WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.160 Oh, let's hear your falsetto. Come on. With a 00:00:02.160 --> 00:00:05.000 little vibrato. Let's hear it. You want to hear 00:00:05.000 --> 00:00:09.720 falsetto? Don't act like you're not impressed. 00:00:14.220 --> 00:00:16.539 You have to do the rest of the podcast in falsetto. 00:00:18.440 --> 00:00:24.000 Yes. That's where I draw the line. I don't have 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:25.920 many lines, but that's one of them. That's what 00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:30.519 you're trying to say? That's correct. Welcome 00:00:30.519 --> 00:00:32.820 to County Connection, the official podcast of 00:00:32.820 --> 00:00:34.780 the Washington State Association of Counties, 00:00:34.780 --> 00:00:37.179 where we dive into the legislative issues shaping 00:00:37.179 --> 00:00:39.619 the future of our communities. From budgets to 00:00:39.619 --> 00:00:42.539 public safety, infrastructure to elections, we'll 00:00:42.539 --> 00:00:45.200 break down what's happening in Olympia and how 00:00:45.200 --> 00:00:47.159 it impacts counties from across the Evergreen 00:00:47.159 --> 00:00:50.280 State. Stay informed, stay engaged, and join 00:00:50.280 --> 00:00:52.859 us as we amplify the voice of Washington's 39 00:00:52.859 --> 00:00:58.859 counties. Welcome back, everybody, to the County 00:00:58.859 --> 00:01:02.700 Connection podcast, the number one podcast on 00:01:02.700 --> 00:01:05.599 county issues in Washington state. Again, we 00:01:05.599 --> 00:01:08.560 have no proof of that, but we think we're the 00:01:08.560 --> 00:01:10.180 only one. So we're going to stick with it. I'm 00:01:10.180 --> 00:01:12.900 Paul Jewell, your host and government relations 00:01:12.900 --> 00:01:15.099 director with the Washington State Association 00:01:15.099 --> 00:01:18.079 of Counties. I think it's Wednesday, if I'm not 00:01:18.079 --> 00:01:21.879 mistaken, and we are only. one day away from 00:01:21.879 --> 00:01:24.700 the final day of legislative session or what 00:01:24.700 --> 00:01:26.459 we call sine die. And we're going to try something 00:01:26.459 --> 00:01:29.180 different in the studio today. We've got both 00:01:29.180 --> 00:01:35.480 Travis and Curtis here to talk about. They just 00:01:35.480 --> 00:01:39.099 high five guys. I'm not sure why. And they're 00:01:39.099 --> 00:01:41.819 sitting really close to each other. We need better 00:01:41.819 --> 00:01:44.879 audio on that. That little better. Get closer 00:01:44.879 --> 00:01:46.599 to the mic with it. All right, there you go. 00:01:46.920 --> 00:01:49.420 Perfect. Nicely done. All right, so we've got 00:01:49.420 --> 00:01:53.319 both Travis and Curtis here to kind of talk about 00:01:53.319 --> 00:01:56.459 their policy areas and what happened this legislative 00:01:56.459 --> 00:01:59.519 session. But before we get into that, how are 00:01:59.519 --> 00:02:01.719 you guys feeling now that we're one day out, 00:02:01.840 --> 00:02:06.359 one day to go? The clock is ticking. You know, 00:02:06.519 --> 00:02:11.879 divided feelings. Feeling very good about the 00:02:11.879 --> 00:02:14.020 policy area that I work in specifically, which 00:02:14.020 --> 00:02:18.800 is housing and land use issues. Feeling... a 00:02:18.800 --> 00:02:23.539 little less sunny about overall how the session 00:02:23.539 --> 00:02:26.439 ended for counties and local governments in general 00:02:26.439 --> 00:02:28.520 yeah kind of a mixed bag for us this year you 00:02:28.520 --> 00:02:31.639 know a lot of a lot of progress on a few items 00:02:31.639 --> 00:02:35.139 um some minor progress on some other items and 00:02:35.139 --> 00:02:37.939 then um actually some significant setbacks on 00:02:37.939 --> 00:02:41.099 a few others so definitely a mixed bag good news 00:02:41.099 --> 00:02:43.620 bad news kind of scenario for our members yeah 00:02:43.620 --> 00:02:47.939 not not like No big losses or bad news, just 00:02:47.939 --> 00:02:52.340 some big wins that were dangled in front of us 00:02:52.340 --> 00:02:55.099 and then snatched away at the last minute. Right 00:02:55.099 --> 00:02:57.379 at that kind of like, here, come and get it, 00:02:57.400 --> 00:02:58.819 come and get it. It's right in front of you. 00:02:58.879 --> 00:03:03.159 It's like you're just a cat trying to chase down 00:03:03.159 --> 00:03:05.939 that laser beam. Right. Travis, how about you? 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:08.699 How are you feeling now that the session is just 00:03:08.699 --> 00:03:11.800 about over? I'd say the same. I think continuing 00:03:11.800 --> 00:03:14.060 to learn and experience the fact that sometimes 00:03:14.960 --> 00:03:17.280 a successful session isn't winning the Super 00:03:17.280 --> 00:03:19.500 Bowl. It's just not being relegated out of the 00:03:19.500 --> 00:03:22.259 league. Yeah, no kidding. And so I think there's 00:03:22.259 --> 00:03:25.939 a lot of, we had some really big wins, but some 00:03:25.939 --> 00:03:28.199 of the biggest wins are that there aren't transformative 00:03:28.199 --> 00:03:31.539 pieces of policy that we now have to figure out 00:03:31.539 --> 00:03:34.400 how to make work. Right. So, you know, I think 00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:38.520 that there were some big wins. I think we learned 00:03:38.520 --> 00:03:42.219 a lot about, you know, sort of where counties... 00:03:42.780 --> 00:03:45.080 sits in the bigger state picture and sort of 00:03:45.080 --> 00:03:51.159 what's important to the legislature. And I guess 00:03:51.159 --> 00:03:53.979 I think it's all just continuing to learn and 00:03:53.979 --> 00:03:56.039 figure out how to make the next session better. 00:03:56.219 --> 00:03:59.819 But it does feel like sometimes just not being 00:03:59.819 --> 00:04:03.479 completely blown out of the league is a win. 00:04:04.020 --> 00:04:06.120 So I think that's sort of an experience. But 00:04:06.120 --> 00:04:09.039 I'm excited. Is it the sine die gremlin that 00:04:09.039 --> 00:04:11.569 comes down the chimney and gives you gifts? No, 00:04:11.590 --> 00:04:15.090 there's no. Sorry, buddy. I don't know why I 00:04:15.090 --> 00:04:17.490 tried so hard. Because I really thought he kept 00:04:17.490 --> 00:04:19.529 a list of like lobbyists that did well and did 00:04:19.529 --> 00:04:22.110 poorly. No, no, no. There's no gremlin. There's 00:04:22.110 --> 00:04:24.550 no chimney. There's no presence. Yeah. I'm sorry 00:04:24.550 --> 00:04:26.149 about that. No, now I'm feeling a little bit 00:04:26.149 --> 00:04:27.910 worse about I'll stick with the original stuff, 00:04:27.990 --> 00:04:29.769 but I'm feeling less excited about tomorrow than 00:04:29.769 --> 00:04:31.790 I was originally. So, you know, the way you described 00:04:31.790 --> 00:04:35.560 kind of. how sometimes you win simply not by 00:04:35.560 --> 00:04:39.500 losing. Reminds me of that movie, White Men Can't 00:04:39.500 --> 00:04:41.040 Jump. Do you remember that movie from the 19, 00:04:41.220 --> 00:04:44.000 I think it was the 1990s, maybe late 1980s, early 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:47.100 1990s. Yeah, it's like Woody Harrelson and Spike 00:04:47.100 --> 00:04:50.660 Lee direct. Well, I think, I don't know if Spike 00:04:50.660 --> 00:04:54.160 Lee directed it or was in it. No, he was actually 00:04:54.160 --> 00:04:56.649 in it. If I'm not mistaken, he played one of 00:04:56.649 --> 00:05:00.069 the supporting characters. But the Woody Harrelson 00:05:00.069 --> 00:05:01.889 character and his girlfriend, do you remember? 00:05:02.009 --> 00:05:04.410 I think her name was Gloria, and she was trying 00:05:04.410 --> 00:05:08.189 to win Jeopardy all the time. And the one thing 00:05:08.189 --> 00:05:10.730 that she said one time was when she was trying 00:05:10.730 --> 00:05:16.230 to explain to him when she said she was thirsty. 00:05:16.269 --> 00:05:18.069 He tried to get her a glass of water, right? 00:05:18.129 --> 00:05:21.069 And he said, sometimes I don't want you to tell 00:05:21.069 --> 00:05:23.300 me. Or I don't want you to get a glass of water. 00:05:23.399 --> 00:05:25.220 I just want you to understand that I'm thirsty. 