WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.359 Now you're just trying to butter me up. Do your 00:00:02.359 --> 00:00:04.580 dumb intro. Nobody wants to hear it anyways. 00:00:04.860 --> 00:00:07.299 This is the County Connection podcast with Paul 00:00:07.299 --> 00:00:10.580 Jewell and my special guest Brian Enzo. This 00:00:10.580 --> 00:00:15.480 is his second time. Okay, that's enough. Openly 00:00:15.480 --> 00:00:18.179 mocking the host of the show is bad form right 00:00:18.179 --> 00:00:23.440 before the show starts. Welcome to County Connection. 00:00:23.760 --> 00:00:25.620 the official podcast of the Washington State 00:00:25.620 --> 00:00:28.019 Association of Counties, where we dive into the 00:00:28.019 --> 00:00:30.000 legislative issues shaping the future of our 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:32.880 communities. From budgets to public safety, infrastructure 00:00:32.880 --> 00:00:35.820 to elections, we'll break down what's happening 00:00:35.820 --> 00:00:38.579 in Olympia and how it impacts counties from across 00:00:38.579 --> 00:00:41.700 the Evergreen State. Stay informed, stay engaged, 00:00:41.820 --> 00:00:44.700 and join us as we amplify the voice of Washington's 00:00:44.700 --> 00:00:48.700 39 counties. Welcome back, everybody, to the 00:00:48.700 --> 00:00:50.780 County Connection podcast. I'm Paul Jewell, your 00:00:50.780 --> 00:00:53.340 host and government relations director for the 00:00:53.340 --> 00:00:56.299 Washington State Association of Counties. It 00:00:56.299 --> 00:00:59.320 is Tuesday of a beautiful week. I've got Brian 00:00:59.320 --> 00:01:01.960 Enslow back in the studio with me. Brian, last 00:01:01.960 --> 00:01:04.920 week on Wednesday, it was an important day. I've 00:01:04.920 --> 00:01:07.079 had a few people chatting about it already. That 00:01:07.079 --> 00:01:10.219 was the big House of Origin cutoff day. How did 00:01:10.219 --> 00:01:13.109 our bills survive that you're working on? Mixed 00:01:13.109 --> 00:01:16.109 reviews. Mixed? Yeah. I guess we'll start with 00:01:16.109 --> 00:01:18.890 the good news. Okay. You want to start with good 00:01:18.890 --> 00:01:20.769 news or bad news? You're the host. You decide. 00:01:20.890 --> 00:01:24.230 Well, it depends. Is, in your mind, good news, 00:01:24.230 --> 00:01:27.790 dead bills? Or is that the bad news? Versus, 00:01:27.790 --> 00:01:30.590 in your mind, is the good news bills that are 00:01:30.590 --> 00:01:36.140 still alive? Well, given that as WASAC contractor, 00:01:36.540 --> 00:01:38.879 I was brought on in a limited capacity, which 00:01:38.879 --> 00:01:42.700 is to pass the WASAC housing priority bills, 00:01:42.840 --> 00:01:46.930 I would definitely say dead bills. Not so good. 00:01:47.090 --> 00:01:49.069 Okay. So in this case, because with everybody 00:01:49.069 --> 00:01:51.290 else, dead bills, they've been excited to talk 00:01:51.290 --> 00:01:53.170 about the dead bills, but you're right. For sure. 00:01:53.250 --> 00:01:56.469 Because you're with the team this year to really 00:01:56.469 --> 00:01:59.349 push forward our housing agenda. I get it why 00:01:59.349 --> 00:02:02.670 you think the dead bills are bad. Which one are 00:02:02.670 --> 00:02:04.349 we going to spend more time talking about? The 00:02:04.349 --> 00:02:06.269 live bills? Sure. All right. Let's just get the 00:02:06.269 --> 00:02:09.150 bad news out of the way. Let's just, but okay. 00:02:09.330 --> 00:02:12.409 Just rip off the bandaid. No, no, no. It's I 00:02:12.409 --> 00:02:14.729 don't know how much time Paul has this afternoon 00:02:14.729 --> 00:02:16.969 or how long this podcast, but let's, let's go 00:02:16.969 --> 00:02:19.330 to the balcony first. Let's take a step. Okay. 00:02:19.389 --> 00:02:22.189 Lead the way. And let's just set. Has anyone 00:02:22.189 --> 00:02:24.389 set the mood? Has anyone talked about like the 00:02:24.389 --> 00:02:27.750 floor session? No. And, and, and, you know, in 00:02:27.750 --> 00:02:30.310 the podcast, we don't really talk about mood 00:02:30.310 --> 00:02:34.289 very much or vibe or vibe. Yeah. But let's, let's, 00:02:34.289 --> 00:02:36.110 let's give it a shot. I mean, this could be a 00:02:36.110 --> 00:02:38.330 new experience for our listeners and for me. 00:02:39.210 --> 00:02:41.669 I mean, a podcast is a hang. It's a vibe. It 00:02:41.669 --> 00:02:44.650 is. Yeah. So the fact that you've neglected this 00:02:44.650 --> 00:02:47.229 like essential component of podcasting again. 00:02:47.270 --> 00:02:49.610 No one ever said I was good at it. No, no. And 00:02:49.610 --> 00:02:51.819 then certainly. No, everybody knows I'm not. 00:02:51.960 --> 00:02:54.780 So it was really curious when you look at, there's 00:02:54.780 --> 00:02:57.120 some various tools. You can look at like how 00:02:57.120 --> 00:02:59.240 many bills were passed off each respective chamber. 00:02:59.740 --> 00:03:01.800 And the Senate numbers get a little inflated 00:03:01.800 --> 00:03:03.960 because they do what's called goobers, gubernatorial 00:03:03.960 --> 00:03:06.240 appointments, which is something that only happens 00:03:06.240 --> 00:03:08.080 on the Senate side. I don't even count those 00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:10.180 bills. No, but they do when they pull up on the 00:03:10.180 --> 00:03:13.620 report. Sure. What was interesting was roughly 00:03:13.620 --> 00:03:16.439 the same amount of bills passed the Senate floor 00:03:16.439 --> 00:03:19.840 as the House floor. It was around 271 to like 00:03:19.840 --> 00:03:22.479 260. The House seemed to be doing it in a much 00:03:22.479 --> 00:03:25.680 easier way, though. I mean, the Senate, excuse 00:03:25.680 --> 00:03:27.759 me. There we go. Sorry about that. Slip of the 00:03:27.759 --> 00:03:30.199 tongue. The Senate seemed to be having an easier 00:03:30.199 --> 00:03:33.479 time. That was the exact observation I wanted 00:03:33.479 --> 00:03:36.500 to land on. Okay. So Senate didn't work the weekends. 00:03:36.759 --> 00:03:39.759 No. Senate. They took nice long lunch breaks. 00:03:39.919 --> 00:03:42.400 Senate took lunch breaks. Senate adjourned at 00:03:42.400 --> 00:03:45.340 like 4 o 'clock. Right. 5 o 'clock. I think maybe 00:03:45.340 --> 00:03:48.240 6 was the latest one of the days. Yep. Compare 00:03:48.240 --> 00:03:52.479 that to the House where they went till after 00:03:52.479 --> 00:03:55.520 midnight on multiple occasions. 3 a .m. I think 00:03:55.520 --> 00:03:58.259 was the latest. Yeah. Maybe you should say that's 00:03:58.259 --> 00:04:00.219 the earliest. The earliest. They were still on 00:04:00.219 --> 00:04:03.280 the floor. So if you were to like, and I, you 00:04:03.280 --> 00:04:05.370 know. I haven't done it. But if you were to look 00:04:05.370 --> 00:04:08.129 at like the bills per hour of time work, you 00:04:08.129 --> 00:04:10.530 know, the Senate was probably did a rate of five 00:04:10.530 --> 00:04:12.990 times or 10 times what the house did in terms 00:04:12.990 --> 00:04:15.389 of just like getting stuff done. Yeah. Productivity, 00:04:15.409 --> 00:04:18.180 efficiency, et cetera. And And mechanically, 00:04:18.279 --> 00:04:21.439 that was a function of both sides. When you're 00:04:21.439 --> 00:04:23.339 in the minority, it's your job to control the 00:04:23.339 --> 00:04:26.079 pace. And there's various tools you can do that. 00:04:26.319 --> 00:04:28.680 And here in Washington, the minority is the Republican 00:04:28.680 --> 00:04:32.579 Party. And it's a significant vote difference. 