OLYMPIA — Local lawmakers saw some of their hopes for the session dashed while others remained encouraged as the Legislature passed its second cutoff for the session.
Included in the bills that made the cutoff include legislation that would move the Interstate 5 Bridge replacement forward, potentially make fuel cleaner (and more expensive), crack down on sex trafficking and put caps on donations in port commission races.
Wednesday was the last day for bills unrelated to the budget to pass out of their house of origin to remain viable during the session, which is expected to end next month.
As the 105-day legislative session passes its halfway point, 331 bills have passed the House and 308 have passed the Senate. Rep. Monica Stonier, D-Vancouver, who serves as a Democratic floor leader, said the Legislature could be on track to surpass the number of bills passed in the last two sessions.
With the second cutoff over, the Legislature is now turning to what could be the most contentious part of the session: the two-year capital, transportation and operating budgets — as well taxes to pay for it all.
Interstate 5 Bridge replacement
Earlier this month, the Washington Senate Transportation Committee took the first stab at the state’s transportation budget by passing a package of bills out of committee.
The package included what many Clark County lawmakers consider to be a significant win for the region: $450 million for the replacement of the aging Interstate 5 Bridge.
Last year, lawmakers from Oregon reluctantly met with their Washington counterparts to publicly discuss replacing the century-old bridge for the first time since the demise of the Columbia River Crossing project in 2013. Both states will have to repay $140 million in federal funds if they can’t show progress on replacing the bridge.
“My perspective is that we have to demonstrate to our partners in Oregon and the federal government that we are committed to a new I-5 bridge,” said Sen. Annette Cleveland, a Vancouver Democrat who sits on the committee and helped secure the funding.
The package contained few details about exactly how the money would be used and what features of the new structure it would pay for. Cleveland described the money as “a placeholder” to secure future funding for the project once more details have been settled between Oregon and Washington, such as its size and what mode of mass transit will be included. She also said that she will be working to make sure that the $17.5 million Gov. Jay Inslee has dedicated for an I-5 replacement project office be included in the final budget.
Rep. Sharon Wylie, a Vancouver Democrat who sits on the House Transportation Committee, said that the $450 million represents the amount of money Washington didn’t contribute toward the Columbia River Crossing, which died in the Washington Legislature. She added that she expects there to be tolls on the final project.
“There will never be a mega project like this ever (without tolls), in my opinion,” she said.
Wylie said that other members of the Legislature understand the importance of the project even if it’s not in their backyards. She’s also sponsored another bill intended to signal that Washington is serious about replacing the I-5 Bridge. Last week, House Bill 1994 passed out of the House. The bill would create a process for designating certain transportation projects as being of statewide significance and would expedite their planning and permitting process.
She said that legislation would help push the project to completion once an agreement is struck between Oregon, Washington and the federal government. She also said that lawmakers between the two states should “wrestle with the big bears first,” resolving potentially contentious issues such as what kind of transit will be included on the bridge, as well as its location and size.
But the transportation package has faced pushback for relying on a range of tax hikes. According to a committee staff report, Senate Bill 5971, the revenue part of the package, includes a 6 cent increase in the gas tax and $15 per metric ton carbon pollution fee on some businesses. This portion of the package was opposed by Republicans on the committee as well as Sen. Dean Takko, D-Longview.
Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, said that while she appreciated the funding for the bridge replacement, she said the $450 million figure hasn’t been updated for inflation.
She and Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, both said they’re concerned that revenue raised by the legislation isn’t guaranteed to be spent on infrastructure. Rivers said that the price of gas could cumulatively be raised by 20 to 30 cents with the low-carbon fuel standard passed by the House. She also said that while wealthy residents can purchase electric vehicles while everyone else will be stuck paying more at the pump.
“So now you’ve created yet another regressive tax,” said Rivers. “So I don’t see it going anywhere. I really don’t.”
But Wylie said the low-carbon fuel standard would bring the state in line with other states along the West Coast and British Columbia, Canada.
“They’ve done that and the sky hasn’t fallen,” she said. “That’s something we need to do.”
Bond threshold
Stonier has had success with bills she’s sponsored, particularly House Bill 1599. The bill, which passed the House 91-4, would eliminate the requirement that students pass standardized tests in order to graduate. Stonier said she’s heard about students being accepted into college or the military but have been unable to pass standardized exams, which she said is an indication of how flawed the tests are.
However, she said she was “incredibly disappointed” that legislation intended to make it easier for school districts to pass bonds failed in the Senate. In recent years, voters in Clark County, and elsewhere, have passed construction bonds with a majority of votes. But under the state constitution, these measures need to have 60 percent support.
Stonier sponsored a bill that would launch the process to amend the constitution to allow school construction bonds to pass with a majority. But her bill didn’t make it out of committee. A similar measure in the Senate received support from all the chamber’s Democrats. But no member of the Senate Republican Caucus voted for it, denying it the two-thirds vote required by each chamber to amend the constitution.
Both Rivers and Wilson said they voted against the measure because districts should be required to partner with and make their case to the broader community before raising taxes.
“I think it needs to be very difficult to raise property taxes,” said Wilson.
Other bills
In the Senate, Cleveland, the chair of the Senate Health and Long Term Care Committee, has moved forward a range of bills intended to make health care more accessible. Rep. Paul Harris, R-Vancouver, saw his bill raising the smoking and vaping age to 21 pass the House by an overwhelming margin. Wylie also saw a bill putting caps on campaign contributions for port commission races pass out of the House.
While Democrats expanded their majorities in the Legislature in the last election, Republican members of Clark County’s legislative delegation have succeeded in moving their bills this session.
Rep. Vicki Kraft, R-Vancouver, saw several bills pass out the House including legislation that would target illicit massage parlors, increase fines for sex traffickers and another that would change assessments in mosquito control districts. She said she’s optimistic about another bill would change the business and occupation tax filing threshold for small businesses that’s scheduled for a hearing next week.
Rep. Larry Hoff, a freshman Republican from Vancouver, also saw two bills pass the House. One would change the licensing requirements for some professions and another would create a short-form death certificate.
On the Senate side, Rivers said that a comprehensive opioid treatment bill she’s worked on is moving forward, as are a number of reforms to the state’s mental health system that she said will be incorporated into various legislation.
“It’s not just one thing you can point to,” she said. “But a whole bunch of different things that when put together can be a pretty impressive package.”
Wilson said she’s continuing to pursue bills that would provide enhanced tracking of domestic abuser and another that would improve mental health care services for veterans. One of her bills that would allow local governments to extend urban services in some circumstances didn’t advance. But she did see a bill that would index decision of the Growth Management Hearings Board, a state land-use panel. She said the bill would help cities and counties better comply with the state’s land-use laws.
Taxes
To fund his proposed two-year $54.4 billion budget, Inslee has called for increases in the business and occupation tax, as well as a capital gains tax. He’s justified the spending as necessary to provide services to the state’s growing population while satisfying court mandates.
“We are at a turning point on a lot of things,” said Wylie.
She said that more people are realizing that the state’s tax code is inadequate to fund education and take care of aging people.
Stonier pointed to numbers presented by legislative staff showing that while revenues are projected to grow by 9 percent in the next two-year budget cycle, the costs of funding continuing programs is estimated to grow at 14 percent.
Republican members of Clark County’s legislative delegation expressed concern about increased taxation. Both Kraft and Hoff also took issue with the House passing the low-carbon fuel standard after Washington voters have twice turned down carbon-pricing initiatives.
“The citizens of Washington turned that down in the last initiative process and the House voted it through,” said Hoff.