00:05:26.620 --> 00:05:29.100 And I mean, you could see like his mind was blown, 00:05:29.220 --> 00:05:35.689 right? I'm digressing a little bit. Are we thirsty 00:05:35.689 --> 00:05:37.769 in this situation? No, we're not thirsty in this 00:05:37.769 --> 00:05:40.050 situation. I don't know what we are. But she 00:05:40.050 --> 00:05:43.029 went a little further to say, sometimes when 00:05:43.029 --> 00:05:44.990 you win, you really lose. Sometimes when you 00:05:44.990 --> 00:05:46.550 lose, you really win. That was a little further 00:05:46.550 --> 00:05:50.290 down in the movie. And it's a silly movie, and 00:05:50.290 --> 00:05:52.730 it's a funny movie, and I don't actually think 00:05:52.730 --> 00:05:55.850 it aged very well with its title and some of 00:05:55.850 --> 00:05:57.490 the other things that are in the movie. But the 00:05:57.490 --> 00:05:59.110 one thing that I remember that I was kind of 00:05:59.110 --> 00:06:00.550 thinking about when you were saying sometimes 00:06:00.550 --> 00:06:03.829 you actually win. by simply not losing. Kind 00:06:03.829 --> 00:06:05.550 of reminded me of that, right? Sometimes when 00:06:05.550 --> 00:06:07.029 you win, you lose. Sometimes when you lose, you 00:06:07.029 --> 00:06:09.889 actually win. And sometimes, you know, a draw 00:06:09.889 --> 00:06:11.769 is a draw, and a draw is the best you can do 00:06:11.769 --> 00:06:14.410 and sometimes hope for. And this was a tough 00:06:14.410 --> 00:06:17.889 session, right? And this is a session that, you 00:06:17.889 --> 00:06:20.670 know, if you can get out of it just unscathed 00:06:20.670 --> 00:06:23.910 in many areas, that's actually a pretty big victory. 00:06:26.050 --> 00:06:31.420 I feel like the legislature... Might have thought 00:06:31.420 --> 00:06:33.620 we were Woody Harrelson's girlfriend in this 00:06:33.620 --> 00:06:35.779 situation. We actually do want public defense 00:06:35.779 --> 00:06:38.879 funding, though. We are thirsty. We meant water. 00:06:40.920 --> 00:06:43.279 You actually wanted them to bring you water? 00:06:43.639 --> 00:06:45.800 Yeah. We didn't want them to just understand. 00:06:46.319 --> 00:06:52.259 I see. Well, I probably should have recognized 00:06:52.259 --> 00:06:56.620 I was setting you up for that one. Well, let's 00:06:56.620 --> 00:07:00.500 get into it, guys. Let's talk about... what actually 00:07:00.500 --> 00:07:03.220 happened this session. I know you both were working 00:07:03.220 --> 00:07:06.160 on different pieces of legislation. Let's talk 00:07:06.160 --> 00:07:09.259 about some of the big wins. What actually passed 00:07:09.259 --> 00:07:13.560 this year that you can say, okay, that's a feather 00:07:13.560 --> 00:07:15.560 in our cap. That's a good thing for counties. 00:07:15.660 --> 00:07:17.060 That's something that we really wanted to happen. 00:07:17.660 --> 00:07:19.819 Travis, why don't we start with you? What do 00:07:19.819 --> 00:07:23.759 you think maybe was the biggest win from a bill 00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:27.100 passing or policy passing or maybe even just 00:07:27.100 --> 00:07:30.589 a budget item? You know, I think thinking about 00:07:30.589 --> 00:07:34.050 it from like a what's passed versus what didn't 00:07:34.050 --> 00:07:36.329 pass or what got left alone type of a standpoint, 00:07:36.389 --> 00:07:38.170 but looking positively around what passed, I 00:07:38.170 --> 00:07:40.269 think there was some big things specifically 00:07:40.269 --> 00:07:44.230 for us. I know working on 1960, that clean energy 00:07:44.230 --> 00:07:49.449 property tax bill was, you know, a big effort 00:07:49.449 --> 00:07:51.860 on. on a part of a lot of people. And I know 00:07:51.860 --> 00:07:54.420 we have a full podcast about it. So yeah, folks 00:07:54.420 --> 00:07:55.980 can go check that out. And so we don't have to 00:07:55.980 --> 00:07:58.160 rehash it all today, but so that was a pretty 00:07:58.160 --> 00:08:01.959 big bill that was, um, an effort that you. were 00:08:01.959 --> 00:08:05.240 really on the ground floor of, you know, we started 00:08:05.240 --> 00:08:08.560 it by doing some investigations, kind of getting 00:08:08.560 --> 00:08:12.199 wind of a problem, not to use a bad pun in this 00:08:12.199 --> 00:08:14.420 particular instance, but really getting kind 00:08:14.420 --> 00:08:16.720 of wind of a problem and going out and searching, 00:08:16.920 --> 00:08:19.660 seeing that it was a problem, writing up a research 00:08:19.660 --> 00:08:23.639 paper on it. And that got the attention of some 00:08:23.639 --> 00:08:25.360 stakeholders, including legislators. And it just 00:08:25.360 --> 00:08:27.420 kind of went from there. And you were pretty 00:08:27.420 --> 00:08:32.399 instrumental in that whole process. And that's 00:08:32.399 --> 00:08:35.159 one that really just kind of was birthed here 00:08:35.159 --> 00:08:38.779 at WASAC and has now turned into a bill that 00:08:38.779 --> 00:08:42.519 actually just passed both houses finally this 00:08:42.519 --> 00:08:45.899 morning. Yeah. You know, I think it's something 00:08:45.899 --> 00:08:49.740 that you and I and a lot of our members put a 00:08:49.740 --> 00:08:52.139 ton of time and effort and blood, sweat, tears, 00:08:52.220 --> 00:08:57.259 all of the things into this bill. And I still 00:08:57.259 --> 00:08:59.960 feel very lucky that it only took... Two years, 00:09:00.100 --> 00:09:02.379 right? I still feel like... Well, two years from 00:09:02.379 --> 00:09:04.919 introduction to passage, yeah. And so just seeing 00:09:04.919 --> 00:09:08.899 so many bills that felt important or had a lot 00:09:08.899 --> 00:09:12.860 of momentum in recent years, this is my fourth 00:09:12.860 --> 00:09:17.019 session, so seeing so many take longer than this 00:09:17.019 --> 00:09:19.779 and still not be making progress, I still feel 00:09:19.779 --> 00:09:23.320 very fortunate in the fact that it did get through 00:09:23.320 --> 00:09:27.399 as quickly as it did. But it's still exciting 00:09:27.399 --> 00:09:30.509 to see it as something that... you know, we created 00:09:30.509 --> 00:09:32.529 and we all worked really hard on it. It's cool 00:09:32.529 --> 00:09:34.649 to sort of see it, sending it off to college 00:09:34.649 --> 00:09:36.970 and seeing it be successful. Yeah, now it's out 00:09:36.970 --> 00:09:40.009 in the world. Yeah, it's not eating my food and 00:09:40.009 --> 00:09:42.649 living under my roof anymore. But no, I think 00:09:42.649 --> 00:09:44.769 it's going to be exciting to see that be out 00:09:44.769 --> 00:09:47.289 there doing what we want it to do. So this is 00:09:47.289 --> 00:09:52.210 your first bill and that really, you know, you've 00:09:52.210 --> 00:09:54.389 been involved with really from start to finish. 00:09:54.529 --> 00:09:56.769 And just for the listeners out there, the bill 00:09:56.769 --> 00:09:58.690 we're talking about, House Bill 1960, is the 00:09:58.690 --> 00:10:00.590 Clean Energy Property Tax Bill. We've talked 00:10:00.590 --> 00:10:02.950 about it a couple of times. As I think we mentioned 00:10:02.950 --> 00:10:04.889 earlier, there's a whole other podcast just on 00:10:04.889 --> 00:10:07.870 this bill that we recorded earlier this year. 00:10:07.950 --> 00:10:10.289 So you can go back and listen to that if you 00:10:10.289 --> 00:10:12.850 want more details. But I mean, at the end of 00:10:12.850 --> 00:10:16.710 the day, does this feel like a major accomplishment 00:10:16.710 --> 00:10:20.750 on a career level to you? Or does it... I don't 00:10:20.750 --> 00:10:25.210 know how it's kind of a rite of passage for somebody 00:10:25.210 --> 00:10:28.289 working in policy to to have gone through the 00:10:28.289 --> 00:10:30.049 process all the way from start to finish and 00:10:30.049 --> 00:10:32.929 actually, you know, get to the finish line and 00:10:32.929 --> 00:10:35.370 see it become law. And this is your first time. 00:10:35.409 --> 00:10:39.330 I mean, does that how's that landing? I mean. 00:10:40.330 --> 00:10:42.129 I don't know that I'll get this one tattooed 00:10:42.129 --> 00:10:44.230 on me. I thought about it, getting House Bill 00:10:44.230 --> 00:10:46.269 9th or 3rd engrossed. Just like right across 00:10:46.269 --> 00:10:48.429 your back? Right, yeah. Between the shoulder 00:10:48.429 --> 00:10:51.350 blades? Perfect. How is it that we both knew? 00:10:51.769 --> 00:10:54.370 You know, maybe some wind turbines in the background 00:10:54.370 --> 00:10:56.649 and some solar panels up front, so it's got like 00:10:56.649 --> 00:10:58.509 a three -dimensional look to it? With the faces 00:10:58.509 --> 00:11:00.590 of every SEPTE member. Oh, that's perfect. All 00:11:00.590 --> 00:11:02.350 of the people kind of around it, like in clouds. 