00:04:32.819 --> 00:04:36.240 Yeah, there's a large gap. I think both chambers, 00:04:36.480 --> 00:04:38.620 if they don't have, they almost have a super 00:04:38.620 --> 00:04:46.290 majority. Yes. The Senate is 30. to 19, which 00:04:46.290 --> 00:04:50.430 even for people who aren't very good at math 00:04:50.430 --> 00:04:52.389 like me, you could be like, oh, that's a super 00:04:52.389 --> 00:04:56.610 majority. 30 times two is 60. What I didn't understand 00:04:56.610 --> 00:05:02.709 is 59 is a super majority too, because 59 is 00:05:02.709 --> 00:05:06.689 over 60 % of 98 seats, which is how many is in 00:05:06.689 --> 00:05:09.629 the house. And that 60 % defines a super majority. 00:05:09.649 --> 00:05:14.209 Why? Certain actions of the legislature require 00:05:14.209 --> 00:05:17.470 a 60 % majority. The most obvious one is, or 00:05:17.470 --> 00:05:19.649 the most notable one is a bond bill for either 00:05:19.649 --> 00:05:21.610 a capital budget or a transportation budget. 00:05:21.930 --> 00:05:24.889 So in either chamber, theoretically, as we're 00:05:24.889 --> 00:05:26.790 kind of moving into this budget cycle, as we 00:05:26.790 --> 00:05:28.589 were like kind of riffing on what we think the 00:05:28.589 --> 00:05:30.250 revenue forecast was going to be in the intro, 00:05:30.329 --> 00:05:31.910 we're going to see budgets maybe as early as 00:05:31.910 --> 00:05:36.209 Friday, certainly as early as next Monday. And 00:05:36.209 --> 00:05:40.379 in this environment, you could have a, fully 00:05:40.379 --> 00:05:45.040 partisan slate of budgets because you wouldn't 00:05:45.040 --> 00:05:49.420 necessarily, as the majority parties, need to 00:05:49.420 --> 00:05:52.420 assume. any minority votes when you have a super 00:05:52.420 --> 00:05:56.279 majority. So in most years, because the chambers 00:05:56.279 --> 00:05:59.399 are more evenly split, when it comes to the budgets, 00:05:59.439 --> 00:06:01.139 they've got to kind of play nice, right? They've 00:06:01.139 --> 00:06:03.480 got to find ways to make sure that the minority 00:06:03.480 --> 00:06:05.399 party gets some of their priorities in the budget 00:06:05.399 --> 00:06:08.060 because they need a few of those votes at least 00:06:08.060 --> 00:06:10.800 in order to get over that 60 % threshold. And 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:13.800 what you're saying is there's enough majority 00:06:13.800 --> 00:06:16.819 members now on both sides of the chambers that 00:06:16.819 --> 00:06:18.899 they don't need any minority votes whatsoever. 00:06:19.560 --> 00:06:21.379 Correct. Wow, that's an interesting situation. 00:06:21.439 --> 00:06:24.279 One that we haven't seen, well, as long as I've 00:06:24.279 --> 00:06:27.660 been working in Olympia in various capacities 00:06:27.660 --> 00:06:30.120 for the last 17 or 18 years, I certainly haven't 00:06:30.120 --> 00:06:32.180 seen that. I haven't seen it either. And the 00:06:32.180 --> 00:06:35.160 closest corollary would be the Move Ahead Washington 00:06:35.160 --> 00:06:38.439 package, which was a transportation package that 00:06:38.439 --> 00:06:44.139 was funded through a mixture of federal money. 00:06:44.509 --> 00:06:48.430 Federal cash, a cash infusion from the operating 00:06:48.430 --> 00:06:52.629 budget, and then fees and other... other like 00:06:52.629 --> 00:06:54.750 programmatic driven revenue. So there weren't 00:06:54.750 --> 00:06:57.250 any bonds. So there wasn't a 60 % vote there. 00:06:57.389 --> 00:06:59.750 And I think you can see from the way projects 00:06:59.750 --> 00:07:03.009 were distributed, there was a lot of projects 00:07:03.009 --> 00:07:06.430 up and down, you know, the I -5 corridor, but 00:07:06.430 --> 00:07:08.709 not necessarily a lot of the ones east of the 00:07:08.709 --> 00:07:10.329 Cascades. Because there was no bonding authority 00:07:10.329 --> 00:07:13.350 required. It was a simple majority vote. They 00:07:13.350 --> 00:07:15.889 had the votes they needed. So the people who 00:07:15.889 --> 00:07:18.949 voted for it got the projects. Yes. So, and I'm 00:07:18.949 --> 00:07:21.819 going to use a word just to get a leg up. Paul 00:07:21.819 --> 00:07:23.759 and Kelsey, and Paul's going to have to look 00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:27.240 it up. But there's some heuristic value in looking 00:07:27.240 --> 00:07:30.240 at that. Heuristic. Yes. Okay. I'm surprised 00:07:30.240 --> 00:07:32.839 that's a word that you know. How do you spell 00:07:32.839 --> 00:07:35.079 it? Oh, it starts with an H. Of course it does. 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:38.319 But so what it means is... That's as far as you're 00:07:38.319 --> 00:07:41.399 going to go. Well, I mean... So math isn't your 00:07:41.399 --> 00:07:44.980 strong suit and neither is spelling. No, no. 00:07:45.800 --> 00:07:48.439 It's a good thing you're a lobbyist. But so what 00:07:48.439 --> 00:07:50.509 we're looking at is, I mean... You know, that 00:07:50.509 --> 00:07:54.470 that might provide some insight and some predictive 00:07:54.470 --> 00:07:58.329 value to what we might see in the capital budget 00:07:58.329 --> 00:08:00.370 and the transportation budget. Although, to be 00:08:00.370 --> 00:08:02.110 fair, I have heard that the Senate is working 00:08:02.110 --> 00:08:04.029 very collaboratively on those and we'll see, 00:08:04.129 --> 00:08:07.370 which leads us sort of back to where we were. 00:08:07.509 --> 00:08:08.750 Well, I mean, that's part of setting the mood, 00:08:08.810 --> 00:08:10.490 right? All this budget work is going on in the 00:08:10.490 --> 00:08:12.970 background. At the same time, both chambers are 00:08:12.970 --> 00:08:15.139 trying to pass. policy bills. You've got super 00:08:15.139 --> 00:08:17.019 majorities on both sides. One chamber is having 00:08:17.019 --> 00:08:19.800 an easier time. The other chamber is not having 00:08:19.800 --> 00:08:22.540 as easy of a time. And if you were working the 00:08:22.540 --> 00:08:24.860 doors on issues right up until the last minute, 00:08:24.899 --> 00:08:26.699 which I know you were because I was there with 00:08:26.699 --> 00:08:29.720 you on different occasions, the mood coming out 00:08:29.720 --> 00:08:32.279 of the house oftentimes when you were trying 00:08:32.279 --> 00:08:35.000 to talk to members wasn't all that congenial, 00:08:35.019 --> 00:08:39.350 wasn't all that positive. Those folks over there 00:08:39.350 --> 00:08:42.769 were tired. There was a lot of exhaustion going 00:08:42.769 --> 00:08:45.330 on because of the late hours that they were working 00:08:45.330 --> 00:08:49.990 as well. So that all kind of rolls up into what 00:08:49.990 --> 00:08:54.090 we had. on Wednesday as far as kind of the big 00:08:54.090 --> 00:08:56.629 finish for the House of Origin cutoff and what 00:08:56.629 --> 00:08:59.750 we have now in front of us today and how we need 00:08:59.750 --> 00:09:01.690 to move forward with that, right? Yes. Yeah. 00:09:01.809 --> 00:09:03.690 So when we're talking about our housing bills, 00:09:03.970 --> 00:09:06.850 we had five basically strategies that we were 00:09:06.850 --> 00:09:09.830 pursuing. Correct. And how many of those do we 00:09:09.830 --> 00:09:13.090 now have left? So we have three of those strategies. 