WAWG
By Diana Carlen
WAWG Lobbyist
The 2018 Legislative Session was scheduled as a short, 60-day session, focused on passing supplemental budgets and addressing the Supreme Court’s McCleary decision mandating that the Legislature speed up funding basic education. The Legislature also had carry-over work from last session to complete, including finding a legislative fix to the Supreme Court’s Hirst decision and adopting a capital budget for 2017-19.
Thanks to a strong economy and a windfall of new revenue coming to the state, legislators were able to accomplish their priorities on time and without raising taxes. In addition, legislators were able to provide modest property tax relief for 2019. However, the budget diverted $700 million from the budget stabilization account (rainy day fund), which could have future consequences.
Capital budget, Hirst legislation: The early weeks of the legislative session focused on finishing uncompleted tasks from the 2017 Legislative Session. Most significantly, this included adopting the 2017-19 capital budget and passing legislation responding to the Hirst decision related to water rights. The Legislature reached an agreement on both of these issues during the first month of the session. The Legislature adopted a 2017-19 capital budget that enacted the project funding lists that had been agreed to at the end of the 2017 Legislative Session, with some minor modifications, including the following Washington Association of Wheat Growers’ (WAWG) priorities:
- $52 million for constructing the Plant Sciences Building on the Pullman campus at Washington State University (WSU) for academic and research programs; and
- $23 million to construct Phase II of the Global Animal Health Building known as the Allen Center at WSU.
Additionally, in response to the Hirst Supreme Court Decision, the Legislature passed SB 6091 that developed new rules for drilling permit-exempt wells throughout the state. The bill enables landowners to develop properties that have been stagnant since the Supreme Court decision in 2016 and puts in motion a process that will establish permanent guidelines within a few years. Local working groups have a three-year window to develop plans to guide water usage over the next 20 years. The plans must account for stream flow impacts from new wells and the need for overall watershed health improvements. In addition, the state will provide $300 million over 15 years for mitigation and related efforts to restore and enhance stream flows and aquatic habitat across the state. Water withdrawal from new wells is limited to 3,000 gallons per day per well in sparsely populated watersheds and 950 gallons per day in densely populated watersheds.
Education funding, property tax relief: Last fall, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled that the McCleary funding proposal enacted during the 2017 Legislative Session did not fully comply with the court’s order to fully fund K-12 education by 2018. In order to fully comply, the Legislature needed to identify an additional $1 billion in the 2017-2019 operating budget for K-12 education. The February economic revenue forecast predicted the general fund revenue for the 2017-19 biennium to be $647 million higher than anticipated and $671 million higher for 2019-21. This provided more than $1.2 billion of additional funds for the four-year budget outlook.
The final 2018 supplemental operating budget directs $935 million that would have otherwise been collected as general state revenues to the education legacy fund and provides a one-time property tax relief of $.30 per $1,000 assessed valuation in 2019. The additional funding deposited in the education legacy fund was to increase teacher salaries and responds to the McCleary court order.
Democrats passed this approach over the opposition of Republicans who argued redirecting general state revenues that would otherwise be deposited into the budget stabilization account is the same as appropriating funds out of the budget stabilization account and would require three-fifths approval from the Legislature.
Legislation passed: The Legislature considered a record number of bills during the 2018 Legislative Session. The Legislature considered a total of 2,064 house bills and 1,674 senate bills. Of those, 310 passed into law in 2018. Passed bills of interest to WAWG include:
- Pesticide Application Safety Work Group (E2SSB 6529). This bill creates a legislative work group to develop recommendations for improving the safety of pesticide applications. The final bill was a significant improvement to the original bill, which included an unworkable, four-day pesticide notification requirement. The governor has signed this bill and $25,000 was provided in the budget for the work group.
- Seed Certification Fee Use (SB 6278). This bill clarifies that fees for seed certification may be used for services involving breeder seed, foundation seed, registered seed and certified seed. The bill has been delivered to the governor but as of press time, he has not signed it.
- Agricultural Industry Behavioral Health (2SHB 2671). This bill establishes a task force to review data related to behavioral health of agricultural workers and to review options for improving behavior health and reducing suicide risk. The governor has signed this legislation, and the supplemental budget appropriates $485,000 to implement it.
- Rural Broadband (SHB 2664). This bill authorizes ports across the state to acquire and operate telecommunications facilities, including rural broadband services, for their own use and for the use of those living in the port district.
- Planting and Harvesting Dates (SB 6180). This legislation extends agriculture’s current exemption from driving time and logbook requirements from 10 to 12 months. The governor has signed this legislation.
Carbon, other energy bills failed to move: Despite the momentum behind energy and environmental policies heading into this year’s legislative session, very few survived:
- The governor’s proposed carbon tax (SB 6203) had more momentum this past session and cleared both the key policy and fiscal committees in the Senate, but failed to have the required votes to pass the Senate. In response, initiative sponsors have filed I-1631 for the November 2018 ballot. It is backed by the Alliance for Jobs and Clean Energy, a coalition of labor, environmental and tribal groups. The initiative proponents are touting it as a pollution reduction fee, not a tax. The carbon fee would be implemented at $15 per ton in 2020 and increase by $2 every year beginning in 2021 plus inflation.
- Greenhouse gas emission reduction goals (HB 1144) died on Senate Second Reading Calendar. The bill would have increased the stringency of our state’s emission reduction goals, which require percentage-based emissions reductions on a statewide basis, in an attempt to bring Washington state’s carbon-reduction goals into parity with nations participating in the Paris Climate Accord.
- Low Carbon Fuel Standard (HB 2338) died in the House Rules Committee. It would have directed the Washington State Department of Ecology to implement a low carbon fuel standard over the next several years, but did not provide any implementation tools.
Legislators set to retire: Recently, a number of legislators have announced they are retiring and not seeking re-election: Sen. Michael Baumgartner (R-Spokane); Rep. Terry Nealey (R-Dayton); Rep. Judy Clibborn (D-Mercer Island); Rep. Dan Kristiansen (R-Snohomish); Rep. Larry Haler (R-Richland); Rep. Liz Pike (R-Camas); Rep. Jay Rodne (R-North Bend); Rep. Melanie Stambaugh (R-Puyallup); Rep. Joyce McDonald (R-Puyallup); Rep. Ruth Kagi (D-Lake Forest Park); and Rep. Kristine Lytton (D-Anacortes).