00:11:02.490 --> 00:11:10.029 Yeah, so you use... An acronym. Acronym, yeah. 00:11:10.129 --> 00:11:12.750 I was going to say an analogy. An acronym here 00:11:12.750 --> 00:11:14.750 on the podcast. So you have to explain what SEPTI 00:11:14.750 --> 00:11:18.350 means. So SEPTI, C -E -P -T -I, was sort of the 00:11:18.350 --> 00:11:20.929 unofficial name we gave the project group, which 00:11:20.929 --> 00:11:23.710 is Clean Energy Property Tax Issues, which is 00:11:23.710 --> 00:11:27.009 the summary statement for the title of the report 00:11:27.009 --> 00:11:29.070 and sort of all of the issues that we've worked 00:11:29.070 --> 00:11:31.269 on. So that's a team that started over two years 00:11:31.269 --> 00:11:34.149 ago working on this process. And it includes 00:11:34.149 --> 00:11:37.809 members from the... Association of County Officials 00:11:37.809 --> 00:11:40.889 and our own WASAC leadership, our own WASAC members 00:11:40.889 --> 00:11:43.549 as well. So I would say it's probably about a 00:11:43.549 --> 00:11:47.149 dozen folks consistently throughout. I wasn't 00:11:47.149 --> 00:11:49.210 going to use the faces of people from New York 00:11:49.210 --> 00:11:51.470 or Iowa or the other states we talked to, but 00:11:51.470 --> 00:11:55.029 yeah, so it was a pretty strong group. And I 00:11:55.029 --> 00:11:57.049 think from your question too, I think, you know, 00:11:57.049 --> 00:12:00.580 the... It's exciting to see the bill. Kate came 00:12:00.580 --> 00:12:03.659 down. It worked out, but Kate came into the office 00:12:03.659 --> 00:12:06.960 right as... And Kate is? Oh, sorry. Yeah. For 00:12:06.960 --> 00:12:09.360 those who don't know. Kate's a woman I'm married 00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:17.220 to. Perfect. She is my better half, and she comes 00:12:17.220 --> 00:12:19.480 up with... I can vouch for that. She truly is. 00:12:19.500 --> 00:12:21.379 Oh, absolutely. Yeah. I think that trivia stuff 00:12:21.379 --> 00:12:23.929 was... I wouldn't have been there without, you 00:12:23.929 --> 00:12:25.149 know, I don't think we gave enough shout out 00:12:25.149 --> 00:12:27.230 to our wives during that. Probably not. So we 00:12:27.230 --> 00:12:29.350 should probably do that again. We probably should. 00:12:29.590 --> 00:12:32.830 But she, no, my wife Kate comes up with me during 00:12:32.830 --> 00:12:38.029 session. And so she happened to come out, come 00:12:38.029 --> 00:12:39.909 down to the office at the same time that they 00:12:39.909 --> 00:12:42.830 were hearing that bill in the opposite house 00:12:42.830 --> 00:12:44.789 and got to see it pass and got to see that debate. 00:12:44.889 --> 00:12:46.570 And we were all here. It was just an exciting 00:12:46.570 --> 00:12:50.049 moment. But I think also more out of this is, 00:12:50.070 --> 00:12:52.720 you know, I think it's up there with. um going 00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:54.720 through that process you met a lot of people 00:12:54.720 --> 00:12:56.620 you get to experience a lot of things you wouldn't 00:12:56.620 --> 00:12:59.039 get to experience otherwise in the lobbyist role 00:12:59.039 --> 00:13:02.799 um and and i think it's up there with all of 00:13:02.799 --> 00:13:04.740 the lessons that were learned the hard way it's 00:13:04.740 --> 00:13:06.740 exciting to see this bill move but i think it's 00:13:06.740 --> 00:13:08.860 up there career -wise just as impactful for me 00:13:08.860 --> 00:13:11.399 as other things that have blown up in my face 00:13:11.399 --> 00:13:13.580 right so i think everything comes with a lesson 00:13:13.580 --> 00:13:16.500 but it's exciting i think it's it'll be exciting 00:13:16.500 --> 00:13:19.580 to to watch this thing move forward, and I'm 00:13:19.580 --> 00:13:21.899 excited. Well, without a doubt, most of the work 00:13:21.899 --> 00:13:24.440 we do on a policy level never sees the light 00:13:24.440 --> 00:13:27.419 of day, right? In fact, I'd say the vast majority 00:13:27.419 --> 00:13:31.120 of the work that we do. So to notch a win every 00:13:31.120 --> 00:13:35.240 now and again is kind of nice, for sure. I'm 00:13:35.240 --> 00:13:37.940 glad it happened on this bill. I'm glad we were 00:13:37.940 --> 00:13:39.779 successful. And this was not an easy issue. This 00:13:39.779 --> 00:13:43.429 was a tough one. The last time I testified on 00:13:43.429 --> 00:13:46.769 it in the hearing, the staff report, I think, 00:13:46.809 --> 00:13:50.909 took 10 minutes. And I was the first person to 00:13:50.909 --> 00:13:53.049 testify. And they were all talking about how 00:13:53.049 --> 00:13:55.009 complex the bill was. And I think I just started 00:13:55.009 --> 00:13:57.750 my testimony by saying, thanks for hearing this 00:13:57.750 --> 00:14:02.750 very simple proposal. Yeah. I mean, in all of 00:14:02.750 --> 00:14:05.149 the conversations and meetings, we sort of had 00:14:05.149 --> 00:14:09.330 a whirlwind of, you know. introducing this bill 00:14:09.330 --> 00:14:11.830 to a lot of legislators in the Senate and the 00:14:11.830 --> 00:14:15.330 House quickly, right? It's not something that 00:14:15.330 --> 00:14:18.110 you can crank out in an elevator speech or a 00:14:18.110 --> 00:14:20.470 15 minute meeting, right? It's a tough one. There 00:14:20.470 --> 00:14:22.330 were so many meetings where I think sometimes 00:14:22.330 --> 00:14:25.470 I left them more confused than when we went in 00:14:25.470 --> 00:14:26.889 because you're trying to explain to them the 00:14:26.889 --> 00:14:28.830 problem and the solution and how it works. And 00:14:28.830 --> 00:14:32.970 it's a lot. And so it was very exciting to see 00:14:32.970 --> 00:14:35.159 some of those folks. on the floor when these 00:14:35.159 --> 00:14:36.820 when this bill came up repeating some of the 00:14:36.820 --> 00:14:38.840 things that we'd shared and some of the messages 00:14:38.840 --> 00:14:40.759 our members had shared so it was it was very 00:14:40.759 --> 00:14:43.080 cool well congrats that that's a big milestone 00:14:43.080 --> 00:14:45.059 yeah and that was a really big effort and something 00:14:45.059 --> 00:14:48.200 that's going to be a real benefit for our members 00:14:48.200 --> 00:14:50.379 and their communities and the taxpayers of washington 00:14:50.379 --> 00:14:52.539 moving forward and really probably for the clean 00:14:52.539 --> 00:14:55.100 energy industry if folks are supportive of the 00:14:55.100 --> 00:14:58.470 clean energy industry yeah Shout out to we would 00:14:58.470 --> 00:15:01.110 be remiss if we didn't make a shout out to Representative 00:15:01.110 --> 00:15:03.490 Alex Rammel, who was the prime sponsor of the 00:15:03.490 --> 00:15:05.409 bill and really helped shepherd it through the 00:15:05.409 --> 00:15:08.509 legislature on our behalf. He was really a champion 00:15:08.509 --> 00:15:12.490 for us on an issue that is not a hero bill by 00:15:12.490 --> 00:15:15.389 any means. So I look forward to seeing that tattoo. 00:15:15.610 --> 00:15:18.669 And I think everybody else does, too. Well, I'm 00:15:18.669 --> 00:15:21.120 pretty sure we have a pretty strict. um shirts 00:15:21.120 --> 00:15:23.919 on at work policy so unfortunately we can work 00:15:23.919 --> 00:15:26.519 on that i think i think we can what do you think 00:15:26.519 --> 00:15:28.320 curtis should we work out an exception for that 00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:34.500 no come on i think we have good policy around 00:15:34.500 --> 00:15:37.120 this have you so i read i read an article a few 00:15:37.120 --> 00:15:40.559 years ago quite a few years ago actually on the 00:15:40.559 --> 00:15:44.500 uh tattoo uh fantasy football club have you heard 00:15:44.500 --> 00:15:47.200 of this Have you heard of that? So it's a group 00:15:47.200 --> 00:15:50.559 of guys. They've tried to get 10, but they could 00:15:50.559 --> 00:15:54.100 only get nine. And every year they do a fantasy 00:15:54.100 --> 00:15:56.440 football league. And whoever loses, not the winner, 00:15:56.519 --> 00:15:59.620 whoever loses, the other members get to get together 00:15:59.620 --> 00:16:03.730 and they get to dictate what. tattoo that person 00:16:03.730 --> 00:16:07.210 has to get where they have to get it on their 00:16:07.210 --> 00:16:09.590 body. I think we could, we could do something 00:16:09.590 --> 00:16:12.090 like that around new bills that we introduced 00:16:12.090 --> 00:16:15.809 here. We could do that on whoever takes the. 00:16:16.839 --> 00:16:19.419 cumulatively over the session, the longest in 00:16:19.419 --> 00:16:22.360 their policy updates at LSC, that's the person 00:16:22.360 --> 00:16:24.659 who has to get the tattoo. That's what I think. 00:16:24.799 --> 00:16:26.820 Oh, I think maybe you're aiming at someone in 00:16:26.820 --> 00:16:29.700 particular. I don't think it's the person you 00:16:29.700 --> 00:16:32.899 think it is, which is the conversation around 00:16:32.899 --> 00:16:37.080 that topic. Can you imagine being in a league 00:16:37.080 --> 00:16:39.919 where the stakes are so high that you actually 00:16:39.919 --> 00:16:42.779 have to go get permanent ink applied if you're 00:16:42.779 --> 00:16:45.840 the loser? There are no eight people in the world. 