00:09:13.250 --> 00:09:16.750 Still alive. Still alive. Okay. Which ones are 00:09:16.750 --> 00:09:20.809 they? So I'll start with identifying just five. 00:09:21.090 --> 00:09:23.730 Okay, perfect. And I'll start with the ones that 00:09:23.730 --> 00:09:27.710 we had. Our multifamily tax exemption bill, which 00:09:27.710 --> 00:09:30.070 we had a vehicle in both the House and the Senate, 00:09:30.230 --> 00:09:34.250 those, unfortunately, we didn't make a lot of 00:09:34.250 --> 00:09:37.350 progress. Our House bill was alive just technically 00:09:37.350 --> 00:09:39.250 a week longer because it was introduced into 00:09:39.250 --> 00:09:42.210 the Finance Committee, but it did not move from 00:09:42.210 --> 00:09:45.009 the committee of its original origin. And neither 00:09:45.009 --> 00:09:47.730 did the Senate side. So for folks who are listening, 00:09:47.830 --> 00:09:51.059 that was... House Bill 1206 and Senate Bill 5679. 00:09:51.440 --> 00:09:55.379 Correct. Yeah. Representative Lowe and Senator 00:09:55.379 --> 00:09:57.379 Dozier. Right. Which, thank you, Representative 00:09:57.379 --> 00:09:59.480 Lowe and Senator Dozier, but unfortunately we 00:09:59.480 --> 00:10:01.960 weren't able to get those any traction this year. 00:10:02.139 --> 00:10:06.919 The next piece of legislation, and this is the 00:10:06.919 --> 00:10:09.659 one that really has some story, and I don't know 00:10:09.659 --> 00:10:12.659 how deeply we want to get into it, but we were 00:10:12.659 --> 00:10:17.909 working on ADUs, which if we recall from... Last 00:10:17.909 --> 00:10:20.049 podcast that I did, I don't actually know what 00:10:20.049 --> 00:10:22.210 that means, but Paul does. It's like accessory 00:10:22.210 --> 00:10:25.049 dwelling units. And we were talking specifically 00:10:25.049 --> 00:10:28.549 about DADUs. Yes, detached. So ones that are 00:10:28.549 --> 00:10:32.450 separate, either as another separate building, 00:10:32.529 --> 00:10:36.090 like think of a garage apartment or a shop apartment, 00:10:36.190 --> 00:10:38.570 or ones that are standalone, just an independent 00:10:38.570 --> 00:10:41.490 living quarters that's smaller scale than the 00:10:41.490 --> 00:10:44.429 primary residence that's on the property. Correct. 00:10:46.900 --> 00:10:50.320 We, you know, and I won't take credit for your 00:10:50.320 --> 00:10:52.240 good work, Paul, but you've been working on this 00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:54.399 issue for quite some time. And this is not a 00:10:54.399 --> 00:10:58.080 bill that was not extensively stakeholder and 00:10:58.080 --> 00:11:01.100 apologize for doing a double negative. So let's 00:11:01.100 --> 00:11:03.360 just say it in the in the positive. You've worked 00:11:03.360 --> 00:11:05.559 really hard on this bill, particularly in the 00:11:05.559 --> 00:11:07.899 last interim, to get a piece of legislation that 00:11:07.899 --> 00:11:09.519 most people would have thought was ready for 00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:11.500 prime time. Yeah, you know, this has been an 00:11:11.500 --> 00:11:14.139 issue that that the legislature has taken up. 00:11:14.590 --> 00:11:16.250 for several years in a row. And counties have 00:11:16.250 --> 00:11:17.570 been right in the middle of it from the very 00:11:17.570 --> 00:11:20.269 beginning, along with realtors. Realtors have 00:11:20.269 --> 00:11:21.610 been the other group that have been pushing really 00:11:21.610 --> 00:11:23.830 hard on it. And I've worked closely with them 00:11:23.830 --> 00:11:27.210 to craft various iterations of this bill. And 00:11:27.210 --> 00:11:30.909 this one, we spent even more time on in between 00:11:30.909 --> 00:11:32.870 legislative sessions, talked to the stakeholders 00:11:32.870 --> 00:11:35.769 and the opposers in this particular case as well, 00:11:35.850 --> 00:11:39.210 to work out what we thought was a very viable... 00:11:40.519 --> 00:11:43.220 that was likely to pass this year. But in the 00:11:43.220 --> 00:11:44.919 end, it didn't make it past the cutoffs, did 00:11:44.919 --> 00:11:48.179 it? Didn't. And definitely want to acknowledge 00:11:48.179 --> 00:11:51.059 the work of the builders. They communicated to 00:11:51.059 --> 00:11:54.779 leadership on numerous times that this was a 00:11:54.779 --> 00:11:57.299 priority of their organization as well. Even 00:11:57.299 --> 00:11:59.100 some of the tribes weighed in. Even some of the 00:11:59.100 --> 00:12:00.740 tribes weighed in. And it wasn't enough to move 00:12:00.740 --> 00:12:06.600 it. It was not. We got caught up in just some 00:12:06.600 --> 00:12:08.940 of the things that happened at the end when... 00:12:09.399 --> 00:12:12.220 when temperatures get a little bit elevated, 00:12:12.419 --> 00:12:16.460 when the pressure gets a little high. And as 00:12:16.460 --> 00:12:20.039 we've indicated earlier in this, the relationship 00:12:20.039 --> 00:12:23.919 between the House Democrats and the House Republicans 00:12:23.919 --> 00:12:33.169 was definitely... Tense. Yeah, I was going to 00:12:33.169 --> 00:12:35.889 say, let's use the word tense. Yes. Yeah, that's 00:12:35.889 --> 00:12:38.409 a really good point. And I don't want to go into 00:12:38.409 --> 00:12:40.429 a ton of gory details because I don't want to 00:12:40.429 --> 00:12:44.389 impugn anybody. I don't want to call out anybody 00:12:44.389 --> 00:12:48.850 because politics are politics and you get embroiled 00:12:48.850 --> 00:12:51.950 in this process of floor action. There's a lot 00:12:51.950 --> 00:12:54.649 of pressure. There's a lot of priorities on. 00:12:54.960 --> 00:12:58.179 both sides of a caucus. The minority party is 00:12:58.179 --> 00:13:00.360 trying to stop legislation that they don't like, 00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:02.740 and they only have so many tools. The majority 00:13:02.740 --> 00:13:05.159 party is trying to pass legislation that they 00:13:05.159 --> 00:13:08.139 like, but they can only pick and choose so many 00:13:08.139 --> 00:13:10.320 because there's a time clock and they have to 00:13:10.320 --> 00:13:12.779 prioritize. And essentially, that's what this 00:13:12.779 --> 00:13:15.200 bill got caught up in, right? I mean, what we 00:13:15.200 --> 00:13:19.100 heard at the end of the day was this bill wasn't 00:13:19.100 --> 00:13:22.659 going to pass unless another bill the past because 00:13:22.659 --> 00:13:25.019 this bill was sponsored by a minority member 00:13:25.019 --> 00:13:27.679 and there was another priority by a majority 00:13:27.679 --> 00:13:30.120 member and the minority members were blocking 00:13:30.120 --> 00:13:33.279 the majority members bill and ours was kind of 00:13:33.279 --> 00:13:35.879 held up as if you want this bill you'll let the 00:13:35.879 --> 00:13:39.279 other one go and it really resulted in a stalemate 00:13:39.279 --> 00:13:42.139 at the end and and at at the end of the day sometimes 00:13:42.139 --> 00:13:46.080 that's just the way politics is yeah i think 00:13:46.920 --> 00:13:48.840 Agreed. And that's a really nice summary. And 00:13:48.840 --> 00:13:53.139 you kept that at a level of detail that's enough 00:13:53.139 --> 00:13:55.539 for people to fill in the story, but doesn't 00:13:55.539 --> 00:13:57.860 impugn anyone directly. And I appreciate that. 00:13:57.960 --> 00:14:00.120 Well, there were so many players involved and, 00:14:00.220 --> 00:14:03.789 you know, a lot of them are our friends. Or will 00:14:03.789 --> 00:14:05.990 be tomorrow. Yeah, and will be tomorrow and will 00:14:05.990 --> 00:14:09.490 be the next day. And so I don't necessarily want 00:14:09.490 --> 00:14:11.529 to indict anybody, you know, because politics 00:14:11.529 --> 00:14:14.870 are politics and strategy is strategy. And we 00:14:14.870 --> 00:14:16.889 just happen to be the one that got caught up 00:14:16.889 --> 00:14:18.950 in this particular situation. It's not that it 00:14:18.950 --> 00:14:22.350 wasn't a good bill because it was agreed to by 00:14:22.350 --> 00:14:25.580 even the people who had been. opposing it for 00:14:25.580 --> 00:14:27.620 years, we finally got agreement on it and it, 00:14:27.679 --> 00:14:29.759 we still couldn't get over the finish line. Yeah. 00:14:29.860 --> 00:14:31.580 I think if there is a lesson learned or take 00:14:31.580 --> 00:14:36.139 home, it's, it's that, that, um, I probably should 00:14:36.139 --> 00:14:39.259 have worked a little bit harder and pushed a 00:14:39.259 --> 00:14:41.240 little bit harder to get that agreement earlier. 