February 8, 2021 Hot topics View from the hill Bill grants attorney general new powers to investigate law City Actions Days and cutoff deadlines coming soon – Time enforcement to make your city voice heard In another effort to reform policing in Washington, legislators We are excited to welcome more than 300 city officials and will consider a bill that would give the attorney general staff this week to our online City Action Days. With the first bill concurrent authority and power with county prosecuting cutoff deadline coming next week, now is a perfect time to attorneys in investigating, initiating, and prosecuting crimes reach out to your legislators about bill proposals that impact involving police use of deadly force. Additionally, the bill your city. Learn more about the upcoming cutoff deadlines establishes the Independent Prosecutions Unit in the Attorney and find a link to our weekly Hot Sheet for bills you might be General’s Office (AGO) with jurisdiction over any criminal interested in. offense involving the use of deadly force by a police officer. Another GMA bill addressing the housing element up for What you need to know hearing Affordable housing: Bill to provide options for preservation of The Legislature is showing great interest in providing affordable housing. additional direction to cities and counties on how to prepare the housing element of the Growth Management Act (GMA) Broadband & telecommunications: Priority broadband bills comprehensive plan. AWC is working to harmonize the receive amendments, work session, and hearing. various proposals and secure financial support to perform the Budget & finance: Bill preempting city utility lien authority additional work. Provisions in HB 1232, may be included in scheduled for hearing. such an effort. Capital gains tax and wealth tax bills receive hearings. More Tax Increment Financing bill heads to Ways & Means with technical amendments in tow Bill proposes to lift property tax cap, tying rate to inflation and Tax Increment Financing (TIF) takes another step toward population growth. reality as it passes through the committee hearing process. COVID-19: Cities spent 98% of state Coronavirus Relief Funds. The bill picked up several technical amendments including Click here to see how they used it. a requirement to confer with an impacted school district to Emergency management & cybersecurity: State Auditor's negotiate appropriate mitigation. AWC anticipates additional Office suffers data breach, includes local government technical amendments as the bill works its way through the information. process. Environment & natural resources: Last-minute House bill Things you can do would result in recycling solution setback. Register for City Action Days – Last call! Preliminary language for fish passage rulemaking out. February 10-11 | Online Our online City Action Days starts on Wednesday! You don’t Federal: FEMA to retroactively provide reimbursement for want to miss our great legislative content and city issue COVID-19 costs. updates from legislators, our lobbyists, the Governor, and General government: Ranked choice voting could be more! Join 300 of your city colleagues and take this last chance authorized in Washington. to register. HR & labor relations: Police arbitration bill passes out of committee on bipartisan vote. Media time How are cities doing? Check out our newest infographic that answers the question. Be sure to share this information with your legislators, continued alongside your local stories. Transportation: Bill to amend fuel tax rate for border area jurisdictions.

PFML expansion bill trimmed down, passes out of committee. View from the Hill Land use & planning: Bill to address City Actions Days and cutoff deadlines coming soon – backlog of land use cases due to Time to make your city voice heard COVID-19. Contact: Candice Bock Building permit legislation attempts a This week, AWC is hosting our annual City Action Days (https://wacities.org/events- “default complete” for applications. education/conferences/city-action-days) conference. It’s an online conference, but it still has the same great content that AWC always offers. Make sure to register if Open government: OPMA bills make you haven’t already. Most importantly, remember to schedule meetings with your their way through House and Senate. legislators (https://wacities.org/advocacy/legislator-directory). Pensions: New bills may impact Legislators need to hear from cities about the many bill proposals that impact retirement systems and public you. AWC’s weekly Hot Sheet (https://wacities.org/docs/default-source/legislative/ employee pensions. hotsheet1f294349b78160ed9eadff0000bbe4eb.pdf?sfvrsn=952f5e4f_77) is an easy Public safety & criminal justice: Citizen reference guide for tracking some bills that are currently of greatest interest to cities. oversight bill picks up several key Please use it when meeting with your legislators and feel free to share it with them. amendments. Legislative cutoff deadlines Police reform bills move through While we meet this week at City Action Days, legislators will be holding committee Legislature. votes on bills in advance of this session’s first cutoff deadline. Each session, the Public works: Bill to expand Energy Legislature establishes deadlines that govern the bills moving through the legislative Facility Site Evaluation Council authority process. A bill that fails to advance by one of the cutoff deadlines is typically scheduled for hearing. considered “dead” at that point. However, bills that are related to or necessary to implement the budget (NTIB) are generally exempt from the cutoff deadlines. In addition, the Legislature can always make exceptions to the deadlines if they so choose. The first deadline is Monday, February 15 (the Legislature meets on holidays during session) when bills need to be voted out of their policy committees. Following Feb. 15, the deadlines are: • February 22 – Deadline for bills to pass out of fiscal committees. (Bills with fiscal impacts typically must be heard in both a policy committee and a fiscal committee.) • March 9 – Deadline for bills to pass their house of origin. • March 26 – Deadline for bills to pass out of the policy committees in the opposite house. • April 2 – Deadline for bills to pass out of the fiscal committees in the opposite house. • April 11 – Deadline for bills (not related to the budget) to pass the opposite house.

continued 2 AWC Legislative Bulletin • April 25 – Session ends.

Your city voice As the Legislature approaches the deadlines, it is more important than ever to make your voice heard in the legislative process. It’s not too late to reach out to your legislator and share your city’s position on issues important to your community. If you have already met with your legislators this session, keep up the good work. Remember, it’s not always necessary to set up a meeting. Send a quick email or leave a message to share your input. Bills change quickly, so it is important to tell your legislators where you stand on bills as they are amended. We typically think of supporting or opposing bills, but often it’s the case that more nuance is involved. A single bill may contain provisions that cities support and other provisions we find problematic. Additionally, as bills are amended throughout the legislative process, they sometimes change enough to cause us to shift our position. If you track our weekly Hot Sheet, you may notice bills moving between categories for that very reason. For information to help make your case about the value of cities, check out our new infographic: How are cities doing? (https://wacities.org/data-resources/ articles/2021/02/08/how-are-cities-doing) For tips on being a strong city advocate, don’t miss our Advocacy Academy event during City Action Days where our lobbyists share their best tips and secrets. Our advocacy guide (https://wacities.org/advocacy/advocacy-tools/strong-cities- advocacy-guide) is also a great online resource. If you have any questions about the legislative process or a particular bill, don’t hesitate to reach out to the Government Relations team (https://wacities.org/about-