00:16:46.519 --> 00:16:49.779 collectively, I would trust to select what and 00:16:49.779 --> 00:16:51.559 where I got a tattoo. What about the rest of 00:16:51.559 --> 00:16:55.259 us here on the policy team? Come on. Oh. Come 00:16:55.259 --> 00:17:00.179 on. Absolutely not. First of all, I think you 00:17:00.179 --> 00:17:02.019 should be required to have a tattoo to tell somebody 00:17:02.019 --> 00:17:04.079 else where you can get a tattoo. So I feel like 00:17:04.079 --> 00:17:05.859 that eliminates a lot of y 'all. Yeah, it does. 00:17:06.200 --> 00:17:08.759 But no, I do not trust. No. There's no group 00:17:08.759 --> 00:17:10.579 of eight people in the world I would trust. It's 00:17:10.579 --> 00:17:14.079 not happening. Yeah. All right, Curtis. Well, 00:17:14.099 --> 00:17:16.640 turning to you, who obviously has some strong 00:17:16.640 --> 00:17:20.700 opinions about these tattoos and company policy 00:17:20.700 --> 00:17:24.960 around shirts in the office, which you're probably 00:17:24.960 --> 00:17:27.579 right. We have the right policy in place. What 00:17:27.579 --> 00:17:29.160 was your big winner this year? What was the big 00:17:29.160 --> 00:17:31.099 issue that you really worked on that you think 00:17:31.099 --> 00:17:34.559 was probably the biggest win from a passage point 00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:40.339 of view? Yeah, so I think... We celebrated partial 00:17:40.339 --> 00:17:42.700 wins this session. I think we, in the housing 00:17:42.700 --> 00:17:46.240 space, we had some big wins last session. And 00:17:46.240 --> 00:17:48.440 then this session, I wouldn't say anything was 00:17:48.440 --> 00:17:51.779 huge. I'd say the highlight of the session was 00:17:51.779 --> 00:17:55.339 probably Senate Bill 6027 and the associated 00:17:55.339 --> 00:17:59.839 budget appropriation with that bill. Remind us 00:17:59.839 --> 00:18:02.140 what that one was. So this bill is in response 00:18:02.140 --> 00:18:06.319 to some... trouble at the federal level with 00:18:06.319 --> 00:18:11.180 housing funding. Many local governments and housing 00:18:11.180 --> 00:18:14.480 providers rely on a stream of funding from housing 00:18:14.480 --> 00:18:16.519 and urban development that's called the Continuum 00:18:16.519 --> 00:18:19.660 of Care Funds. These Continuum of Care Funds 00:18:19.660 --> 00:18:22.900 fund permanent supportive housing programs for 00:18:22.900 --> 00:18:25.279 the most vulnerable people in the state. So the 00:18:25.279 --> 00:18:30.259 primary program is called permanent supportive 00:18:30.259 --> 00:18:33.119 housing for chronically homeless families. These 00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:35.859 are households with children where the head of 00:18:35.859 --> 00:18:38.180 the household has a severe disability and they've 00:18:38.180 --> 00:18:41.480 been homeless for more than a year. So it's a, 00:18:41.559 --> 00:18:44.779 like I said. the most vulnerable subset of that 00:18:44.779 --> 00:18:47.019 population. And permanent supportive housing 00:18:47.019 --> 00:18:48.920 programs support them in two ways. They can be 00:18:48.920 --> 00:18:51.980 a project -based voucher, which is a building 00:18:51.980 --> 00:18:54.420 that a county, local government, or provider 00:18:54.420 --> 00:18:59.460 owns and houses people for free. Or it can be 00:18:59.460 --> 00:19:06.880 a rent voucher, a tenant -based program. So project 00:19:06.880 --> 00:19:11.140 -based or tenant -based, two types. What we've 00:19:11.140 --> 00:19:15.140 seen in recent years is changes to eligibility 00:19:15.140 --> 00:19:20.470 to receive funding from the federal level. Is 00:19:20.470 --> 00:19:22.670 that kind of along the same lines of other changes 00:19:22.670 --> 00:19:26.250 around eligibility for things like SNAP or other 00:19:26.250 --> 00:19:30.410 federal benefits that have been widely publicized? 00:19:30.430 --> 00:19:33.049 Not exactly. So those more widely publicized 00:19:33.049 --> 00:19:36.049 reductions are just cuts, right? There's less 00:19:36.049 --> 00:19:38.009 money in the budget. That's not what's happening 00:19:38.009 --> 00:19:39.869 in the continuum of care program. So they're 00:19:39.869 --> 00:19:41.849 not cutting the funding necessarily. They just 00:19:41.849 --> 00:19:43.910 literally are changing the eligibility requirements. 00:19:43.910 --> 00:19:45.990 They're changing the eligibility. And the first 00:19:45.990 --> 00:19:47.349 way they're changing the eligibility is they're 00:19:47.349 --> 00:19:50.220 saying right now there's a— There's a balance 00:19:50.220 --> 00:19:54.559 in the funding. There's really two types of funding 00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:56.500 that come through this program, permanent supportive 00:19:56.500 --> 00:19:58.380 housing that I've just described, and then transitional 00:19:58.380 --> 00:20:01.099 housing, which is the same populations, the same 00:20:01.099 --> 00:20:03.680 folks, the same vehicle. It's just time limited. 00:20:03.819 --> 00:20:07.359 That's really the only difference. And it's usually 00:20:07.359 --> 00:20:09.599 time limited to a year, transitional housing. 00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:14.039 So that doesn't work for the most vulnerable 00:20:14.039 --> 00:20:15.880 people because they need long -term support, 00:20:16.079 --> 00:20:21.960 right? Right. In the past... COC funding has 00:20:21.960 --> 00:20:24.400 been about 80 % permanent supportive housing, 00:20:24.579 --> 00:20:27.039 20 % transitional housing. So the first change 00:20:27.039 --> 00:20:29.940 that happened is guidance that came down from 00:20:29.940 --> 00:20:33.539 the upper level of HUD that said we want to rebalance 00:20:33.539 --> 00:20:37.180 that to be 70 -30, 70 % transitional housing, 00:20:37.400 --> 00:20:39.160 30 % permanent supportive housing. Now why is 00:20:39.160 --> 00:20:41.279 that significant? They want it to be more time 00:20:41.279 --> 00:20:43.779 limited. They don't want to have these subsidy 00:20:43.779 --> 00:20:46.079 programs. The policy direction of the federal 00:20:46.079 --> 00:20:48.700 government is to not have subsidy programs that 00:20:48.700 --> 00:20:53.170 fund people for life. And so they put some time 00:20:53.170 --> 00:20:55.329 limits on this stuff. About 50 % of the programming 00:20:55.329 --> 00:20:58.369 has to change. It's a big lift. These funding 00:20:58.369 --> 00:21:01.109 cycles are annual. So every year there's a new 00:21:01.109 --> 00:21:03.329 notice of funding opportunity. Programs have 00:21:03.329 --> 00:21:07.269 to apply for renewal. So to change 50 % of your 00:21:07.269 --> 00:21:10.930 program requirements for what is $120 million 00:21:10.930 --> 00:21:14.890 statewide funding source is a significant change. 00:21:15.049 --> 00:21:18.619 And then on top of that, they've... So every 00:21:18.619 --> 00:21:21.799 COC applies for the funding independently. In 00:21:21.799 --> 00:21:24.759 Washington, we have six COCs, one for each of 00:21:24.759 --> 00:21:26.859 the five largest counties, and then the balance 00:21:26.859 --> 00:21:29.259 of state continuum of care, which is the rest 00:21:29.259 --> 00:21:33.619 of the counties together in one NOFO. NOFO? Notice 00:21:33.619 --> 00:21:35.740 of Funding Opportunities. Thanks for catching 00:21:35.740 --> 00:21:41.599 the acronym soup there. So these funds have had 00:21:41.599 --> 00:21:45.339 strings attached to them in the most recent NOFOs 00:21:45.339 --> 00:21:49.849 that say, Things that I think a lot of Washington 00:21:49.849 --> 00:21:52.049 communities are just going to not be able to 00:21:52.049 --> 00:21:56.430 comply with. The first one is you have to verify 00:21:56.430 --> 00:21:59.690 everyone's citizenship status when they apply 00:21:59.690 --> 00:22:02.569 for funding. I don't think these programs serve 00:22:02.569 --> 00:22:05.829 many people who are not documented American citizens, 00:22:06.150 --> 00:22:08.329 but you understand the political implications 00:22:08.329 --> 00:22:12.329 there. And then the second change is that programs 00:22:12.329 --> 00:22:16.650 need to certify that they will only... collect 00:22:16.650 --> 00:22:19.869 data on people's gender as assigned at birth. 