00:14:41.620 --> 00:14:44.779 Cause although this is an important bill, it 00:14:44.779 --> 00:14:47.120 is, it was not the type of bill that was going 00:14:47.120 --> 00:14:50.000 to be a last day bill or. Yeah. This one was 00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:51.360 never going to be one of those types of bills. 00:14:51.460 --> 00:14:55.870 And one of the things is, is we, you know, I 00:14:55.870 --> 00:14:59.990 did not get a final kind of negotiated agreement 00:14:59.990 --> 00:15:03.029 until the Saturday before cutoff. And some of 00:15:03.029 --> 00:15:04.909 that was in my control and some of it wasn't, 00:15:04.909 --> 00:15:07.590 you know, but that, you know, when we think about 00:15:07.590 --> 00:15:09.929 what could we have done differently, what could 00:15:09.929 --> 00:15:11.970 have we've done better? That's one of the areas 00:15:11.970 --> 00:15:15.080 where. probably should have pushed a little bit 00:15:15.080 --> 00:15:17.899 harder to get that agreement ready to go so the 00:15:17.899 --> 00:15:19.559 bill could have moved earlier. You know, Brian, 00:15:19.659 --> 00:15:22.500 I remember not that long ago, probably five or 00:15:22.500 --> 00:15:24.980 six years ago, I was working on a fish and wildlife 00:15:24.980 --> 00:15:27.179 payment in lieu of taxes bill for the association. 00:15:27.840 --> 00:15:29.759 And it took me a couple of years to get that 00:15:29.759 --> 00:15:32.500 bill through. And I think it took three years. 00:15:32.700 --> 00:15:35.179 And it was agreed to by everyone, right? It was 00:15:35.179 --> 00:15:39.080 not a controversial bill. The second year, I 00:15:39.080 --> 00:15:42.590 got it on the run list. The last run list. Oh, 00:15:42.629 --> 00:15:45.289 no. It had passed the House. All it had to do 00:15:45.289 --> 00:15:47.710 was get through the Senate. It was on the last 00:15:47.710 --> 00:15:50.529 run list of the day, right before the deadline. 00:15:50.669 --> 00:15:53.169 Heartbreaking. On the Senate floor. They came 00:15:53.169 --> 00:15:56.889 to the bill before it, and they debated the bill 00:15:56.889 --> 00:16:01.210 before it past 5 o 'clock and killed my bill. 00:16:01.680 --> 00:16:04.159 Right. Killed Wasak's bill. It's just it just 00:16:04.159 --> 00:16:06.740 happens sometimes. It does. You know, and it 00:16:06.740 --> 00:16:09.000 wasn't that I didn't get that bill out early 00:16:09.000 --> 00:16:12.039 enough and and, you know, didn't have the agreements 00:16:12.039 --> 00:16:14.539 in place. We did. It just happened sometimes. 00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:16.279 And that's kind of what happened with this bill. 00:16:16.320 --> 00:16:19.000 Sometimes in this environment, there's there 00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:23.789 seems like there is a. infinite number of ways 00:16:23.789 --> 00:16:28.590 to do something wrong yeah and and a like asymptotic 00:16:28.590 --> 00:16:32.309 to zero like approach to like if what what's 00:16:32.309 --> 00:16:34.049 the right way to do it well that's why killing 00:16:34.049 --> 00:16:37.429 bills is so much easier than passing yeah right 00:16:37.429 --> 00:16:39.889 that's why yeah two -thirds or three -quarters 00:16:39.889 --> 00:16:43.860 of all legislation that gets proposed never sees 00:16:43.860 --> 00:16:46.980 the light of day because getting it through this 00:16:46.980 --> 00:16:49.559 process is really hard. And to be honest with 00:16:49.559 --> 00:16:52.940 you, this process was designed to make you fail. 00:16:53.059 --> 00:16:55.559 Yes. It's the Federalist Papers, people. I encourage 00:16:55.559 --> 00:16:59.080 you to read them. This is something I wanted 00:16:59.080 --> 00:17:00.860 to make earlier, but it wasn't apparently interesting 00:17:00.860 --> 00:17:03.379 enough to Paul for him to continue that thread. 00:17:03.559 --> 00:17:06.400 But when I was talking specifically about the 00:17:06.400 --> 00:17:08.019 house - Don't worry, you can call me out anytime 00:17:08.019 --> 00:17:12.900 on our podcast, Brian. We'll make sure you're 00:17:12.900 --> 00:17:16.079 a frequent guest. But one of the things I wanted 00:17:16.079 --> 00:17:21.440 to observe was the pace of the house was attributable 00:17:21.440 --> 00:17:27.369 to both parties. And I think that the - House 00:17:27.369 --> 00:17:31.069 Republicans did a very nice job of maintaining 00:17:31.069 --> 00:17:33.529 a fidelity to their principles and not engaging 00:17:33.529 --> 00:17:36.509 in horse play or horse trading, excuse me, and 00:17:36.509 --> 00:17:42.269 ensuring that the dedication they wanted to make 00:17:42.269 --> 00:17:46.630 each bill kind of take time. They did that. That 00:17:46.630 --> 00:17:49.849 being said, the House Dees would be in caucus 00:17:49.849 --> 00:17:54.779 for six hours. Yeah. For seven hours. Doing what? 00:17:55.180 --> 00:17:56.900 Well, it's hard to say because those are closed 00:17:56.900 --> 00:17:58.819 door sessions, but it does make one speculate 00:17:58.819 --> 00:18:02.119 that perhaps they were having difficulty getting 00:18:02.119 --> 00:18:04.140 an agreement amongst their own members. Right. 00:18:04.339 --> 00:18:06.680 I mean, some of these issues were pretty tough 00:18:06.680 --> 00:18:09.559 this year. And to what end? Yeah. And so the 00:18:09.559 --> 00:18:13.259 irrespective, the speaker is a very intelligent 00:18:13.259 --> 00:18:17.099 person. Of course. And so the speaker knows when 00:18:17.099 --> 00:18:19.599 they're sitting there in caucus for six hours, 00:18:19.799 --> 00:18:22.880 seven hours at a time, that bills are dying. 00:18:22.940 --> 00:18:25.589 Yeah. And so I think it was a two -way street 00:18:25.589 --> 00:18:30.569 of both a great job by the minority party to 00:18:30.569 --> 00:18:35.769 exercise kind of the majority controls the agenda 00:18:35.769 --> 00:18:38.349 and the minority controls the pace. Right. But 00:18:38.349 --> 00:18:41.650 I think in this case, when you – and we're not 00:18:41.650 --> 00:18:43.410 going to deliberate on everything that died and 00:18:43.410 --> 00:18:49.089 the bill that was allegedly – killed by the Republicans. 00:18:49.509 --> 00:18:51.950 That was the reason why the ADU bill went down. 00:18:51.990 --> 00:18:54.549 But at the end of the day, it was the majority 00:18:54.549 --> 00:18:59.170 party that was also adopting strategies in order 00:18:59.170 --> 00:19:01.869 to set aside some of those more controversial 00:19:01.869 --> 00:19:06.650 issues that weren't sorted, weren't settled, 00:19:06.789 --> 00:19:12.519 and could perhaps lead them into some some political 00:19:12.519 --> 00:19:16.059 pratfalls or pitfalls moving forward. So I think 00:19:16.059 --> 00:19:17.700 that's what I thought was particularly interesting 00:19:17.700 --> 00:19:20.140 is like both sides are playing this game right 00:19:20.140 --> 00:19:23.299 now. Right. Both sides want to see bills die. 00:19:23.500 --> 00:19:25.519 Yeah, which you don't necessarily always see 00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:28.400 from the majority party. Correct. You know, obviously 00:19:28.400 --> 00:19:31.480 in most instances, you know, they're in control. 