LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF WASHINGTON: Legislative Newsletter (Jan. 23, 2022)
Editor’s Note: The League of Women Voters (LWV) of Washington sent this legislative newsletter on Jan. 23, 2022. Our mission at the Voter Interests Project is to monitor elected officials and ballot measures; we generally do not report on the activities of non-profit organizations. However, the LWV Whidbey Island chapter conducts candidate forums during most election cycles, and are therefore of particular interest to voters. The LWV of Washington’s website states, “The League is a Nonpartisan Source You Can Trust”; however, the LWV does take positions on public policy. Our observation is that their policy positions inform their management of voter forums. Therefore, we believe it to be of interest to our readers to know the positions for which the LWV advocates.
Lobby Week Is Almost Here
Register now for Lobby Week, January 24-27! The virtual program will cover democracy, climate, land use, and housing legislation, as well as the current status of redistricting. Speakers will include our new Secretary of State, Steve Hobbs, Washington State House Majority Caucus Chair Lillian Ortiz-Self, House Minority Leader J.T. Wilcox, Senate Republican Caucus Chair Judy Warnick, and Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig.
Action Alerts
Click on the links below to learn more about bills currently being reviewed in the state legislature. You can “take action” on these most pressing bills by sending a suggested, editable email to legislators, encouraging them to vote to promote the League issue in question.
Tell Your Senator to vote YES for SB 5042
The Growth Management Act (GMA) was passed more than 30 years ago to assure that growth could be accommodated and but our farmland, forests, critical habitats, natural resources and critical areas could be retained into the future. As time has gone by, various amendments to the Act have been necessary to address previously unaddressed needs.
One of those is addressed by SB 5042, concerning the effective date of certain actions taken under the GMA. This bill would close a loophole that has allowed for growth in rural landscapes inconsistent with the intentions of the GMA. The bill would require controversial land use changes by counties by be reviewed by the Growth Management Hearings Board before going into effect.
While this has not been a significant issue for much of western Washington, it has impacted some counties in eastern Washington. However, it will take legislators from both sides of the state to pass this protective amendment to the GMA.
► Please ask your Senator to vote for SB 5042 on the floor.
Oppose SB 5769, Reforming the State Tax System by Providing Tax Relief to Residents, Employees, and Employers
On Tuesday this week, the Senate Business, Financial Services & Trade Committee will be holding a public hearing on SB 5769. This bill purports to benefit taxpayers in Washington State by reforming the tax structure and providing tax relief. What it actually does is remove revenue sources currently available to state and local governments by nullifying a large portion of the property tax, eliminating the business and occupation tax on manufacturing, and repealing the very recently adopted capital gains tax, as well as repealing the long-term care trust program
There is an official tax structure work group that has been working for a year on tax reform and its report is scheduled for December 2022, with recommendations for implementation legislation in 2023. SB 5769 circumvents that process entirely.
State and local governments have still not caught up to the reductions made in the great recession more than 10 years ago and have many unmet needs. Removing funding at this time, rather than systematically addressing structure reform for equity while assuring sufficient funding for government needs is the wrong approach.
Visit the Current Actions page to learn how to support all actions.
Week Two Continues at Quite a Clip!
Last week was the second full week of the 2022 legislative session, and the session is now nearly one quarter complete. Committees are holding public hearings and executive sessions (where they make decisions about the bills) on the bills within their own chamber. After February 3, committees will begin to hear bills passed by the other chamber as well as bills related to the budget.
Meanwhile, the House and Senate are each passing bills on the floor to move to the opposite chamber. These are primarily bills that were already passed in 2021 and returned to the house of origin. Each week that goes by will see increasing numbers of bills passed by committee, through the Rules Committee and on the floor of each chamber.
The virtual opportunities for public participation are working very well this session. One committee had approximately 2000 people sign in on a bill. Every committee meeting has virtual testimony or persons signing on from all over the state—who would not be able to participate if they had to be there in person. This is something the League has encouraged the legislature to continue even when COVID is no longer an issue.
Your help on bills as noted by each issue chair continues to be very helpful. Please read about the issues below that you are interested in and sign in to support the League’s work where you can.
LWVWA Legislative Issues From the 2022 Washington State Legislative Session
Click on an issue to learn more about session results on bills the League supported and “This Week’s Updates” to read the issue chair’s report on this past week.
Democracy
Elections | This week’s updates
Money in Politics | This week’s updates
Education | This week’s updates
Redistricting (coming soon) | This week’s updates
Natural Resources and Climate Change
Climate and Energy | This week’s updates
Growth Management | This week’s updates
Transportation | This week’s updates
Social and Economic Policy
Housing and Homelessness | This week’s updates
Health and Behavioral Health | This week’s updates
Calendar
- JAN 24-27: LWVWA Lobby Week, Co-Sponsored with Fix Democracy First
Other Ways to Follow the State Legislature
- Washington State Legislature website, leg.wa.gov.
- Washington State’s public affairs TV network, TVW.org.