00:22:20.250 --> 00:22:23.490 So these are two political issues that don't 00:22:23.490 --> 00:22:26.589 have anything to do with housing, right? That 00:22:26.589 --> 00:22:29.609 have been kind of included in these applications 00:22:29.609 --> 00:22:34.609 in a way that's going to set up a political argument 00:22:34.609 --> 00:22:38.190 that might get in the way of some very essential 00:22:38.190 --> 00:22:40.150 services for people. It just feels like more 00:22:40.150 --> 00:22:43.849 and more. On both sides of the ideological spectrum, 00:22:44.049 --> 00:22:46.069 these political issues are really seeping their 00:22:46.069 --> 00:22:51.250 way into basic human services, right? And on 00:22:51.250 --> 00:22:55.849 some level, you can understand why. On other 00:22:55.849 --> 00:22:58.970 levels, it really starts to feel like it's just... 00:22:59.609 --> 00:23:02.630 petty in some regards, right? Or someone's trying 00:23:02.630 --> 00:23:05.789 to make some kind of a political point or just 00:23:05.789 --> 00:23:08.130 push a political agenda because they have the 00:23:08.130 --> 00:23:10.630 ability to do so. And I think it's happening 00:23:10.630 --> 00:23:12.750 on both sides. It would be nice if we could just 00:23:12.750 --> 00:23:15.329 kind of clean up these applications, clean up 00:23:15.329 --> 00:23:18.549 these eligibility requirements and just, you 00:23:18.549 --> 00:23:20.710 know, for people who are unhoused, let's get 00:23:20.710 --> 00:23:22.569 them housed, right? Let's make sure that we're 00:23:22.569 --> 00:23:25.190 keeping people off the streets and having better 00:23:25.190 --> 00:23:27.750 outcomes because in the long run, it's actually 00:23:27.750 --> 00:23:30.619 cheaper for everybody. Sure, and I mean at the 00:23:30.619 --> 00:23:33.819 bare minimum for these families that just cannot 00:23:33.819 --> 00:23:37.940 help themselves. I think there's arguments around 00:23:37.940 --> 00:23:39.960 the approach to housing to be made with personal 00:23:39.960 --> 00:23:43.000 responsibility and what kind of services folks 00:23:43.000 --> 00:23:45.920 need to connect with before or after housing, 00:23:46.140 --> 00:23:48.380 et cetera, et cetera. Those are, I think, real 00:23:48.380 --> 00:23:50.519 conversations to have. Yeah, for sure. I think 00:23:50.519 --> 00:23:52.200 when you're talking about the families served 00:23:52.200 --> 00:23:55.359 by this particular program, there's no path to 00:23:55.359 --> 00:23:57.819 self -sustainability. These are people who have. 00:23:58.379 --> 00:24:01.900 really really high levels of disability that 00:24:01.900 --> 00:24:04.940 have been in a housing crisis for over a year 00:24:04.940 --> 00:24:07.420 and that have children in their household okay 00:24:07.420 --> 00:24:09.279 so you mentioned this was a win so where's the 00:24:09.279 --> 00:24:11.480 win yeah i'm still waiting for where's the good 00:24:11.480 --> 00:24:13.960 news so our approach was to kind of get out of 00:24:13.960 --> 00:24:15.660 the politics here the federal government's going 00:24:15.660 --> 00:24:17.059 to do what they're going to do we can't control 00:24:17.059 --> 00:24:21.700 that okay but there's other funding sources that 00:24:21.700 --> 00:24:23.839 fund permanent supportive housing. There's some 00:24:23.839 --> 00:24:26.160 at the local level. We have the supportive housing 00:24:26.160 --> 00:24:29.940 sales tax. We have local document recording fee 00:24:29.940 --> 00:24:32.890 dollars. And then we have funding from the state. 00:24:33.150 --> 00:24:35.589 There is a state appropriation that's been in 00:24:35.589 --> 00:24:38.109 the operating budget through the Department of 00:24:38.109 --> 00:24:40.049 Commerce Housing Assistance Unit for several 00:24:40.049 --> 00:24:42.750 biennia that funds permanent supportive housing 00:24:42.750 --> 00:24:47.029 programs that was in the past pointed exclusively 00:24:47.029 --> 00:24:50.329 at permanent supportive housing that was created 00:24:50.329 --> 00:24:52.849 by the Housing Trust Fund. So it's the operating 00:24:52.849 --> 00:24:56.019 dollars that come in. two housing trust fund 00:24:56.019 --> 00:24:58.220 projects that are specifically for permanent 00:24:58.220 --> 00:25:03.839 supportive housing. And Senate Bill 6027 took 00:25:03.839 --> 00:25:06.279 a look at all of those various funding sources, 00:25:06.339 --> 00:25:09.059 and it did two things. One, it identified what 00:25:09.059 --> 00:25:11.960 funding sources. were not flexible enough to 00:25:11.960 --> 00:25:14.680 pivot to backfill some of the federal funding 00:25:14.680 --> 00:25:17.079 loss, and it created that flexibility in those 00:25:17.079 --> 00:25:19.119 funding sources. So if it couldn't already be 00:25:19.119 --> 00:25:20.859 used for operation and maintenance of permanent 00:25:20.859 --> 00:25:22.740 supportive housing, it changed the definition 00:25:22.740 --> 00:25:25.559 of the eligible uses to include that. Which is 00:25:25.559 --> 00:25:28.059 great because that's always a problem. Operating 00:25:28.059 --> 00:25:30.759 and maintenance dollars, always a problem. Exactly. 00:25:30.759 --> 00:25:33.960 And in that operating budget appropriation that 00:25:33.960 --> 00:25:36.000 I spoke of earlier, it changed the definition 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:40.490 a little to allow that to be used. for programs 00:25:40.490 --> 00:25:42.250 that maybe weren't created through Housing Trust 00:25:42.250 --> 00:25:44.349 Fund, but are going to experience this funding 00:25:44.349 --> 00:25:48.750 loss from the federal level. And then the last 00:25:48.750 --> 00:25:51.390 thing you did is it codified in statute some 00:25:51.390 --> 00:25:53.670 language we've seen in the operating budget around 00:25:53.670 --> 00:25:56.109 housing programs the last couple biennium, which 00:25:56.109 --> 00:26:00.579 is to direct Department of Commerce. as it's 00:26:00.579 --> 00:26:02.859 appropriating funds that receives through the 00:26:02.859 --> 00:26:06.019 operating budget to prioritize the maintenance 00:26:06.019 --> 00:26:09.440 of existing service levels before it funds new 00:26:09.440 --> 00:26:12.119 programs. And specific language in there that 00:26:12.119 --> 00:26:16.440 says to prioritize the funding for programs that 00:26:16.440 --> 00:26:20.099 would be cut by COC before it funds new programs. 00:26:20.400 --> 00:26:23.400 So it kind of in the, you know, if there's going 00:26:23.400 --> 00:26:25.940 to be budget cuts and we're prioritizing what 00:26:25.940 --> 00:26:28.319 programs to cut, probably these services for 00:26:28.319 --> 00:26:30.049 the absolute most. most vulnerable part of the 00:26:30.049 --> 00:26:32.130 population, shouldn't be on the chopping block. 00:26:32.269 --> 00:26:35.710 So it moves them up in the pro -rationing queue, 00:26:35.869 --> 00:26:40.049 if you will. Yeah. So as far as the hierarchy, 00:26:40.369 --> 00:26:42.650 I guess, of where the cuts might start, this 00:26:42.650 --> 00:26:45.849 is not going to be at the bottom or maybe at 00:26:45.849 --> 00:26:47.650 the top, wherever you're starting from. Exactly. 00:26:47.789 --> 00:26:51.309 So that's some good wins there for some of the 00:26:51.309 --> 00:26:55.380 most vulnerable folks. Yep. Good. What about 00:26:55.380 --> 00:26:58.180 the one that got away this year? Let's talk about 00:26:58.180 --> 00:26:59.960 that one really quickly. Everybody hates the 00:26:59.960 --> 00:27:02.299 one that got away. I mean, you love it, and then 00:27:02.299 --> 00:27:05.319 you hate it, right? But there's always one every 00:27:05.319 --> 00:27:09.099 single year. What's the one that got away that 00:27:09.099 --> 00:27:12.700 you really wish you could have had? I'm talking 00:27:12.700 --> 00:27:14.819 about bills. Well, do you want me to talk about 00:27:14.819 --> 00:27:17.000 the millionaire's tax? I know we've had lots 00:27:17.000 --> 00:27:20.980 of podcasts on that. No, we've had a couple of 00:27:20.980 --> 00:27:26.009 podcasts on that. Do you want to talk about that? 00:27:26.109 --> 00:27:28.049 No. You guys got to talk right into the mic. 00:27:28.130 --> 00:27:32.970 What were you saying, Travis? I was just, this 00:27:32.970 --> 00:27:35.829 isn't really my story to tell. But Curtis cried 00:27:35.829 --> 00:27:37.410 pretty hard when that shark bill didn't move 00:27:37.410 --> 00:27:40.230 forward. Oh, yeah, the state shark bill. Look, 00:27:40.269 --> 00:27:41.710 I'm going to need a little more counseling before 00:27:41.710 --> 00:27:44.990 we open that box. I'm going to pick something 00:27:44.990 --> 00:27:47.049 else. A few too many tears were shed over the 00:27:47.049 --> 00:27:50.470 shark bill's demise. I'm sorry, you know, Curtis. 00:27:50.990 --> 00:27:54.430 I realize that's triggering for you. And, Travis, 00:27:54.750 --> 00:27:56.329 we're going to have to have a discussion afterwards 00:27:56.329 --> 00:27:57.970 because I think you knew that as well. Yeah. 00:27:57.990 --> 00:28:01.289 And you did it intentionally. Yeah. Hey, can 00:28:01.289 --> 00:28:02.869 you move forward? Are you all right? Deep breaths? 00:28:02.910 --> 00:28:05.849 Yeah, I'm good. You want to do some he -hoos, 00:28:05.849 --> 00:28:09.849 he -hoos? No, you don't do Lamaze for grief. 