Lunell Haught, President  Joan Lawson, Advocacy Portfolio Director Susan Fleming, Lobby Team Portfolio Director	January 23, 2022  Vol. 54, Issue 3 Subscribe

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.

► Remotely sign in CON for the public hearing in the Senate Business, Financial Services & Trade Committee hearing January 25th at 8:00 AM.

Visit the Current Actions page to learn how to support all actions.

Week Two Continues at Quite a Clip!