00:19:31.720 --> 00:19:34.119 They want to pass the legislation that they want 00:19:34.119 --> 00:19:36.519 to pass. But what you're saying is there were 00:19:36.519 --> 00:19:38.859 clear signs that even within their own caucus, 00:19:38.940 --> 00:19:41.480 they were trying to manage some of those. more 00:19:41.480 --> 00:19:44.599 controversial bills that maybe the majority of 00:19:44.599 --> 00:19:46.700 their caucus wasn't so interested in putting 00:19:46.700 --> 00:19:49.400 their name on. That's my guess. That's what I'm 00:19:49.400 --> 00:19:52.880 putting out there. I don't know that for sure, 00:19:52.900 --> 00:19:54.759 and I just want to be very... clear about that 00:19:54.759 --> 00:19:56.940 but that's right that's my speculation and that's 00:19:56.940 --> 00:19:58.920 my like that's my kind of like the only way you 00:19:58.920 --> 00:20:00.619 know that for sure is you put your name on a 00:20:00.619 --> 00:20:02.420 sign and you get in that caucus room one day 00:20:02.420 --> 00:20:04.680 and then and then you'll know what's going on 00:20:04.680 --> 00:20:07.319 uh but otherwise we're just left here to speculate 00:20:07.319 --> 00:20:09.220 and we know what politics is and we know what 00:20:09.220 --> 00:20:11.099 the process is correct uh there's all kinds of 00:20:11.099 --> 00:20:14.259 possibilities so um we you know let's talk about 00:20:14.259 --> 00:20:16.200 what's still a lot yeah it's fascinating the 00:20:16.200 --> 00:20:18.579 mood right we kind of talked about the two measures 00:20:18.579 --> 00:20:22.109 that we were pushing that died there were five 00:20:22.109 --> 00:20:24.190 so that means we got three left so let's go over 00:20:24.190 --> 00:20:28.569 those really quickly well uh today is the 18th 00:20:28.569 --> 00:20:30.369 right which in your intro i think you forgot 00:20:30.369 --> 00:20:32.730 what day it was i never put the day yeah i never 00:20:32.730 --> 00:20:35.190 put the day i just i just say it's tuesday or 00:20:35.190 --> 00:20:37.230 monday okay that's good to know i give them an 00:20:37.230 --> 00:20:41.710 idea of what the weather's like but we um we 00:20:41.710 --> 00:20:45.670 had a hearing in um the house housing committee 00:20:45.670 --> 00:20:51.460 on senate bill 57 or sorry, 5470, Senator Gaynor's 00:20:51.460 --> 00:20:54.839 bill on middle housing. Actually, that's 5471. 00:20:55.039 --> 00:20:58.299 Mitch? He's not going to cut that out. Phone 00:20:58.299 --> 00:21:03.880 a friend, Mitch? 5471. Yeah, 5471. 5471 was the 00:21:03.880 --> 00:21:08.319 ADU bill on the Senate side. So 5471 was the 00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:09.920 middle housing bill. That hearing was yesterday, 00:21:10.039 --> 00:21:12.220 right? It's the 18th. That hearing was yesterday 00:21:12.220 --> 00:21:15.059 at 1 .30. Yeah, it was. I was in the room. Yeah, 00:21:15.079 --> 00:21:16.890 you were. It was a good hearing. It was. It went 00:21:16.890 --> 00:21:20.609 well. It went pretty well. The bill, when we 00:21:20.609 --> 00:21:22.269 talked about earlier, when kind of getting off 00:21:22.269 --> 00:21:24.210 the floor early, that was something that we were 00:21:24.210 --> 00:21:26.470 able to move off the Senate really early. Yeah, 00:21:26.529 --> 00:21:28.509 that was the very first one, I think, to come 00:21:28.509 --> 00:21:31.170 off the Senate. No, no, it wasn't the first one, 00:21:31.210 --> 00:21:32.910 but it was early. It was early to come off the 00:21:32.910 --> 00:21:35.009 Senate floor. It was before even, I think, the... 00:21:35.210 --> 00:21:38.250 policy cutoff it was it was much earlier before 00:21:38.250 --> 00:21:42.109 it was much or much oh boy speak english paul 00:21:42.109 --> 00:21:44.829 it was uh much earlier than the policy cutoff 00:21:44.829 --> 00:21:47.710 yeah because the house didn't actually act the 00:21:47.710 --> 00:21:49.690 house policy committee didn't actually act on 00:21:49.690 --> 00:21:51.730 the companion because they didn't need to because 00:21:51.730 --> 00:21:53.309 they already had the senate bill sitting in their 00:21:53.309 --> 00:21:57.039 committee so and that was a 48 nothing uh vote 00:21:57.039 --> 00:21:58.779 off the Senate. Well, that's a healthy, that's 00:21:58.779 --> 00:22:00.299 a healthy endorsement. Some people call that 00:22:00.299 --> 00:22:03.460 unanimous. Yeah, I would. Yeah. Yeah. So felt 00:22:03.460 --> 00:22:07.619 really good about that. Hearing went well. It 00:22:07.619 --> 00:22:09.759 looks like we have a little bit more tweaking 00:22:09.759 --> 00:22:13.359 to go. So this is the bill that allows counties 00:22:13.359 --> 00:22:17.009 to add density. right, for middle housing in 00:22:17.009 --> 00:22:18.990 all residential zones within urban growth areas 00:22:18.990 --> 00:22:22.250 and Lamberts or limited areas of more intensive 00:22:22.250 --> 00:22:24.970 rural development, which are like rural towns 00:22:24.970 --> 00:22:26.789 and things like that that are usually a little 00:22:26.789 --> 00:22:29.630 further removed in rural areas. It might have 00:22:29.630 --> 00:22:32.009 actually been a city at one point, but oftentimes 00:22:32.009 --> 00:22:33.670 they're resource -based communities that have 00:22:33.670 --> 00:22:36.619 shrunk over time and so they're no longer. They're 00:22:36.619 --> 00:22:38.819 under county jurisdiction. Correct. Okay. And 00:22:38.819 --> 00:22:41.619 so especially with respect to those areas, workforce 00:22:41.619 --> 00:22:43.960 housing, close to resource lands, the ability 00:22:43.960 --> 00:22:47.640 to move forward with middle housing, which is 00:22:47.640 --> 00:22:50.960 duplexes, triplexes, like cottage homes, things 00:22:50.960 --> 00:22:52.380 of that nature. So that's what we're talking 00:22:52.380 --> 00:22:54.400 about. And that's what this authorizes. And it 00:22:54.400 --> 00:22:57.700 also provides the additional exemptions from 00:22:57.700 --> 00:23:01.680 appeal. Oh, right. So if the county decides to 00:23:01.680 --> 00:23:04.769 take the action, they're not subject to. NIMBY 00:23:04.769 --> 00:23:07.890 type appeals by neighbors who want to just maintain 00:23:07.890 --> 00:23:09.710 the character of their neighborhood as it always 00:23:09.710 --> 00:23:12.329 has been. Because this could potentially reshape 00:23:12.329 --> 00:23:14.869 that, right? Not just neighbors, because NIMBYs 00:23:14.869 --> 00:23:17.670 take all forms. All forms. That's true. That's 00:23:17.670 --> 00:23:21.130 true. Yeah. So this is a good bill that should 00:23:21.130 --> 00:23:24.890 help increase availability for housing stock 00:23:24.890 --> 00:23:26.549 to be developed in a lot of communities across 00:23:26.549 --> 00:23:29.690 Washington. That's 100 % the goal. Yeah. I mean, 00:23:29.710 --> 00:23:33.430 I think what we've talked about is that there 00:23:33.430 --> 00:23:35.819 is a planning obligation now so this is and then 00:23:35.819 --> 00:23:38.400 just this is specifically for the 28 counties 00:23:38.400 --> 00:23:40.700 that are fully planning under the gma have either 00:23:40.700 --> 00:23:43.660 required to or have opted in and right there 00:23:43.660 --> 00:23:46.259 there you got to plan for it you got to accommodate 00:23:46.259 --> 00:23:50.940 um right all economic Right. Under 1220, which 00:23:50.940 --> 00:23:52.500 was passed a couple of years ago. That was House 00:23:52.500 --> 00:23:56.319 Bill 1220. 