continued AWC Legislative Bulletin 3 us/contact-us#advocacy). We are always ready and willing to help. Affordable housing Bill to provide options for preservation of affordable housing Contact: Carl Schroeder, Shannon McClelland HB 1035, sponsored by Rep. (D–Kirkland), brings back a proposal presented to the Legislature several years ago. The bill would authorize cities and counties to provide six-year property tax exemptions to preserve existing affordable housing. There are many provisions within the proposal, the core of which is that cities would be authorized to provide a tax exemption to properties that meet the following standards: • Housing units or mobile homes that are rented below market; • Multifamily dwellings that are affordable to households making at or below 50 percent of the area median income and part of a building that is at least 25 years old; and • Owner-occupied single-family structures or ADUs that are affordable to households making at or below 80 percent of the area median income. Cities would be authorized to adopt alternative income or rent thresholds where it determines that an adjustment is needed to serve renters making at or below 50 percent of the area median income in either mobile homes or multifamily units. In addition to the provisions above, properties must also comply with the following requirements throughout the entire exemption period: • A minimum of 25 percent of the residential units in a multifamily property must be affordable. • Qualifying units must be comparable to market rate units in the building. • The building must be at least 90 percent occupied at time of application. • Mixed use properties must dedicate at least 50 percent of the space to residential occupancy.

Date to remember HB 1035 is scheduled for public hearing in the House Local Government Committee on Monday, February 8 at 10 am. Broadband & telecommunications Priority broadband bills receive amendments, work session, and hearing Contact: Marian Dacca, Maggie Douglas A hot topic this year in Olympia is the deployment of broadband in unserved and underserved areas of the state. AWC has been closely tracking numerous telecommunication bills: HB 1336, sponsored by Rep. (D–Bainbridge Island), HB 1440, sponsored by Rep. (R–Kennewick), HB 1460, sponsored by Rep. (D–Kent), and SB 5357, sponsored by Sen. Jim

continued 4 AWC Legislative Bulletin Honeyford (R–Sunnyside). HB 1336, sponsored by Rep. Drew Hansen (D–Bainbridge Island), would provide expanded authority to all public entities to provide broadband and telecommunication services within their jurisdictions. Currently, public utility districts (PUDs) may only operate a telecommunications facility for retail service if there are no other internet service providers willing to provide service. As we reported last week, AWC staff worked closely with Rep. Hansen to remove first-class and code cities from the legislation as they already have this authority. AWC supports HB 1336. AWC and others significant concerns with HB 1440, sponsored by Rep. Matt Boehnke (R–Kennewick). The bill would preempt local governments and remove their ability to govern the rights-of-way much further than the 2018 FCC order. This bill will likely not be scheduled for a public hearing; instead, a work session has been scheduled in the House Community and Economic Development Committee. AWC will continue to monitor the bill through the legislative session. HB 1460 aims to address the digital divide facing communities across the state. The bill proposes additional excise taxes on telecommunication services to fund the expansion of universal service programs in the state. By adding excise taxes on internet access service subscriptions and switched access lines, the state can support the following digital equity programs: • Senior call-check service and notification program: provides seniors a daily call to verify whether the participant is able to receive notifications and answer the telephone. • Washington lifeline program: provides qualified low-income customers rate assistance to secure voice and broadband services. • Universal teleconnect service program: establishes a service program to provide discounted rates for telecommunication services to qualifying K-12 schools, community colleges, libraries, community-based and public hospitals, community-based and public health clinics, and community organizations • Digital equity opportunity program: expands the statewide broadband office’s responsibilities to improve broadband accessibility and adoption for unserved and underserved communities and populations Over the interim, AWC participated in weekly stakeholder meetings with Rep. Gregerson to advocate city broadband needs. We support the bill’s intent to make broadband services more accessible for unserved and underserved communities in our cities. Finally, SB 5357 establishes a capital broadband investment acceleration program within the Department of Commerce’s statewide broadband office. The office would oversee a $200 million competitive grant program to increase broadband access in unserved areas of the state. Cities would be eligible to apply for the competitive grant funding.

Dates to remember HB 1460 is scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Environment, Energy and Technology Committee on February 9 at 10:30 am. SB 5357 is scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Ways and Means Committee

continued AWC Legislative Bulletin 5 on February 11 at 4 pm. Budget & finance Bill preempting city utility lien authority scheduled for hearing Contact: Candice Bock, Maggie Douglas HB 1421, sponsored by Rep. Jeremie Dufault (R–Selah), prohibits municipal-owned utilities from using liens to collect a tenant’s unpaid utility bills. The bill prohibits cities from collecting unpaid or delinquent charges from a property owner when the account is in a tenant’s name. The bill also prohibits a city from refusing to open utility accounts for tenants. Currently, some city-owned utilities only allow accounts in the name of a property owner. Finally, the bill broadens the definition of utility or service beyond the standard water, sewer, electricity to include “hot water, heat, public services, and garbage”. A version of this bill was heard during 2019 and 2020 regular sessions. We did negotiate a compromise on the topic in 2020 but the bill didn’t advance. While certain elements of that compromise are included in this year’s proposal, HB 1421 adds an additional provision that is concerning for cities. Last year, cities agreed to limits on lien authority when the delinquent account was in a tenant’s name. The new provision added in Section (5)(b) of HB 1421 to prohibit cities from refusing to allow accounts in a tenant’s name is problematic. There are cities that only allow accounts to be in the property owner’s name. This provision removes a final option for insuring that a utility can collect on delinquent accounts. The result of HB 1421 would be fewer options for cities collecting delinquent payment— likely resulting in a higher number of unpaid bills, and thus driving up costs for all other ratepayers. Cities have maintained that it is appropriate for landlords to be responsible when a tenant has a delinquent bill because they have tools, like withholding a deposit, to help hold the tenant accountable. This proposal comes at a particularly difficult time as many utilities have seen a financial impact from the pandemic and the emergency shut-off moratorium in place since last spring. In November 2019, AWC conducted a survey to gather city data regarding usage of lien authority. Cities overwhelmingly report that using lien authority is the only sure way to collect payments, as they are often prohibited from shutting off water or sewer services. Due to the public health emergency, utility shut offs are prohibited throughout the state—leaving cities with a handful of options to collect delinquent payments. Cities use a variety of steps before relying upon lien authority: cities report using letters in the mail, door hangers, late fees and penalties, phone calls, and collection agencies. However, cities reported that liens are the most effective way to collect delinquent payments on vacated or foreclosed properties without transferring the burden to the subsequent property owner. At the time of the survey, we estimated that the loss of city lien authority would result in over $6 million in lost city revenue. However, due to the prolific economic distress caused by the pandemic and the moratorium on utility shut offs and late fees, we estimate this number could be as high as $31 million.