00:28:09.930 --> 00:28:11.630 What are you talking about? Just he -hoos, baby. 00:28:11.990 --> 00:28:14.930 It's just a breathing technique. Just he -hoos, 00:28:14.970 --> 00:28:19.009 baby. There's your tattoo. Anyways, so what is 00:28:19.009 --> 00:28:21.160 the one that got away this year? I don't think 00:28:21.160 --> 00:28:23.200 I got one. I don't think I got one. There's lots 00:28:23.200 --> 00:28:26.099 of to -be -continueds, all stuff we've played 00:28:26.099 --> 00:28:29.619 defense on, though. Yeah. We didn't really have 00:28:29.619 --> 00:28:33.819 a bill that we got momentum on in the housing 00:28:33.819 --> 00:28:35.740 space or land use planning space that didn't 00:28:35.740 --> 00:28:39.440 pass. We passed a couple priority bills around 00:28:39.440 --> 00:28:42.680 affordable housing, one that allows ADUs in the 00:28:42.680 --> 00:28:45.740 rural area. We've been working on that one for 00:28:45.740 --> 00:28:47.920 a couple of years. That was a good bill. 1345? 00:28:48.099 --> 00:28:50.420 1345, yeah. Brian was working on that one for 00:28:50.420 --> 00:28:55.299 us. Correct. And then we cleaned up another priority 00:28:55.299 --> 00:28:58.420 bill we passed last session around allowing more 00:28:58.420 --> 00:29:03.009 housing in Lammards. kind of a poison pill amendment 00:29:03.009 --> 00:29:05.829 added to it that created some confusion around 00:29:05.829 --> 00:29:09.529 what sewer systems were adequate. So we cleaned 00:29:09.529 --> 00:29:12.950 that up. That was good. And otherwise, we just 00:29:12.950 --> 00:29:16.930 played a lot of defense, and I think we're mostly 00:29:16.930 --> 00:29:19.230 successful. Well, what about you, Travis? What 00:29:19.230 --> 00:29:20.970 was the one that got away for you this year? 00:29:21.069 --> 00:29:23.589 Or if you don't have one that got away, what 00:29:23.589 --> 00:29:29.549 was the biggest surprise maybe? Well, I think... 00:29:31.630 --> 00:29:34.250 For the one that got away, I don't really know 00:29:34.250 --> 00:29:36.529 that I was ever actually fishing. I think that 00:29:36.529 --> 00:29:37.990 this bill might be, you know when you take your 00:29:37.990 --> 00:29:39.849 kid to the fishing pond and then you put the 00:29:39.849 --> 00:29:41.710 fish on the kid's hook and they're like, ooh, 00:29:41.789 --> 00:29:45.069 I was fishing. I never actually put the fish 00:29:45.069 --> 00:29:48.809 on my kid's hook. Well, I think our solid waste 00:29:48.809 --> 00:29:53.190 funding bill was House Bill 2018, which would 00:29:53.190 --> 00:29:56.589 have created significant new revenue for counties 00:29:56.589 --> 00:29:58.809 to do all of the things that were required to 00:29:58.809 --> 00:30:02.670 do. And then some, you know, it had a hearing. 00:30:03.130 --> 00:30:06.930 It was introduced in the 2025 session. Didn't 00:30:06.930 --> 00:30:10.369 get a hearing. It got a hearing this year. But 00:30:10.369 --> 00:30:13.630 to some extent, I think it was great to be able 00:30:13.630 --> 00:30:16.230 to have that conversation. But I don't know that 00:30:16.230 --> 00:30:19.559 it ever really. stood a chance this year yeah 00:30:19.559 --> 00:30:22.720 and so a new tax bill the first year that's a 00:30:22.720 --> 00:30:25.299 tough one right um but you made some progress 00:30:25.299 --> 00:30:26.660 by getting the bill introduced and getting a 00:30:26.660 --> 00:30:28.880 hearing right right and i think that that was 00:30:28.880 --> 00:30:32.210 you know i i don't mean to to discredit the the 00:30:32.210 --> 00:30:34.369 meaningful nature of like they don't waste their 00:30:34.369 --> 00:30:36.450 time at the legislature so i don't think that 00:30:36.450 --> 00:30:38.609 they just put a bill up to let me play well they 00:30:38.609 --> 00:30:41.670 do okay maybe no that's a good point they don't 00:30:41.670 --> 00:30:43.210 they don't waste their time you saw me roll my 00:30:43.210 --> 00:30:46.069 eyes one lobbyist out there who just really wants 00:30:46.069 --> 00:30:48.049 to get a bill heard so that they can let travis 00:30:48.049 --> 00:30:50.410 play lobbyist for a day like i don't think that 00:30:50.410 --> 00:30:53.029 they wasted their time doing that um but but 00:30:53.029 --> 00:30:57.250 i think that that's sort of maybe this goes along 00:30:57.250 --> 00:30:59.289 with your second question of surprise too is 00:30:59.289 --> 00:31:02.779 that You know, every, even if it doesn't pass, 00:31:03.000 --> 00:31:06.099 it still means it's a conversation during the 00:31:06.099 --> 00:31:07.960 interim. And I would say that about, you know, 00:31:07.980 --> 00:31:09.960 some of the ones that got away that we wanted 00:31:09.960 --> 00:31:11.880 to go away, just because they're gone doesn't 00:31:11.880 --> 00:31:14.019 mean that they're gone, gone, right? I'm looking 00:31:14.019 --> 00:31:15.880 at all of this list of bills of things that didn't 00:31:15.880 --> 00:31:17.519 pass, and I know that they're coming back in 00:31:17.519 --> 00:31:19.079 one form or another during the interim. What's 00:31:19.079 --> 00:31:21.119 the one that worries you the most? I think there's 00:31:21.119 --> 00:31:24.519 a lot around juvenile rehabilitation and juvenile 00:31:24.519 --> 00:31:27.220 detention. There were some, you know, we can... 00:31:28.579 --> 00:31:31.099 2389. Yeah, Brad and I talked about that one 00:31:31.099 --> 00:31:33.619 in a previous podcast a lot. That was one you 00:31:33.619 --> 00:31:35.299 guys worked really hard on. Yeah, I would say, 00:31:35.339 --> 00:31:38.539 honestly, as far as time, hours put in, I think 00:31:38.539 --> 00:31:42.200 I worked on 2389 more than I worked on 1960, 00:31:42.579 --> 00:31:46.880 the clean energy bill this year. And I think 00:31:46.880 --> 00:31:49.799 the surprises that come out of that are, A, that 00:31:49.799 --> 00:31:53.680 that conversation is not done. That that just 00:31:53.680 --> 00:31:56.640 means that we're going to have to... pivot to 00:31:56.640 --> 00:32:00.079 a interim conversation and keep working on it 00:32:00.079 --> 00:32:02.079 because there are problems that need to be fixed 00:32:02.079 --> 00:32:05.380 that that bill wanted to fix and if we can be 00:32:05.710 --> 00:32:08.190 part of that conversation moving forward to help 00:32:08.190 --> 00:32:10.890 with that, that'll be great. But I think that's 00:32:10.890 --> 00:32:12.509 another big surprise. It's just because something's 00:32:12.509 --> 00:32:14.789 done in session doesn't mean it's done at all. 00:32:14.890 --> 00:32:16.529 Like you said, things come back again and again. 00:32:16.750 --> 00:32:18.970 Well, sometimes they never stop coming back, 00:32:19.009 --> 00:32:22.349 right? And at some point, something passes. And 00:32:22.349 --> 00:32:25.049 that's not always a bad thing, right? Because 00:32:25.049 --> 00:32:29.329 a policy can start on one side of the spectrum 00:32:29.329 --> 00:32:31.589 where it's not good for local governments, but 00:32:31.589 --> 00:32:34.829 the idea is interesting, right? Or the intention. 00:32:34.990 --> 00:32:37.609 is good. It's just the execution is bad. And 00:32:37.609 --> 00:32:41.210 so it can evolve over several sessions where 00:32:41.210 --> 00:32:43.049 we get a chance to develop some relationships, 00:32:43.390 --> 00:32:45.390 understand the intentions behind the policy better, 00:32:45.470 --> 00:32:47.670 and actually pass something that's good for everybody. 00:32:47.910 --> 00:32:51.670 That can happen. And that's actually the way 00:32:51.670 --> 00:32:54.309 it's supposed to work, right? Rather than really 00:32:54.309 --> 00:32:56.230 bad policy just kind of getting shoved through 00:32:56.230 --> 00:32:59.269 in a year or two. I mean, this whole process 00:32:59.269 --> 00:33:01.630 is set up to make things fail, and for good reason. 00:33:02.350 --> 00:33:04.910 Yeah. So I think that's the one that got away. 00:33:04.990 --> 00:33:06.509 There were some other really good ones for solid 00:33:06.509 --> 00:33:08.130 waste that would have helped counties, saved 00:33:08.130 --> 00:33:11.569 counties money. There was a bill that would have 00:33:11.569 --> 00:33:13.869 expanded paint care, which would have been great, 00:33:13.930 --> 00:33:15.990 but didn't make it through. Unsure why. It seemed 00:33:15.990 --> 00:33:19.190 like it was a good bill. It had bipartisan support 00:33:19.190 --> 00:33:20.849 moving all the way through. It just never made 00:33:20.849 --> 00:33:25.329 it on the floor. Paint care is a product responsibility. 