government & Tribal Affairs Committee pass the bill out without a hearing. The AIA|WA received notice about the maneuver only 30 minutes before the hearing! However, with the help of the AGC, AIA|WA was able to talk with most of the members of the committee and block it from being passed.
Then proponents had the bill moved to the House Capitol Budget Committee yesterday in order to try the tactics in a different committee. AIA|WA has meetings set up with nearly every legislator on the 15 member House Budget Committee already.
Climate Pollution in the Built Environment
Both SB 5854 and HB 1747, reducing climate pollution, have had hearings in the last week. Both bills have also been voted on in their perspective committees.
AIA/WA reached agreement with the business community that allowed this legislation make the house of origin deadline and pass committees with strong bi-partisan support. The agreement did not
substantially
change the bill but altered the language requiring businesses to reach “a 70% reduction" by 2031.
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Budget Gap Widens - Talk of Taxes Likely
The Economic and Revenue Forecast Council (Council) has issued a press release updating the revenue projection for Washington. The press release stated that there is a decline in tax collections from the November forecast. This decrease in tax collections equals a weaker forecast for the rest of the biennium.
Numbers have dropped drastically from those that were predicted in the February “Unofficial Early Guidance Report” from the Council; tax collections are now forecasted to be $552 million dollars lower in the next 28 months.
The predicted decrease in tax income has pushed the projected budget shortfall close to $9 million.
The calculation for the projected budget shortfall is done by finding the gap between tax collections and state expenditures. Expenditures are how much the state would need to spend in order to: maintain all state programs at currents levels; pay for growing schools, prisons, and Medicaid caseloads; give pay raises to state workers and teachers; and boost spending on programs for low income individuals and families.
Interestingly, although the budget shortfall has increased, the projected revenue for 2009-2011 is projected to be larger than it was in 2007-2009. With current cuts not closing the gap it is likely that talk of increasing taxes will become more prevalent.
Answers will come later this week when legislative budget writers are expected to unveil their spending plans for 2009-2011.
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