Dates to remember HB 1421 is scheduled for public hearing in the House Housing, Human Services &continued 6 AWC Legislative Bulletin Veterans Committee on February 9 at 8 am. The bill is scheduled for executive session in the Committee on February 11 at 1:30 pm, and again on February 12 at 10 am.

Bill proposes to lift property tax cap, tying rate to inflation and population growth Contact: Candice Bock, Maggie Douglas HB 1362, sponsored by Rep. (D–Bothell), proposes to lift the property tax cap and tie the rate to inflation and population growth. Last session Rep. (D–Seattle) introduced HB 2145, which was a similar proposal but it was never scheduled for a committee hearing. We know that it is difficult to generate interest in the Legislature for tackling this topic for cities and other local governments. The Legislature did raise its own property tax cap on a temporary basis to help with school funding requirements in response to the McCleary decision. We appreciate Rep. Duerr for introducing HB 1362 and we encourage the House Finance Committee to take up the bill and advance this discussion. For this legislation to be successful, it is critical that cities let your legislators know that you support raising the property tax cap and ask them to do the same and call for a public hearing on the bill.

Capital gains tax and wealth tax bills receive hearings Contact: Candice Bock, Maggie Douglas SB 5096 and HB 1406, sponsored by Sen. June Robinson (D–Everett) and Rep. (D–Seattle) respectively, attempt to reduce the regressivity of Washington’s tax code by imposing capital gains and wealth taxes on the state’s highest earners. SB 5096 imposes a nine percent capital gains tax beginning January 1, 2022. Capital gains tax is a tax on the profit realized on the sale of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, boats, and real estate purchased at a lower price than the sales price. The additional tax rate, established by the bill, is applied to the capital gains amount reported on an individual’s federal income tax return. The bill contains provisions to avoid double taxation: any sale or exchange that falls under the B&O tax and capital gains tax will receive a credit against the B&O tax for the capital gains tax owed on the sale/exchange. All revenue generated from the tax will be deposited into the state general fund. HB 1406 establishes a state wealth tax for taxing extraordinary financial intangible assets. The one percent wealth tax only applies to individuals owning over $1 billion in intangible assets. All revenue collected from the wealth tax is deposited into the state general fund. Financial intangible assets include: • Cash and cash equivalents; • Financial instruments such as bonds, stocks, commodities contracts, pension funds, etc.; • Units of ownership in a subchapter K entity; and • Other similar intangible assets.

continued AWC Legislative Bulletin 7 AWC has not taken a position on these proposals but is tracking them as part of the larger conversation about the state’s tax structure and budget development. SB 5096 was assumed as part of the Governor’s budget proposals. COVID-19 Cities spent 98% of state Coronavirus Relief Funds. Click here to see how they used it. Candice Bock, Jacob Ewing In 2020, Gov. Inslee allocated $187 million of the state’s share of federal CARES funds to cities for eligible expenses in their communities. While the funds could not be used to replace lost revenues, cities could be reimbursed for unbudgeted, COVID-related expenses. Cities received funds in early summer and had until November 30, 2020, to spend them. Cities stepped up to the challenge by creating new programs, partnerships, and services to support their communities during the pandemic. In just a few months, cities spent nearly $184 million in response to COVID-19 with over a third of funds going to economic supports for local small businesses and residents. In early February 2021, the Department of Commerce completed its accounting of the program and shared the results with AWC. Commerce broke the expenses into five main categories and 29 subcategories. Cities spent the following portions of their CRF allocations in the main five categories: 1. Economic supports: 36% 2. Payroll expenses for public employees dedicated to COVID-19: 35% 3. Expenses to facilitate compliance with COVID-19 measures: 19% 4. Public health expenses: 9% 5. Medical expenses: 1% The top ten subcategories of spending for cities were: 1. Small business grants for business interruptions (Economic supports); 2. Public safety payroll expenses (Payroll expenses for public employees dedicated to COVID-19); 3. Other economic supports (Economic supports); 4. Telework capabilities for public employees (Expenses to facilitate compliance with COVID-19 measures); 5. Paid sick and paid family and medical leave (Expenses to facilitate compliance with COVID-19 measures); 6. Public health payroll expenses (Payroll expenses for public employees dedicated to COVID-19); 7. Other expenses to facilitate compliance with COVID-19 measures (Expenses to facilitate compliance with COVID-19 measures); 8. Public safety measures (Public health expenses); 9. Medical and protective supplies (Public health expenses); and 10. Food access and delivery to residents (Expenses to facilitate compliance with COVID-19 measures). AWC greatly appreciates the time and effort that elected officials and city staff dedicated to making the CRF program successful. It was inspiring to read and hear about the many programs cities set up to support their communities through these trying times. At the federal level, we continue to advocate for direct and flexible funding for cities. On Friday, February 5, the Senate passed a $1.9 trillion stimulus package (https://continued 8 AWC Legislative Bulletin wacities.org/news/2021/01/15/president-elect-biden-announces-1.9-trillion- american-rescue-plan) that includes $350 billion in emergency funding for state and local governments. The stimulus bill is expected to pass through Congress in mid- March and be signed into law before the end of that month. Economic development Tax Increment Financing bill heads to Ways & Means with technical amendments in tow Contact: Candice Bock, Jacob Ewing Tax Increment Financing (TIF) takes another step toward reality as it passes through the committee hearing process. SB 5211 passed through the Senate Business, Financial Services & Trade Committee in late January with mainly technical amendments. One of the more substantial changes was the requirement to confer with an impacted school district to negotiate appropriate mitigation. AWC anticipates additional technical amendments as the bill works its way through the process. Additionally, we have been working with county assessors and fire districts to resolve their concerns with the proposal. AWC hopes to address some of the outstanding issues as the bill is considered in the Ways & Means Committee next. Additionally, the companion bill, HB 1189, awaits a vote in the House Finance Committee. The bills will need to move out of their fiscal committees by the fiscal cut-off deadline of February 22. We ask that you continue to communicate to your legislators about the need for this economic development tool. Washington is one of two states in the U.S. that lack a TIF tool.