00:33:27.039 --> 00:33:27.880 Yeah, it handles architectural paint. What do 00:33:27.880 --> 00:33:30.759 we call it? EPR, Extended Product Responsibility 00:33:30.759 --> 00:33:33.240 Program, right? Yeah, yeah. It's architectural 00:33:33.240 --> 00:33:35.559 paint, but basically paint that comes in gallons 00:33:35.559 --> 00:33:38.240 for your walls. And it's kind of like the mercury 00:33:38.240 --> 00:33:40.259 lights. When you're done with the paint, you 00:33:40.259 --> 00:33:42.359 can take it back. Obviously not the paint you 00:33:42.359 --> 00:33:44.440 paint on the walls, but your leftover paint, 00:33:44.500 --> 00:33:45.779 you take it back to the paint store and they 00:33:45.779 --> 00:33:47.680 recycle it. Yeah, this would have expanded it 00:33:47.680 --> 00:33:50.440 to accept aerosols and thinners and other products 00:33:50.440 --> 00:33:53.440 that cost counties money to handle and cost residents 00:33:53.440 --> 00:33:56.679 time and money to get rid of. Yeah. contaminants 00:33:56.679 --> 00:33:59.519 right in the waste stream so and so you're looking 00:33:59.519 --> 00:34:03.019 at it thinking this is an easy win this is something 00:34:03.019 --> 00:34:04.759 that could just be passed through and it just 00:34:04.759 --> 00:34:06.480 continues to sit there so I think that's just 00:34:06.480 --> 00:34:08.340 another not a surprise but just learning the 00:34:08.340 --> 00:34:11.420 nuances of just because something short sessions 00:34:11.420 --> 00:34:13.719 kill a lot of bills just because the time runs 00:34:13.719 --> 00:34:16.639 out, right? That clock is what kind of rules 00:34:16.639 --> 00:34:19.099 everything. And once that clock hits zero, if 00:34:19.099 --> 00:34:20.420 you're not over the finish line, you're done. 00:34:20.519 --> 00:34:22.800 You know, the one that surprised me a lot this 00:34:22.800 --> 00:34:24.920 year, I think maybe, maybe the greatest surprise 00:34:24.920 --> 00:34:27.559 this year for me in your policy area. is the 00:34:27.559 --> 00:34:30.019 bottle deposit bill. We were watching for that. 00:34:30.139 --> 00:34:32.880 We'd heard a lot of rumor that that one was coming 00:34:32.880 --> 00:34:34.440 back this year, that they were actually going 00:34:34.440 --> 00:34:36.579 to try to slam dunk that thing in a short session. 00:34:36.980 --> 00:34:39.500 And I mean, it didn't, there wasn't a murmur. 00:34:39.559 --> 00:34:41.960 There wasn't a rumble. There wasn't a whisper. 00:34:42.179 --> 00:34:45.480 There was nothing. That bill didn't move. Do 00:34:45.480 --> 00:34:47.340 you have anything, you have any insight there? 00:34:47.420 --> 00:34:49.860 What's happening with that? I don't, to be honest. 00:34:49.940 --> 00:34:51.659 And that was a weird experience this session 00:34:51.659 --> 00:34:53.460 too. And I don't know if it was more because 00:34:53.460 --> 00:34:56.679 I was out there working certain bills on my own 00:34:56.679 --> 00:34:59.679 more than in the past or new groups are working 00:34:59.679 --> 00:35:01.599 on these bills now, but there felt like there 00:35:01.599 --> 00:35:03.880 was quite a bit going on outside of what was 00:35:03.880 --> 00:35:07.840 available knowledge -wise to me or us. So trying 00:35:07.840 --> 00:35:10.699 to get a sense of what was real, what wasn't 00:35:10.699 --> 00:35:13.219 real, being at the table, figuring out where 00:35:13.219 --> 00:35:15.360 the table was and when they were meeting at that 00:35:15.360 --> 00:35:20.579 table. And so I don't know. It was one that I 00:35:20.579 --> 00:35:24.619 definitely didn't trust. until it became almost 00:35:24.619 --> 00:35:26.960 physically impossible for it not to be dead. 00:35:27.260 --> 00:35:29.059 But even right now, I'm not going to say it's 00:35:29.059 --> 00:35:31.780 100%. I'm still going to knock on this wood here. 00:35:32.679 --> 00:35:35.900 It's laminate, but okay. It just has a wood grain 00:35:35.900 --> 00:35:38.239 pattern on it. But we're going to consider that 00:35:38.239 --> 00:35:40.380 there's wood material in here somewhere. Somewhere, 00:35:40.460 --> 00:35:42.519 yeah. There's something wood essence of it. I 00:35:42.519 --> 00:35:43.820 don't know what, but there's something in here. 00:35:43.940 --> 00:35:46.699 But yeah, that's a big one. And I don't know. 00:35:46.739 --> 00:35:48.380 There was a lot of time and a lot of money and 00:35:48.380 --> 00:35:50.300 a lot of effort put into that bill in various 00:35:50.300 --> 00:35:52.760 forms over the last four years. years and i don't 00:35:52.760 --> 00:35:54.840 it seems strange that nothing happened with it 00:35:54.840 --> 00:35:57.960 at all yeah it does it felt like it had it felt 00:35:57.960 --> 00:36:00.179 like it had momentum i kept hearing it had momentum 00:36:00.179 --> 00:36:03.460 but at the same time i think like curtis had 00:36:03.460 --> 00:36:06.400 mentioned sometimes or you had mentioned is that 00:36:06.400 --> 00:36:08.340 you just sort of fall victim to a short session 00:36:08.340 --> 00:36:11.840 and something bigger and more impactful you know 00:36:11.840 --> 00:36:13.519 sort of steamrolling everything else it's so 00:36:13.519 --> 00:36:15.599 easy for that to happen especially when you only 00:36:15.599 --> 00:36:17.699 have 60 days from start to finish to do the whole 00:36:17.699 --> 00:36:20.260 process compared to 105 days for the long session 00:36:20.260 --> 00:36:22.750 right yeah Well, Curtis, what about you? Any 00:36:22.750 --> 00:36:24.869 surprises this year? Anything kind of creep up 00:36:24.869 --> 00:36:27.550 on you or maybe something you thought was coming 00:36:27.550 --> 00:36:31.550 that didn't happen? Well, so we had one surprise, 00:36:31.769 --> 00:36:36.269 which was we had heard for several years in a 00:36:36.269 --> 00:36:41.510 row. I go to symposiums, the Housing Washington 00:36:41.510 --> 00:36:44.210 Conference, different forums for conversation 00:36:44.210 --> 00:36:47.449 around housing policy during the interim. And 00:36:47.449 --> 00:36:50.920 the last couple of years, you know. Former Governor 00:36:50.920 --> 00:36:53.099 Greg Weyer and Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck 00:36:53.099 --> 00:36:57.679 were often in these forums talking about the 00:36:57.679 --> 00:37:01.179 need to create flexibility in commercial spaces 00:37:01.179 --> 00:37:04.579 to develop affordable housing. Yeah, okay. I 00:37:04.579 --> 00:37:05.860 think I know where you're going with this. This 00:37:05.860 --> 00:37:07.800 perception that there was already infrastructure 00:37:07.800 --> 00:37:10.619 there, and there's all this unused land capacity, 00:37:10.760 --> 00:37:13.579 and if we just tap into that, we can use that 00:37:13.579 --> 00:37:16.539 to address our affordable housing crisis. And 00:37:16.539 --> 00:37:19.960 it didn't sound like... bad ideas on the face 00:37:19.960 --> 00:37:21.760 of it. I think a lot of conversation about these 00:37:21.760 --> 00:37:23.639 old strip malls that have like empty commercial 00:37:23.639 --> 00:37:26.880 space and utilizing that land capacity to develop 00:37:26.880 --> 00:37:29.800 affordable housing. Devil's in the details on 00:37:29.800 --> 00:37:32.380 these things is always our response, right? And 00:37:32.380 --> 00:37:34.699 the devil was certainly in the details in this 00:37:34.699 --> 00:37:37.300 situation when the beginning of session we saw 00:37:37.300 --> 00:37:42.539 Senate Bill 6026 introduced that in its original 00:37:42.539 --> 00:37:46.059 form was... real concerning right i would essentially 00:37:46.059 --> 00:37:50.460 abolish uh the ability to zone land for exclusive 00:37:50.460 --> 00:37:54.119 commercial use right um and which is one of the 00:37:54.119 --> 00:37:56.860 basic rules right around land use planning is 00:37:56.860 --> 00:37:58.980 you kind of put all your commercial area in one 00:37:58.980 --> 00:38:01.599 place you put your housing in another place you 00:38:01.599 --> 00:38:03.719 put your industrial around in another place because 00:38:03.719 --> 00:38:06.139 oftentimes they're not very compatible and not 00:38:06.139 --> 00:38:08.860 only that for you know for just business purposes 00:38:08.860 --> 00:38:11.880 and for ease and convenience you want to have 00:38:11.880 --> 00:38:14.880 that kind of retail stuff located together it 00:38:14.880 --> 00:38:17.500 creates shopping districts that actually help 00:38:17.500 --> 00:38:19.880 you know the other businesses and that's what 00:38:19.880 --> 00:38:22.820 consumers tend to like and you know all that 00:38:22.820 --> 00:38:25.659 stuff and then on top of that there's that other 00:38:25.659 --> 00:38:27.960 movement that wants to build these walkable communities 00:38:27.960 --> 00:38:31.239 that you can actually live in, right? But your 00:38:31.239 --> 00:38:34.039 retail is usually all on the first level and 00:38:34.039 --> 00:38:36.340 people are living in the upper levels and they 00:38:36.340 --> 00:38:38.159 can go to the small neighborhood grocery store 00:38:38.159 --> 00:38:41.619 