2001 session. Yeah. Was it that long? 00:23:56.440 --> 00:23:59.940 Not 2001. No, it was not. It was in the 20s. 00:23:59.940 --> 00:24:02.579 Come on now, Brian. I meant 2021. I know what 00:24:02.579 --> 00:24:05.660 you meant. So anyways, this is a good bill. It's 00:24:05.660 --> 00:24:07.279 going to generate a lot more opportunity for 00:24:07.279 --> 00:24:10.299 housing. Counties have those obligations under 00:24:10.299 --> 00:24:13.160 1220 that I think we established was passed just 00:24:13.160 --> 00:24:15.660 a few years ago, somewhere around 2021 or 2022. 00:24:16.099 --> 00:24:19.559 Correct. That requires them to do additional 00:24:19.559 --> 00:24:24.029 planning. for a variety of economic segments 00:24:24.029 --> 00:24:26.269 that are actually not just defined in the statute 00:24:26.269 --> 00:24:29.329 now, but the number that you have to plan for 00:24:29.329 --> 00:24:31.750 is handed to you by the Department of Commerce. 00:24:31.890 --> 00:24:35.130 So having this tool to increase density in some 00:24:35.130 --> 00:24:37.190 pretty large areas within urban growth areas 00:24:37.190 --> 00:24:39.589 and landlords is going to be a really big bonus 00:24:39.589 --> 00:24:42.250 to meet those requirements, but also really to 00:24:42.250 --> 00:24:44.569 just create more opportunity for people to develop 00:24:44.569 --> 00:24:47.670 housing in counties. Correct. Yeah, that's good. 00:24:47.769 --> 00:24:52.009 Good. So that's 5471. That's our middle housing 00:24:52.009 --> 00:24:55.390 bill. What were the two other strategies that 00:24:55.390 --> 00:24:58.390 we were pursuing? Well, we were looking for additional 00:24:58.390 --> 00:25:03.990 resources for operations and maintenance and 00:25:03.990 --> 00:25:06.670 initially infrastructure related to affordable 00:25:06.670 --> 00:25:14.130 housing. The bill that was heard today, this 00:25:14.130 --> 00:25:17.220 morning, House... finance is a Senator Loveless 00:25:17.220 --> 00:25:20.579 bill. It's 5576. And that has to do with the 00:25:20.579 --> 00:25:24.470 taxation. of short -term rental. That's right. 00:25:24.509 --> 00:25:26.950 That's right. We have this on our priority list. 00:25:27.170 --> 00:25:29.750 We wanted to use the new taxation on short -term 00:25:29.750 --> 00:25:32.890 rentals to invest in a grant program that would 00:25:32.890 --> 00:25:35.349 build more infrastructure that supports housing 00:25:35.349 --> 00:25:38.230 in communities across the state. Correct. And 00:25:38.230 --> 00:25:41.630 my recollection is the legislative steering committee 00:25:41.630 --> 00:25:44.990 authorized a taxing proposal up to 10%. Yeah, 00:25:45.009 --> 00:25:48.190 they supported up to 10 % on short -term rentals. 00:25:48.230 --> 00:25:50.009 Correct. Now, that's not what is in the bill 00:25:50.009 --> 00:25:52.329 right now. Well, originally when... When the 00:25:52.329 --> 00:25:53.710 bill was introduced, it was all the way down 00:25:53.710 --> 00:25:56.930 at 6%, right? It was at 6%. Okay. What is it 00:25:56.930 --> 00:26:00.529 now? 4%. Oh, wow. So less than half of what we 00:26:00.529 --> 00:26:04.170 had wanted is still remaining in the bill. So 00:26:04.170 --> 00:26:08.470 now it's down to a 4 % tax. Yeah. So it remains 00:26:08.470 --> 00:26:12.589 to be seen what will be the appetite. But it's 00:26:12.589 --> 00:26:15.670 also not a grant program either. And so currently 00:26:15.670 --> 00:26:18.480 what there is is there's a local option. And 00:26:18.480 --> 00:26:22.740 a local jurisdiction can choose to impose this. 00:26:23.019 --> 00:26:28.920 Okay. And if they do so, it gets collected by 00:26:28.920 --> 00:26:30.700 the Department of Revenue and then it gets transferred 00:26:30.700 --> 00:26:33.420 back into your current expense account. Okay. 00:26:33.460 --> 00:26:37.000 So if I'm a city or a county, in our case counties, 00:26:37.180 --> 00:26:39.480 if I impose this tax, it's going to come back 00:26:39.480 --> 00:26:42.480 to me. Whatever is collected, I get back. Correct. 00:26:42.539 --> 00:26:44.480 The full amount or does revenue get to keep? 00:26:44.750 --> 00:26:47.490 Some administrative cost. I do not believe revenue 00:26:47.490 --> 00:26:49.329 gets to keep an administrative cost. There is 00:26:49.329 --> 00:26:53.349 an allowance in the bill that allows us to use 00:26:53.349 --> 00:26:57.170 up to 10 % for, or excuse me, 15 % currently 00:26:57.170 --> 00:27:00.329 for administrative cost. Okay. Associated with 00:27:00.329 --> 00:27:02.849 whatever we decide to do. Correct. There might 00:27:02.849 --> 00:27:05.450 already be a legal standard for DOR, but it isn't 00:27:05.450 --> 00:27:08.779 addressed in the bill. Okay. So what can we use 00:27:08.779 --> 00:27:11.700 the money for? Can we still dedicate it to infrastructure 00:27:11.700 --> 00:27:14.259 that supports housing? No. Unfortunately, when 00:27:14.259 --> 00:27:16.660 the bill was skinny down on the Senate floor 00:27:16.660 --> 00:27:21.000 from 6 % to 4%, one of the things that was set 00:27:21.000 --> 00:27:23.240 aside was the infrastructure piece. Interesting. 00:27:23.259 --> 00:27:25.539 So what does the money get used for then? It 00:27:25.539 --> 00:27:31.039 can be used for operating. So if you have a current 00:27:31.039 --> 00:27:36.400 existing facility where... Perhaps it's a supportive 00:27:36.400 --> 00:27:38.539 housing facility or something of that nature. 00:27:40.180 --> 00:27:42.440 There would be additional operating resources 00:27:42.440 --> 00:27:45.640 to support that. Or, of course, the construction 00:27:45.640 --> 00:27:50.039 of new housing. Well, we definitely need new 00:27:50.039 --> 00:27:52.960 housing. And we've heard from a lot of our members 00:27:52.960 --> 00:27:56.839 that operating funds for projects like supportive 00:27:56.839 --> 00:27:59.960 housing could really be helpful. So that's good. 00:28:01.700 --> 00:28:05.240 So this bill is still alive. Correct. But it's 00:28:05.240 --> 00:28:08.759 skinning down from a 6 % proposal on short -term 00:28:08.759 --> 00:28:11.640 rentals to a 4%. And instead of using it for 00:28:11.640 --> 00:28:13.980 infrastructure, now it's skinning down, so to 00:28:13.980 --> 00:28:17.880 speak, to just be operating or other costs for 00:28:17.880 --> 00:28:20.640 building affordable housing. Okay. Well, that's 00:28:20.640 --> 00:28:23.039 not a total loss. It's not exactly what we were 00:28:23.039 --> 00:28:28.000 hoping for. But just like in many instances in 00:28:28.000 --> 00:28:30.980 the legislature, You don't always get exactly 00:28:30.980 --> 00:28:32.980 what you ask for. Sometimes you make incremental 00:28:32.980 --> 00:28:36.279 progress. I would probably consider this an incremental 00:28:36.279 --> 00:28:41.160 progress type bill. We still believe that major 00:28:41.160 --> 00:28:43.000 investments in infrastructure are going to be 00:28:43.000 --> 00:28:47.019 needed in order to really meaningfully impact 00:28:47.019 --> 00:28:50.740 the housing crisis. But this is a good start 00:28:50.740 --> 00:28:52.640 towards some of the other funding needs that 00:28:52.640 --> 00:28:54.599 we also have. Yeah, you want to know something 00:28:54.599 --> 00:29:00.319 really interesting, surprising? And this is and 00:29:00.319 --> 00:29:02.019 I'm saying this before budgets have come out, 00:29:02.079 --> 00:29:03.660 so I don't know what's going to be in the budget. 