Date to remember SB 5211 is scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Ways & Means Committee on Thursday, February 11 at 4 pm. Emergency management & cybersecurity State auditor suffers data breach, includes local government information Contact: Sharon Swanson, Jacob Ewing In December 2020, a third-party service provider used by the State Auditor’s Office (SAO) suffered a security breach exposing a large cache of sensitive information. The SAO determined that the following information was compromised in the hack: • Personal information of people who filed for unemployment claims from January 1 to December 10, 2020. • State employees, as well as people whose identities were used fraudulently to file for claims in early 2020. • Personal information of a smaller number of people, including data held by the Department of Children, Youth and Families. • Non-personal financial and other data from local governments and state agencies. At this time, the Auditor has not indicated which cities were impacted by the hack, nor has it provided more detail about the information that was stolen. While this breach is under investigation and into the future, we recommend that all cities remain vigilant in defending themselves against cybersecurity attacks. continued AWC Legislative Bulletin 9 MRSC has a number of available resources (http://mrsc.org/Home/Explore-Topics/ Public-Safety/Cybersecurity/Cybersecurity-Resources-for-Local-Governments.aspx) including a self-assessment tool for local governments. For more information and resources related to the data breach, please visit the SOA’s website (https://sao.wa.gov/breach2021/). Environment & land use Last minute House bill would result in recycling solution setback Contact: Carl Schroder, Shannon McClelland With little more than a week left until the first cut-off date of session, the Legislature is set to hear a bill that proports to increase recycled content and funding for local government. Unfortunately, the bill would not only fail to accomplish both goals, it would stall momentum for a sustainable solution. The hauler’s association is the architect of HB 1488. In addition to their Senate bill, SB 5219, they are also proposing a new model that is worse than the original. Despite claims that the proposal will increase recycled content in plastic packaging, provide local funding, and bring an element of producer responsibility, AWC believes the proposal would: • Not provide funding to local governments The funding is penalty based, meaning penalties would only apply when the recycled content targets are not met. However, the bill is structured in such a way that this would never happen (see next bullet). Therefore, local governments would receive no funding to address the significant costs for recycling collection and outreach that they bear under the current system. • Not result in increased recycled content for plastic packaging The bill is structured with loopholes big enough to drive a recycling truck through. Provided that the Department of Ecology could even determine whether plastic manufacturers were meeting recycling content targets, the bill includes overly broad off-ramps that would enable manufacturers to avoid a penalty. • Not put the responsibility on those who make packaging choices Confusingly, the bill defines “producers” as, well, not producers at all. Rather, it defines them as manufacturers. In extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation, producers are rightly defined as the brand-owners: those who choose which type of packaging will hold and market their products. Producers make the choice and then order their packaging from plastic manufacturers, who simply fulfill the order. Nevertheless, the proposed bill would put the onus on plastic manufacturers to achieve recycled content standards, though we know it is the producers who drive demand. A case in point: on the national stage, global producers are setting corporate goals for recycled content targets and are coming out in support of EPR laws to help them meet such goals. They recognize the solution is an EPR system. The proposed legislation is not an EPR bill. It will not increase recycled content or address the market crisis for recyclables. If the above were not enough, HB 1488 also preempts local government from passing any ordinance that would address plastic packaging recycled content.

continued 10 AWC Legislative Bulletin AWC opposes the bill and instead asks for your support on SB 5022 and its companion, HB 1118.

Date to remember HB 1488 is scheduled for public hearing in the House Environment & Energy Committee on Thursday, February 11 at 1:30 pm.

Preliminary language for fish passage rulemaking out Contact: Carl Schroeder, Shannon McClelland The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is reviewing the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 77.57 to implement updated rules surrounding fish passage and screening improvement work. This rulemaking will cover substantial issues that will affect your city, such as standards for consequences of ownership of a fish blocking barrier and consideration of climate impacts in culvert design. Last July, AWC and DFW hosted an opportunity for cities to provide early feedback on the effort and begin the process of engaging with DFW on this rulemaking. The agency is sharing preliminary draft rule language (https://wacities.org/docs/default- source/legislative/fishpassagerulemakingdraftlanguage463bd9f2-0b6b-40ff-8d44- e426f08b924e.pdf?sfvrsn=f5c2234f_3) and would like to again receive feedback from cities. This is an important point in the process because the agency has more flexibility to make changes now than when an official draft is filed. DFW is hosting a facilitated discussion for cities and counties to gather feedback on Thursday, February 18 from 2:00 – 3:30. To register, please contact FishPassageRules@ dfw.wa.gov. If you are unable to attend but would like to submit feedback, please share with carls@ awcnet.org. Federal FEMA to retroactively provide reimbursement for COVID-19 costs Contact: Candice Bock, Jacob Ewing On January 21, President Biden issued an executive order (https://www.whitehouse. gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/21/extend-federal-support- to-governors-use-of-national-guard-to-respond-to-covid-19-and-to-increase- reimbursement-and-other-assistance-provided-to-states/) that directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to fully reimburse state and local governments for previously approved costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a clarifying statement (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential- actions/2021/02/02/memorandum-maximizing-assistance-from-the-federal- emergency-management-agency/) issued on February 2, the Biden Administration stated that FEMA will retroactively reimburse state and local governments for approved expenses incurred since the start of the pandemic in January 2020.

continued AWC Legislative Bulletin 11 FEMA reimbursements for the pandemic cover items and services such as masks, gloves, emergency food distribution, and sheltering for at-risk populations. If your city has paid the 25% local cost-sharing contribution for federal disaster aid, contact the State Emergency Management Division (https://mil.wa.gov/ emd-contact-us) and the regional FEMA office (https://www.fema.gov/about/ organization/region-10) to ensure you receive the full reimbursement for the cost. General government Ranked choice voting could be authorized in Washington Contact: Sharon Swanson, Jacob Ewing Dozens of cities and several states around the country use ranked choice voting (RCV) for special, primary, and general elections. Washington state may be next on the list. HB 1156, sponsored by Rep. Kirsten Harris-Talley (D–Seattle) and Rep. Mia Gregerson (D–Kent), provides cities, counties, and special districts the option to conduct elections by RCV. RCV is a voting system that allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference. If a voter's first choice of candidate is eliminated from a race, their vote automatically counts towards their second choice. Cities that choose to use RCV would need to do away with primaries altogether or hold primaries that narrow the number of candidates down to five. If the bill passes, cities could begin using the new system as early as 2024. The bill provides for the creation of a state committee to establish rules for using RCV. It also sets forth a new process for cities to switch to an even-year general election cycle. Previously, cities were required to hold general elections during odd years. HB 1156 received a public hearing in the House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee on Monday, February 8.

Dates to remember HB 1156 is scheduled for executive session in the House State Government & Tribal Relations on Thursday, February 11 at 10 am. HR & labor relations Paid Family Medical Leave expansion bill trimmed down, voted out of committee Contact: Candice Bock, Matt Doumit New amendments to a bill to expand the state’s Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFML) program have significantly reduced the scope of the legislation and focused the bill on COVID-19 response. The original version of HB 1073 would have greatly expanded the PFML program and created significant new costs for employers, and substantially expanded eligibility for state PFML benefits and the number of jobs falling under the PFML law’s job protections. AWC’s write up on the original bill can be found here (https://wacities. org/advocacy/news/advocacy-news/2021/01/09/new-bill-significantly-expands- paid-family-and-medical-leave-eligibility). On Friday, February 4, the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee voted to

continued 12 AWC Legislative Bulletin adopt an amendment that trims down the scope of the bill and addresses many of AWC’s concerns. The amendment was adopted by a 4-2 vote with one excused. The matrix below shows some of the major changes to the original bill by the adopted amendment:

Original bill Adopted amendment (https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/ (https://app.leg.wa.gov/ biennium/2021-22/Pdf/Bills/House committeeschedules/Home/Document/22 Bills/1073.pdf#page=1&toolbar=0&navpa 6917#toolbar=0&navpanes=0) nes=0) Intent Adds intent section specifying benefits eligibility expansion is only for COVID-19 response. Family “Family member” definition expanded “Family member” clarified to be blood member to include any blood relative and person relative or housemates or relationship with definition with “close association.” Caring for a family an expectation of and dependency on care. member is a potential triggering event for taking PFML leave benefits. Benefits Replaced benefits eligibility threshold $1000 threshold removed from bill. eligibility of 820 hours worked over previous four Limited alternative eligibility for COVID-19 threshold calendar quarters with threshold of related claims between Jan. 1, 2021 – June employee earning at least $1000 in covered 30, 2022: employment. • Alternative lookback periods of 820 hours worked in 2019. • Alternative lookback period of 820 hours worked in Quarter (Q) 2 2019 to Q1 2020. • Alternative lookback period of 520 hours worked in Q1 of 2020. Job Expands job protections to small Job protections expansion removed from protections employers and to employees with only 90 bill. days on the job. Removes minimum hours threshold. Health Expands health coverage continuation Health coverage continuation expansion coverage requirements to all employees covered by removed from bill. job protections. As we wrote previously, AWC had concerns about the original bill’s large expansion of PFML eligibility and the problems it could pose to the health of the program itself and potentially drive future increases to PFML premiums. We were also concerned about the potential impacts to staffing and onboarding, the difficulty that smaller cities would have backfilling employees on leave, the difficulty some cities would have in holding jobs open for short term employees, and the significant costs associated with providing medical benefits during the leave period. The amendments largely address these concerns by directly tying PFML eligibility expansions specifically to COVID-19 response, rather than permanent changes to the program. It also removes the problematic job protections and health coverage expansions. Additionally, while the definition of “family member” is still expanded to cover some non-family members, it is limited to those with an expectation of and dependency on care rather than an open-ended “close association.” Due to the changes made by the amendment, AWC will likely now move to a neutral position on the bill. HB 1073 is expected to head to the House Appropriations Committee for further consideration, unless House Leadership sends the bill elsewhere. Since the bill is now out continued AWC Legislative Bulletin 13 of the policy committee, it is safe from the February 15 policy committee cutoff. If the bill goes to Appropriations, it has until February 22 to be voted out of that committee and be sent to the House floor.

Police discipline arbitrator bill amended, passes out of policy committee Contact: Candice Bock, Matt Doumit A bill aiming to change the way police grievance arbitrations are conducted was amended last week and passed out of the Senate Labor, Commerce, & Tribal Affairs Committee. The bill may soon be heading to the floor. We originally discussed SB 5055 in the first week of the session here. The bill sets up an alternative system for law enforcement grievance arbitrations, namely that the Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) would manage a roster of specialized law enforcement grievance arbitrators with special training to decide police discipline disputes. Law enforcement discipline disputes would need to be arbitrated using a PERC specialized law enforcement arbitrator form the roster. PERC would also publish the final arbitration decisions. AWC and some city leaders testified in favor of the bill while offering some additional ways to further improve police reform legislation. On February 3, SB 5055 was amended and voted out of the Senate Labor, Commerce, & Tribal Affairs Committee on a bipartisan 7-0-2 vote and was sent to the Senate Rules Committee to be considered for the Senate floor calendar. Amendments to the bill include: • Removing the bill’s prohibition on law enforcement collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) that prevent implementation of local police reform laws. • Clarifying which law enforcement personnel are covered by the bill. • Limiting the application of the bill to CBAs that provide for disciplinary grievance arbitration. • Establishing how arbitration fees are to be divided up between the parties. • Increasing the size of the roster to a maximum of 18 specialized arbitrators. • Changing some of the minimum qualifications and considerations for arbitrator candidates to be included on the roster. • Including additional trainings to the list of training specialized arbitrators will receive, including citizen’s academy and shoot/don’t shoot training. • Requiring the PERC director to appoint the next arbitrator on the roster if the previous arbitrator was unable to hear a dispute within three months.

continued 14 AWC Legislative Bulletin AWC maintains its support for the bill overall and for additional efforts this session at police reform. We will continue to work with lawmakers to refine the legislation and ensure that any police reform policies passed this session promote equity, maintain public safety, and be practical for cities to implement. Land use & planning Bill to address backlog of land use cases due to COVID-19 Contact: Carl Schroeder, Shannon McClelland This week the Legislature will hear a proposal from a task force charged with designing a method to assist the superior courts reduce a backlog created by the COVID-19 emergency. SB 5225, sponsored by Sen. Sam Hunt (D–Olympia), is the recommended approach from the Appellate Committee of the Board for Judicial Administration’s Court Recovery Task Force. The bill aims to facilitate the transfer of some judicial review of cases under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) and the Land Use Petition Act (LUPA) directly to the state court of appeals.