00:29:03.700 --> 00:29:08.019 But this is the only financing tool or tool currently 00:29:08.019 --> 00:29:11.640 in front of the legislature right now that provides 00:29:11.640 --> 00:29:13.619 additional resources for affordable housing. 00:29:13.759 --> 00:29:17.160 Well, local resources are just. Well, no, I guess 00:29:17.160 --> 00:29:19.380 you're right. There were many others that, well, 00:29:19.519 --> 00:29:23.339 that's not true. There is another bill that creates 00:29:23.339 --> 00:29:25.880 some more flexibility around how we use real 00:29:25.880 --> 00:29:29.099 estate excise taxes on the local level. Senator 00:29:29.099 --> 00:29:32.740 or Representative Paul's bill. 1791. Yeah, it's 00:29:32.740 --> 00:29:35.160 going to be heard later today. Sure. And so that's 00:29:35.160 --> 00:29:39.170 alive, but that's not new. Well, it's not new 00:29:39.170 --> 00:29:42.529 other than there was... It harmonizes REIT 1 00:29:42.529 --> 00:29:44.630 and REIT 2. Yeah, and there was a deadline. And 00:29:44.630 --> 00:29:48.250 it extends existing past the current deadline. 00:29:48.349 --> 00:29:51.089 Of January 1st, 2026. It makes it permanent. 00:29:51.410 --> 00:29:55.009 Yep. So you could say that that's new resources 00:29:55.009 --> 00:29:57.829 because it goes beyond January 1st, 2026, whereas 00:29:57.829 --> 00:29:59.910 before it didn't. But I hear what you're saying. 00:30:00.009 --> 00:30:02.970 It's not... It's not a wholly new resource like 00:30:02.970 --> 00:30:06.490 this one is. Yeah, yeah. I have heard that when 00:30:06.490 --> 00:30:08.589 the capital and operating budgets come out, we 00:30:08.589 --> 00:30:12.950 should expect to see an increase in dollars supporting 00:30:12.950 --> 00:30:15.089 housing and affordable housing over what we've 00:30:15.089 --> 00:30:19.349 seen even in the last budget, even with the deficits 00:30:19.349 --> 00:30:23.170 that they're facing now. Yeah, I'm still expecting 00:30:23.170 --> 00:30:29.809 to see like a state REIT bill on. So, for instance, 00:30:29.970 --> 00:30:33.470 Representative Berg also introduced a bill. 2027, 00:30:33.690 --> 00:30:38.509 2027. And she didn't advance it. Right, it's 00:30:38.509 --> 00:30:42.190 still sitting there. But one would assume that 00:30:42.190 --> 00:30:44.750 it's necessary to implement the budget if their 00:30:44.750 --> 00:30:47.549 budget chooses to assume that. It'll be interesting. 00:30:47.650 --> 00:30:49.509 She and I had a good conversation about this 00:30:49.509 --> 00:30:51.549 just the other day, and there wasn't a lot of 00:30:51.549 --> 00:30:54.529 certainty on her end as to what was going to 00:30:54.529 --> 00:30:56.089 happen with that bill. So we're kind of just 00:30:56.089 --> 00:30:59.329 in a holding pattern. That actually has one of 00:30:59.329 --> 00:31:02.750 our revenue pieces tied into it. Correct. And 00:31:02.750 --> 00:31:04.769 so we'd be very interested in moving that bill 00:31:04.769 --> 00:31:10.049 too. But she was pretty open that she just didn't 00:31:10.049 --> 00:31:12.730 have an idea as to what the caucus's appetite 00:31:12.730 --> 00:31:16.289 was going to be to address REIT this year. We'll 00:31:16.289 --> 00:31:17.970 have to wait and see how things progress. Yeah. 00:31:18.009 --> 00:31:20.869 I think, you know, in the past, there's been 00:31:20.869 --> 00:31:23.069 this sense that there would be a property tax 00:31:23.069 --> 00:31:24.990 piece and that would be for locals and state 00:31:24.990 --> 00:31:27.490 would do the read and that would be. But the 00:31:27.490 --> 00:31:30.069 state is going to have to. Let me back up one 00:31:30.069 --> 00:31:32.650 second. It is my working assumption that the 00:31:32.650 --> 00:31:35.009 majority parties are going to introduce budgets 00:31:35.009 --> 00:31:39.470 with significant revenue packages. And that starts 00:31:39.470 --> 00:31:41.829 to take the oxygen out of the room for additional 00:31:41.829 --> 00:31:47.009 things. Right. Like. like a specific REIT. But 00:31:47.009 --> 00:31:52.230 you could very easily, say you introduce a budget 00:31:52.230 --> 00:31:56.349 with a B &O tax or a wealth tax, head tax, and 00:31:56.349 --> 00:31:59.089 you can dial that to such a level that there's 00:31:59.089 --> 00:32:01.390 then additional revenue generated from that that 00:32:01.390 --> 00:32:04.049 can be set to backfill the document recording 00:32:04.049 --> 00:32:07.309 fee or backfill. Just depends on how they use 00:32:07.309 --> 00:32:09.450 it. And I think that once we see these budgets 00:32:09.450 --> 00:32:12.349 come out early next week is what we're hearing, 00:32:12.470 --> 00:32:15.950 probably Monday and Tuesday, we'll have a really 00:32:15.950 --> 00:32:19.150 good indicator of what their intention is, at 00:32:19.150 --> 00:32:22.680 least from then. to the end of the session, what 00:32:22.680 --> 00:32:24.619 they really plan to pursue, what they plan to 00:32:24.619 --> 00:32:27.980 talk about, and how the policy bills that support 00:32:27.980 --> 00:32:30.859 and don't support that are going to line up as 00:32:30.859 --> 00:32:33.460 we start hitting the next series of cutoffs. 00:32:33.519 --> 00:32:36.720 So that'll be really interesting. We're running 00:32:36.720 --> 00:32:38.940 out of time, and we haven't talked about the 00:32:38.940 --> 00:32:40.920 last strategy because there's three that are 00:32:40.920 --> 00:32:43.259 still alive. So we talked about middle housing. 00:32:43.400 --> 00:32:45.700 We talked about our infrastructure bill that's 00:32:45.700 --> 00:32:48.259 no longer related to housing infrastructure but 00:32:48.259 --> 00:32:50.869 still has a few good little tools and therefore 00:32:50.869 --> 00:32:56.109 counties. The other one was a proviso, right? 00:32:56.369 --> 00:32:58.789 Yes. And we were pursuing that. Now what's the 00:32:58.789 --> 00:33:01.490 status of our proviso and what does it do? So 00:33:01.490 --> 00:33:05.190 we have put together a proviso that would create 00:33:05.190 --> 00:33:07.630 a partnership between the county's association 00:33:07.630 --> 00:33:11.710 and specifically South Puget Sound Community 00:33:11.710 --> 00:33:15.410 College where we would work with their faculty 00:33:15.410 --> 00:33:19.769 and students to develop like stock housing plans 00:33:19.769 --> 00:33:27.150 for middle housing types, including ADUs, duplexes, 00:33:27.150 --> 00:33:34.890 and smaller family homes. And so we have approached 00:33:34.890 --> 00:33:37.609 the legislature and asked for what is a fairly 00:33:37.609 --> 00:33:40.730 modest amount of funding. $250 ,000, is that 00:33:40.730 --> 00:33:42.609 right? That's the number we asked for. Yes, it 00:33:42.609 --> 00:33:51.849 does. Yeah. And honestly, I think we've talked 00:33:51.849 --> 00:33:58.450 a lot. The capital budget is actually fiscally 00:33:58.450 --> 00:34:01.890 sound, especially compared to the operating budget 00:34:01.890 --> 00:34:05.809 and the transportation budget. So it's not inconceivable 00:34:05.809 --> 00:34:08.110 that... Yeah, a lot of the action this year that 00:34:08.110 --> 00:34:10.829 people are going to be claiming victory on is 00:34:10.829 --> 00:34:12.630 going to be in the capital budget if it's anywhere. 00:34:12.849 --> 00:34:14.150 Yeah, and I can't remember if we talked about 00:34:14.150 --> 00:34:17.849 this last time, but... You know, the capital 00:34:17.849 --> 00:34:20.710 budget is essentially a function of interest 00:34:20.710 --> 00:34:23.489 rates. Right. And how much you spend. Exactly. 