APA amendments Under current law, such transfers from the superior to appellate court are allowed but are rare because the statutory criteria in the APA are often not satisfied. The objective of the proposed amendments is to temporarily facilitate transfers of APA adjudicative appeals by substituting new standards for those currently in the law. These changes would sunset after five years unless extended by later legislation.

LUPA amendments Similar to that of the APA bill, the objective of the LUPA bill is to facilitate the transfers of LUPA appeals from superior court to the court of appeals for a five-year period. Unlike the APA bill, there is currently no procedure for transferring LUPA appeals from superior court to the court of appeals. The bill proposes a new section to allow this change. The Appellate Committee did not discuss the merits of alternative land use review mechanisms, such as the one used in Oregon, as it was outside of the scope of the Committee’s charge. Oregon’s Land Use Board of Appeals includes land use attorneys—those with the expertise to understand this complex area of law.

Date to remember SB 5225 is scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Law & Justice Committee on Tuesday, February 9 at 10:30 am, and for a vote in the same committee on Thursday.

Building permit legislation attempts a “default complete” for applications Contact: Carl Schroeder, Shannon McClelland Building permit legislation proposed in previous years has re-emerged and is up for a hearing this week. SB 5380, a short bill sponsored by Sen. Phil Fortunato (R–Auburn), assumes the local building permit review is too onerous and amends the local project review statutes by inserting the following provision: A project permit application shall be deemed complete following three reviews or requests for additional information by the local government unless clear violation of substantive and procedural requirements is demonstrated by the reviewing entity. A “three-strikes complete” proposal sets an arbitrary limit for submittals to meet the requirements and does not consider the many omissions that project application submittals can entail, especially from do- it-yourself homeowners who require the extra assistance from local government permit professionals. SB 5380 shifts the burden to submit complete applications from the project owner, where it is appropriate, to the local government. AWC opposes this bill. continued AWC Legislative Bulletin 15 Date to remember SB 5380 is scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Housing & Local Government Committee on Tuesday, February 9 at 8 am.

Another GMA bill addressing housing element up for a hearing Contact: Carl Schroeder, Shannon McClelland The Legislature is showing great interest in providing additional direction to cities and counties on how to prepare the housing element of the Growth Management Act (GMA) comprehensive plan. HB 1232, from Rep. (R–Olympia), is one of the narrower proposals seen this session. The bill passed the House last year on a strong bipartisan vote but did not advance in the Senate. AWC is working to harmonize the various proposals on housing planning and secure financial support to perform the additional work. Provisions in HB 1232 may be included in such an effort. The bill has two major elements: • Requires cities to consider a variety of missing middle housing types (duplexes, triplexes, etc.) in the GMA planning process, and to consider housing locations in relation to employment locations. • Requires cities to link jurisdictional goals in the housing element to overall county goals. If cities do not authorize all missing middle housing types, then the countywide planning policy must provide for how the county as a whole and its cities will meet the existing and projected housing needs of all economic segments. Countywide plans would also be required to “ensure” that cities and counties are collectively meeting the requirements of the Housing Element. The first element seems appropriate to AWC, given the interest in the topic at the state and local levels and the flexibility provided to cities to pursue the work. The second element, on the other hand, is concerning as it potentially involves counties in city decision-making or generating significant interjurisdictional work without resources to support it. The provision is based on a longstanding theme that housing is a regional issue but that local decisions do not always account for regional considerations. AWC would like to hear from cities about other ways to account for regional issues while also retaining appropriate city decision-making.

continued 16 AWC Legislative Bulletin Date to remember HB 1232 is scheduled for public hearing in the House Local Government Committee on Tuesday, February 9 at 10 am. Open government OPMA bills make their way through House and Senate Contact: Candice Bock, Jacob Ewing Allowing virtual meetings under the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) remains an area of focus for legislators this session. HB 1056 passed unanimously out of the House with only a few clarifying amendments. The main purpose of the bill is to allow virtual public meetings during emergencies. It is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate State Government & Elections Committee this week. As amended, the bill would create a new exemption for some cities and towns from having to post agendas online before a public meeting. A city would be exempt from the requirement if the city: 1. Has an aggregate valuation of taxable property less than $400 million; 2. Has a population of fewer than 3,000 residents; and 3. Provides the State Auditor notice that the cost of posting notices on a website would exceed .1% of the city’s budget. AWC supports HB 1056. HB 1329 is set for a vote this week in the House Local Government Committee. The bill would require a virtual option for attending all public meetings. If a city chose to meet remotely, it would not have to offer an in-person option. The bill would also require all meetings to be recorded and the recording made publicly available. It does provide an exemption for cities with fewer than ten full-time equivalent employees or cities where the cost to provide remote access would be more than one percent of the city’s annual budget. Additionally, it would require cities to offer a public comment period before the City Council takes any significant final action. While AWC appreciates the goals of HB 1329, we are concerned about the costs to cities for recording all meetings. HB 1180 is also set for a vote in the House Local Government Committee. The bill would allow cities to hold all public meetings virtually, whether in an emergency or not. However, under the bill, cities would have to allow for public testimony at every meeting. Cities would do so either by way of video, phone, or comments submitted in advance to be read aloud during the meeting. AWC appreciates the goal of HB 1180; however, we are opposed to the state mandating a public comment period at all meetings. We anticipate an amended version of either HB 1180 or HB 1329 to emerge and advance; it would not make sense to move both bills dealing with similar provisions of the law. AWC will meet with legislators next week to learn more about possible amendments to the bills.

Dates to remember

continued AWC Legislative Bulletin 17 HB 1056 is scheduled for public hearing in the Senate State Government & Elections committee on Friday, February 12 at 10:30 am. HB 1180 and HB 1329 are scheduled for a vote in the House Local Government Committee on Friday, February 12 at 8 am. Pensions New bills may impact retirement systems and public employee pensions Contact: Candice Bock, Matt Doumit Two bills that may impact retirement systems and public employee pensions are scheduled for public hearing this week.

Public employee retirement opt-outs SB 5352, sponsored by Sen. John Braun (R–Centralia), permits certain public employees to opt out of participation in a public employee retirement plan. The option is available to public employees otherwise eligible for Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS), School Employees’ Retirement System, and Teachers’ Retirement System. Employees eligible for opt-out must: • Have no prior service in a RCW 41.50.030 listed retirement plan (including PERS, LEOFF, Judicial Retirement System, and PSERS), and • Be age 60 or older when newly hired. A public employee who meets the criteria and wishes to opt out must affirmatively decide to do so prior to reporting to the Department of Retirement Services (DRS) as a plan member. The decision is irrevocable and a successful opt-out will result in no contributions to a public employee retirement system and no ability to take benefits from that system. The bill does not specify how a public employee should notify DRS of a decision to opt out. Public employers will still be required to contribute to the retirement system for normal costs and unfunded actuarial liability as if the employee had decided to participate in the retirement system.

Retirement contribution refunds SB 5367, sponsored by Sen. Steve Conway (D–Tacoma), is a short bill that requires DRS to establish rules to identify inactive retirement accounts on non-vested members of RCW 41.50.030 retirement systems (see link above) with accounts less than $1,000, and provide for closing and refunding of account balances. The bill also specifies that a refund terminates the member’s right to future benefits unless

continued 18 AWC Legislative Bulletin otherwise restored according to the relevant retirement system’s rules.

Dates to remember SB 5352 and SB 5367 are scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Ways & Means Committee on Monday, February 8 at 4 pm. Public safety & criminal justice Bill grants attorney general new powers to investigate law enforcement Contact: Sharon Swanson, Jacob Ewing In another effort to reform policing in Washington, legislators will consider a bill that would require an independent prosecutor or the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) to carry out prosecutions of criminal conduct arising from the use of force by a law enforcement officer. HB 1507, sponsored by Rep. (D–Kent), gives the Attorney General (AG) concurrent authority and power with county prosecuting attorneys in investigating, initiating, and prosecuting crimes involving police use of deadly force. Additionally, the AG could investigate and prosecute a defendant for related offenses. The new authority for the AG would begin on July 1, 2022. The bill also directs courts to consider the public’s interest in ensuring a fair and impartial trial and prosecution when determining who acts as prosecutor for a case involving a law enforcement officer. Additionally, the bill establishes the Independent Prosecutions Unit (IPU) in the AGO. The unit would be comprised of attorneys, investigators, and support staff. Beginning July 1, 2022, the IPU would have jurisdiction over any criminal offense involving the use of deadly force by a police officer. The IPU would also serve as the prosecution for a case involving a police officer where there existed a conflict of interest with the county prosecutor. A prosecuting attorney would be considered to have a conflict of interest if the PA has: • A personal or professional relationship with the police officer or the officer’s department such that the PA’s decision about whether to prosecute or not will be materially impacted; • A duty to represent the officer’s department in any civil actions related to the incident under consideration; or • There exists a significant risk that the PA ability to consider, recommend, or carry out an appropriate course of action will be materially limited as a result of the PA’s

continued AWC Legislative Bulletin 19 other responsibilities or interests. Lastly, if a prosecuting attorney decides not to file criminal charges against an officer, the case must be referred to the IPU within 30-days of that decision. HB 1507 is tentatively scheduled for a public hearing on Tuesday, February 9 in the House Civil Rights Committee.

Police reform bills moving through Legislature Contact: Sharon Swanson, Jacob Ewing Legislators continue to introduce and consider police reform bills in the fifth week of session. HB 5353, sponsored by Sen. Steve Conway (D-Tacoma) and Sen. Jeannie Darneille (D–Tacoma), would establish a new program through the Department of Commerce that would fund 15 community engagement projects across the state. Funds would be distributed to qualifying public agencies – not including law enforcement agencies – and non-profit organizations. The organizations could use the funds to help build trust between community members and law enforcement through dialogue, education, and community policing programs. SB 5066, sponsored by Sen. Manka Dhingra (D–Redmond), is scheduled for a vote in the Senate Ways & Means Committee this week. The bill would require law enforcement to intervene and report use of excessive force by another officer. It would also require officers to render aid to individuals injured as a result of excessive force by another officer. Police departments would have to report any disciplinary decision resulting from an officer’s failure to intervene or report the use of excessive force to the Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC). HB 1262, sponsored by Rep. (R–Kennewick) and Rep. (R– Liberty Lake), is scheduled for a vote in the House Public Safety Committee this week. The bill would add an eye-based truth verification test to the recruitment process of law enforcement and corrections officers. The test measures the credibility of an individual through analysis of physiological responses of the eye such as pupil diameter, eye movement, blinks, and fixations.

Dates to remember HB 5066 is scheduled for executive session in the Senate Ways & Means Committee

continued 20 AWC Legislative Bulletin on Thursday, February 11 at 4 pm. HB 5353 is scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Law & Justice Committee on Tuesday, February 9 at 10:30 am. The bill is scheduled for executive session in the same committee on Thursday, February 11 at 10:30 am. HB 1262 is scheduled for executive session in the House Public Safety Committee on Thursday, February 11 at 1:30 pm.