00:34:23.630 --> 00:34:27.690 And as we know, the current operating budget 00:34:27.690 --> 00:34:30.289 tension is more of a spending tension than a 00:34:30.289 --> 00:34:32.550 revenue tension. Right. Money's been fine. So 00:34:32.550 --> 00:34:34.750 the bond model hasn't really been impacted. And 00:34:34.750 --> 00:34:38.150 then you compound that with two additional things. 00:34:38.210 --> 00:34:40.389 One, Climate Commitment Act was undercommitted. 00:34:40.929 --> 00:34:45.440 And two. If you are going to have a revenue package, 00:34:45.579 --> 00:34:47.239 you're going to spend more. Yeah. So if you spend 00:34:47.239 --> 00:34:49.599 more, then your bond model goes up. Right. So 00:34:49.599 --> 00:34:52.340 there is actually some, that's not, of all the 00:34:52.340 --> 00:34:54.179 budgets that have a lot of tension and a lot 00:34:54.179 --> 00:34:55.780 of competition, there is actually a little bit 00:34:55.780 --> 00:35:00.420 of room in there. So I am, you know, I'm more 00:35:00.420 --> 00:35:02.380 of an optimistic than you are, but I am slightly 00:35:02.380 --> 00:35:04.699 optimistic. Whoa. Is this news to you, Paul? 00:35:04.780 --> 00:35:07.429 That is news to me. i'm a little hurt by that 00:35:07.429 --> 00:35:10.750 no one's no one's no you don't have like a no 00:35:10.750 --> 00:35:13.409 tattoo of eeyore somewhere on your body that's 00:35:13.409 --> 00:35:15.210 that you can't see underneath the dress shirt 00:35:15.210 --> 00:35:17.989 no i'm i i'm getting a very uncomfortable with 00:35:17.989 --> 00:35:21.090 this line of inquiry or whatever you want i'm 00:35:21.090 --> 00:35:23.489 a contractor by the way i'm i'm not the boss 00:35:23.489 --> 00:35:27.349 so no that's that that is interesting what you 00:35:27.349 --> 00:35:30.969 know where the where the capital budget is concerned. 00:35:31.090 --> 00:35:32.849 It's kind of a pull -pull scenario, right? It's 00:35:32.849 --> 00:35:35.829 the operating budget is kind of, and CCA kind 00:35:35.829 --> 00:35:38.989 of combined to pull that thing along. And you're 00:35:38.989 --> 00:35:42.940 right. It really is a function of... where the 00:35:42.940 --> 00:35:45.000 revenues are, and they've been holding up. They 00:35:45.000 --> 00:35:46.920 just haven't been growing at a fast enough rate 00:35:46.920 --> 00:35:49.460 to match the spending rate that the state has 00:35:49.460 --> 00:35:52.360 put in play for this budget and the next two 00:35:52.360 --> 00:35:54.159 years as well. That's where the cuts are really 00:35:54.159 --> 00:35:56.440 going to have to come is the growth in the amount 00:35:56.440 --> 00:35:59.860 of spending, not actually reducing spending from 00:35:59.860 --> 00:36:03.400 previous levels in most cases. The tension has 00:36:03.400 --> 00:36:07.880 been a result of the increased cost of providing 00:36:07.880 --> 00:36:10.880 the existing market basket of goods and services 00:36:10.880 --> 00:36:14.730 to the state. So do we have any idea? Have you 00:36:14.730 --> 00:36:19.349 gotten any good intel on what status our proviso 00:36:19.349 --> 00:36:23.010 proposal is? Are we going to see it in the capital 00:36:23.010 --> 00:36:25.949 budget next week? Unfortunately, I haven't. Okay. 00:36:26.010 --> 00:36:28.369 So it'll be a surprise. It will be a surprise. 00:36:28.510 --> 00:36:33.150 And I am assuming if we see it, it's going to 00:36:33.150 --> 00:36:37.110 be in the Senate budget. capital budget chairs 00:36:37.110 --> 00:36:39.989 are notoriously tight -lipped well and that's 00:36:39.989 --> 00:36:42.949 it until the proposal hits the street so so the 00:36:42.949 --> 00:36:45.530 the person we think is going to deliver for us 00:36:45.530 --> 00:36:48.570 is at a level where they don't want to claim 00:36:48.570 --> 00:36:53.570 credit whereas for instance um some other members 00:36:53.570 --> 00:36:57.090 who aren't high up in the capital committee have 00:36:57.090 --> 00:37:00.969 told me what's in or not in so so the budgets 00:37:00.969 --> 00:37:04.250 are from a member request standpoint, are cooked 00:37:04.250 --> 00:37:11.110 on both the House and the Senate side. And the 00:37:11.110 --> 00:37:15.090 one thing I can share with you is the cookies 00:37:15.090 --> 00:37:20.030 list, you know, like the goodies. My understanding 00:37:20.030 --> 00:37:22.829 is they're going to buy both lists. Oh. So if 00:37:22.829 --> 00:37:24.969 we show up in the Senate but don't show up in 00:37:24.969 --> 00:37:27.409 the House, my understanding is when they merge 00:37:27.409 --> 00:37:30.170 the – like everybody's going to get their cookies. 00:37:30.409 --> 00:37:32.889 Okay. So they've already kind of – Everybody's 00:37:32.889 --> 00:37:35.210 in the pool. Yes. Regardless of which side you 00:37:35.210 --> 00:37:37.750 start on. Yes. So I don't think you have to worry 00:37:37.750 --> 00:37:39.610 about like, oh, we're in the Senate but not in 00:37:39.610 --> 00:37:41.809 the House. Okay. Or vice versa. Well, Brian, 00:37:41.969 --> 00:37:45.170 fascinating conversation. It's always interesting 00:37:45.170 --> 00:37:48.989 to talk with you. It feels like we go kind of 00:37:48.989 --> 00:37:51.369 a roundabout way, you know, rather than a super 00:37:51.369 --> 00:37:53.630 focused conversation like I do with some other 00:37:53.630 --> 00:37:57.630 lobbyists and when we talk about their issues. 00:37:58.650 --> 00:38:01.389 It really shows how all of these things, you 00:38:01.389 --> 00:38:03.050 know, play off one another here in the legislature 00:38:03.050 --> 00:38:05.349 and how they all tie together or don't tie together. 00:38:05.510 --> 00:38:09.250 Yes. And how, you know, you may have a really 00:38:09.250 --> 00:38:11.389 great idea. It may be supported by everyone. 00:38:11.469 --> 00:38:13.510 But at the end of the day, you know, it gets 00:38:13.510 --> 00:38:15.570 tripped up by, you know, some sort of speed bump 00:38:15.570 --> 00:38:19.460 along the way and you're not successful. You 00:38:19.460 --> 00:38:21.340 know, you have you have another idea that maybe 00:38:21.340 --> 00:38:24.079 isn't that great, but you just you know, you 00:38:24.079 --> 00:38:27.940 trip over a golden nugget and suddenly you are. 00:38:28.059 --> 00:38:30.280 And sometimes that's just the way that things 00:38:30.280 --> 00:38:35.670 go in the political process here. Well. Happy 00:38:35.670 --> 00:38:38.409 cutoff last Wednesday. Thank you. Looking forward 00:38:38.409 --> 00:38:41.690 to budgets. We've got a revenue forecast here 00:38:41.690 --> 00:38:45.570 in just a few minutes. And we've got budgets 00:38:45.570 --> 00:38:47.929 coming up in just a few days. So we'll have a 00:38:47.929 --> 00:38:49.510 lot more to talk about after that. Yeah, giddy 00:38:49.510 --> 00:38:52.150 up. All right. Take care until then. Thank you. 00:38:55.369 --> 00:38:57.809 Thanks for tuning in to County Connection. Stay 00:38:57.809 --> 00:38:59.650 in the loop by subscribing to us through your 00:38:59.650 --> 00:39:01.989 preferred podcasting app and following us on 00:39:01.989 --> 00:39:04.789 LinkedIn. Facebook, and Instagram. And don't 00:39:04.789 --> 00:39:06.769 forget to join The Hub, your go -to source for 00:39:06.769 --> 00:39:08.530 the latest news and updates from the Washington 00:39:08.530 --> 00:39:11.170 State Association of Counties. Until next time, 00:39:11.210 --> 00:39:12.929 stay connected and stay informed.