Citizen oversight bill picks up several key amendments Contact: Sharon Swanson, Jacob Ewing Legislation that will require citizen oversight of police departments with at least fifteen officers has been amended and continues to advance through the legislative process. HB 1203, sponsored by Rep. Jesse Johnson (D–Federal Way), passed through the House Public Safety Committee on Thursday, February 4. It picked up several key amendments in committee; however, AWC continues to work to address additional concerns brought forward by cities. As amended, the bill: • Applies to local jurisdictions with law enforcement agencies that have 15 or more officers. Previously, the bill applied to departments with 10 or more officers. • Allows local jurisdictions to establish a joint community oversight board with other local jurisdictions with whom they have a mutual aid agreement for law enforcement services. • Removes the provision stating that the annual budget for a community oversight board must be equal to or greater than 5% of the total funds allocated in the local jurisdiction for law enforcement purposes. Instead, local jurisdictions must provide adequate funding to the board for staffing and for the performance of the board’s functions and duties. • Removes the provision allowing community oversight boards to obtain outside legal counsel. • Clarifies that community oversight boards must not conduct any criminal investigations, and additionally provides that community oversight board investigations must not take precedence over and may not interfere with any in-progress criminal or internal investigation conducted by a law enforcement agency or independent investigative team, or any other independent investigation body. • Removes provisions allowing the community oversight board to pick candidates for the position of chief. Currently, the hiring panel for the position of chief must include one or more members of the community oversight board. • Requires local jurisdictions to provide training to community oversight board members that includes law enforcement ride-alongs, simulations, curriculum that addresses relevant laws and available data, and anti-bias training. Community oversight board members must complete the training within 90 days of their initial appointment. • Modifies the requirements for local jurisdictions to convert existing similar oversight bodies to the community oversight board model by: (1) allowing those jurisdictions to come into compliance by January 1, 2023, rather than January 1,

continued AWC Legislative Bulletin 21 2022; and (2) allowing local jurisdictions with multiple oversight bodies in place that collectively fulfill the community oversight board functions to continue to maintain multiple oversight bodies, rather than form a singular community oversight board, as long as each body complies with the community oversight board requirements for board membership. AWC appreciates Rep. Johnson bringing these amendments forward. If your city has additional comments on the bill, please contact Sharon Swanson or Jacob Ewing. Public works & infrastructure Bill to expand Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council authority scheduled for hearing Contact: Carl Schroeder, Maggie Douglas SB 5415, sponsored by Sen. Liz Lovelett (D–Anacortes) expands the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council’s (EFSEC) authority to support clean energy project applications. Currently, EFSEC has authority to support alternative energy resource projects, including energy facility projects concerning wind, solar energy, geothermal energy, landfill gas, wave or tidal action, or biomass energy based on solid organic fuels from wood, forest, or field residues. Under this bill, EFSEC would expand their support to include any clean energy project, including alternative energy resources, electric energy sources, facilities capable of processing biofuel, projects capable of producing replacements for natural gas from renewable sources, and other clean energy manufacturing projects. SB 5415 does not alter EFSEC’s requirement to partner with cities and local governments impacted by energy projects—EFSEC must work with the city legislative authority of every city affected by a proposed energy facility. Any city appointed members may sit with the council only at time the council is considering the proposed site, and the council must work with impacted cities to ensure meaningful participation and input during siting review and compliance monitoring. Furthermore, this bill diverts application and permit fees from the Utilities and Transportation Commission to EFSEC. The funds received by the council may only be spent by direction of the chair of the council, supporting a council-led clean energy project siting program, or to develop a list of mitigation measures for significant environmental impacts of clean energy projects. The siting program must be carried

continued 22 AWC Legislative Bulletin out by Washington State University’s energy program and is required to conduct an analysis to determine where the least amount of potential environmental and other conflicts are in the siting of covered clean energy projects. AWC is closely monitoring this bill.

Dates to remember SB 5415 is scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Environment, Energy, and Technology Committee on February 9 at 10:30 am. Transportation Bill to amend fuel tax rate for border area jurisdictions Contact: Marian Dacca, Maggie Douglas HB 1284, sponsored by Rep. (D–Whatcom), increases the statutory maximum fuel tax rate that border area jurisdictions may impose. Currently, cities and towns within a border area jurisdiction may impose an additional one cent per gallon fuel tax, subject to voter approval. The new bill increases the maximum rate to two cents per gallon and adds flexibility to adjust the rate to reflect the change in the implicit price deflator. The border area fuel tax has not been amended since its inception in 1991, roughly thirty years ago. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (https://www.bls.gov/ data/inflation_calculator.htm), if the tax had been tied to the rate of inflation, the border area fuel tax would have been leveraged at two cents since 2007. Cities in border areas currently use the revenue to support critical street maintenance and construction.

Dates to remember HB 1284 is scheduled for public hearing in the House Transportation Committee on February 11 at 3:30 pm.

continued AWC Legislative Bulletin 23 AWC Legislative Contacts During the legislative session, AWC’s lobbyists often are unable to return your phone calls immediately. If you have a legislative or specific issue question, please request AWC’s analyst staff, or send them an email. Call AWC at (360) 753-4137 or 1-800-562-8981

Candice Bock Maggie Douglas Director of Government Relations Legislative Policy Analyst [email protected] [email protected] Issue areas – Economic development; Issues areas – Energy; finance; public federal; finance; human resources, labor works; telecommunications relations & pensions; open government Matt Doumit Marian Dacca Legislative Policy Analyst Government Relations Advocate Issue areas – Human resources; labor [email protected] relations; pensions Issue areas – Economic development; energy; telecommunications; Jacob Ewing transportation Legislative Policy Analyst [email protected] Carl Schroeder Issue areas – Cannabis; economic Government Relations Advocate development; emergency management [email protected] & cybersecurity; general government; Issue areas – Building codes; human services & behavioral health; environment & natural resources; liability; open government; public safety housing & homelessness; land use & & criminal justice planning Shannon McClelland Sharon Swanson Legislative Policy Analyst Government Relations Advocate [email protected] [email protected] Issue areas – Building codes; Issue areas – Cannabis; emergency environment & natural resources; management & cybersecurity; housing & homelessness; land use & general government; human services planning; transportation & behavioral health; liability; open government; public safety & criminal Emma Shepard justice Strategic Content Analyst

Brianna Morin Government Relations Assistant AWC CEO Issue areas – Federal Peter B. King, [email protected] AWC Officers President Soo Ing-Moody, Mayor, Twisp Vice President Kent Keel, Mayor, University Place Secretary Candace Mumm, Councilmember, Spokane Immediate Past President Ed Stern, Councilmember, Poulsbo Past President Don Britain, Mayor, Kennewick Large City Representative Keith Blocker, Deputy Mayor, Tacoma For a complete list of AWC Board of Directors, visit wacities.org/boardofdirectors.continued 24 AWC Legislative Bulletin