and pharmacy and the barbershop. This may be 00:38:41.619 --> 00:38:43.280 the small boutique clothing store or whatever 00:38:43.280 --> 00:38:45.679 it is. Well, I mean, the whole purpose of land 00:38:45.679 --> 00:38:48.159 use planning, right, is to ensure sufficient 00:38:48.159 --> 00:38:50.880 land capacity for all for the different services 00:38:50.880 --> 00:38:54.099 your population needs. Right. And if you're in 00:38:54.099 --> 00:38:57.440 a rural area, that's making sure exactly that 00:38:57.440 --> 00:39:00.949 there's enough. acreage of land dedicated to 00:39:00.949 --> 00:39:03.650 each type of thing you need to meet the population 00:39:03.650 --> 00:39:07.369 demands. In an urban area, it's more of an urbanist 00:39:07.369 --> 00:39:09.230 approach, like you were just articulating, where 00:39:09.230 --> 00:39:11.110 you're going to use more development regulations 00:39:11.110 --> 00:39:15.070 than just straight zoning to ensure that you 00:39:15.070 --> 00:39:17.510 have first floor retail, that you have these 00:39:17.510 --> 00:39:20.590 walkable communities, that you have transits 00:39:20.590 --> 00:39:23.349 reaching all the places it should reach, things 00:39:23.349 --> 00:39:28.159 like that. And this bill... seem to kind of fly 00:39:28.159 --> 00:39:31.760 in the face of that. Really just in favor of 00:39:31.760 --> 00:39:34.239 the housing piece. Right. But like you're saying, 00:39:34.360 --> 00:39:36.340 you've got to have space for housing. You've 00:39:36.340 --> 00:39:38.460 got to have places for people to shop. You've 00:39:38.460 --> 00:39:40.800 got to have places for people to work. You've 00:39:40.800 --> 00:39:43.599 got to have places for people to recreate. And 00:39:43.599 --> 00:39:47.079 when you don't have those things, you get out 00:39:47.079 --> 00:39:50.559 of balance. And that's why, for instance, that's 00:39:50.559 --> 00:39:53.400 why a lot of criticism has been placed with the 00:39:53.400 --> 00:39:56.179 city of Seattle in not planning for enough housing. 00:39:56.460 --> 00:39:59.539 and why Seattle's job pressure and job growth 00:39:59.539 --> 00:40:02.519 has pushed housing pressure into areas around 00:40:02.519 --> 00:40:05.679 it, like Pierce County, Snohomish County, even 00:40:05.679 --> 00:40:08.019 farther north, even farther east and west in 00:40:08.019 --> 00:40:12.340 some areas, and increased the housing costs relative 00:40:12.340 --> 00:40:15.639 to that problem around those areas, too. Yeah, 00:40:15.659 --> 00:40:18.739 and we see since the passage of House Bill 1220 00:40:18.739 --> 00:40:23.280 several years ago and the introduction of housing 00:40:23.280 --> 00:40:25.659 elements and comprehensive plans, we're seeing... 00:40:25.670 --> 00:40:27.690 lawsuits on the jurisdictions around seattle 00:40:27.690 --> 00:40:30.489 for not for doing exactly what you're saying 00:40:30.489 --> 00:40:32.590 enough housing opportunity and not adequately 00:40:32.590 --> 00:40:34.869 planning for it and not taking income spectrum 00:40:34.869 --> 00:40:37.730 into account when they plan for it right and 00:40:37.730 --> 00:40:41.869 and so in any case getting back to the the bill 00:40:41.869 --> 00:40:44.809 we had this year the it would have applied a 00:40:44.809 --> 00:40:49.579 statewide prohibition uh across you know it The 00:40:49.579 --> 00:40:52.619 original bill had this exemption for cities under 00:40:52.619 --> 00:40:55.920 30 ,000 in population, but it applied to every 00:40:55.920 --> 00:40:58.780 part of every county, saying that you cannot 00:40:58.780 --> 00:41:02.119 have these exclusively commercial zones. It applied 00:41:02.119 --> 00:41:05.429 to every part of every county. Yes. But it had 00:41:05.429 --> 00:41:07.309 an exemption for cities under 30? Correct, yes. 00:41:07.429 --> 00:41:08.909 Well, that doesn't make any sense. No, yeah, 00:41:09.010 --> 00:41:13.429 it would create little donut holes of the development 00:41:13.429 --> 00:41:15.849 regulations, right? This reminds me of the whole 00:41:15.849 --> 00:41:17.590 discussion we've had so many times about the 00:41:17.590 --> 00:41:19.610 legislature not understanding the difference 00:41:19.610 --> 00:41:23.309 between counties and cities. And the most obvious 00:41:23.309 --> 00:41:25.269 is always the roads piece, right, and the parking. 00:41:25.369 --> 00:41:28.190 Oh, you can't require off -street parking for 00:41:28.190 --> 00:41:31.550 housing. Come on. Our roads are narrow. They 00:41:31.550 --> 00:41:34.369 have ditches. Right. They don't have they don't 00:41:34.369 --> 00:41:36.369 have wide shoulders for parking in the rural 00:41:36.369 --> 00:41:38.530 area. So that doesn't make any sense. But they 00:41:38.530 --> 00:41:40.969 don't get that. Right. They don't understand 00:41:40.969 --> 00:41:43.949 that. They think everything looks the same from 00:41:43.949 --> 00:41:46.150 the top of the space needle. Right. That's Washington 00:41:46.150 --> 00:41:50.349 state. And that's not the case. And so they put 00:41:50.349 --> 00:41:51.949 in this exemption for what they think is small 00:41:51.949 --> 00:41:54.769 cities. But counties do it all. Well, and luckily, 00:41:55.190 --> 00:41:59.710 luckily. That kind of gave us leverage. And we 00:41:59.710 --> 00:42:01.610 had some pre -existing relationships. Senator 00:42:01.610 --> 00:42:03.570 Alvarado sponsored the bill in the Senate and 00:42:03.570 --> 00:42:07.619 was really the primary, you know. advocate for 00:42:07.619 --> 00:42:10.579 the policy in the legislature. Luckily, Senator 00:42:10.579 --> 00:42:14.380 Alvarado is, you know, I've worked with her on 00:42:14.380 --> 00:42:17.400 a number of issues. She's a great housing advocate, 00:42:17.480 --> 00:42:20.900 I think really gets the issue and was open to 00:42:20.900 --> 00:42:24.519 some education around how this would apply to 00:42:24.519 --> 00:42:28.559 counties. And also, the governor's office had 00:42:28.559 --> 00:42:30.980 some turnover right before session started. And 00:42:30.980 --> 00:42:33.880 the governor's office staff that ran this issue 00:42:33.880 --> 00:42:38.409 on their behalf used to be the department of 00:42:38.409 --> 00:42:40.789 commerce policy person that worked with us and 00:42:40.789 --> 00:42:43.469 other counties on housing issues so there's good 00:42:43.469 --> 00:42:46.550 good existing relationships there we got in there 00:42:46.550 --> 00:42:48.710 we expressed the concerns i've kind of talked 00:42:48.710 --> 00:42:51.909 about here and uh the end of the bill as it came 00:42:51.909 --> 00:42:53.949 out you know after a lot of surprising conversations 00:42:53.949 --> 00:42:56.389 a lot of work to get amendments incorporated 00:42:56.389 --> 00:42:59.170 a lot of confusion about uh what do you mean 00:42:59.170 --> 00:43:00.710 i thought we exempted all the small communities 00:43:00.710 --> 00:43:02.909 things like that right uh we were able to get 00:43:02.909 --> 00:43:06.559 all rural counties so the portion of the entire 00:43:06.559 --> 00:43:10.179 unincorporated portion of 30 of our counties 00:43:10.179 --> 00:43:12.579 completely exempted from the provisions of the 00:43:12.579 --> 00:43:15.659 bill. And then the remaining nine counties that 00:43:15.659 --> 00:43:17.940 are, you know, because of their population density 00:43:17.940 --> 00:43:22.530 categorized by OFM as non -rural, they. only 00:43:22.530 --> 00:43:25.869 have this bill apply in urban growth areas that 00:43:25.869 --> 00:43:28.550 are contiguous with cities larger than 30 ,000. 00:43:28.550 --> 00:43:30.389 Oh, that makes sense. A handful of communities. 00:43:30.409 --> 00:43:32.070 Yeah, that makes sense. I mean, still, it's kind 00:43:32.070 --> 00:43:34.670 of a weird policy. Yes. I'm not sure how that's 00:43:34.670 --> 00:43:37.329 going to actually manifest on the ground. It's 00:43:37.329 --> 00:43:39.730 a little bit of a head -scratcher for me and 00:43:39.730 --> 00:43:42.829 a brow -furrower, if that makes sense. Well, 00:43:42.929 --> 00:43:46.090 and even the policy had a few compromises, as 00:43:46.090 --> 00:43:51.610 the process is designed to do. Prohibition on 00:43:51.610 --> 00:43:54.449 first floor retail that we spoke of, that got 00:43:54.449 --> 00:43:58.210 pared back to only applying to 40 % of the commercially 00:43:58.210 --> 00:44:01.449 zoned area. So over half the spots you can require 00:44:01.449 --> 00:44:05.449 that first floor retail. And then there's also 00:44:05.449 --> 00:44:10.090 this provision that's kind of vague. Not sure 00:44:10.090 --> 00:44:12.449 how it'll work on the ground, but you can get 00:44:12.449 --> 00:44:14.949 around all the provisions of the bill with big 00:44:14.949 --> 00:44:17.929 air quotes here, empirical study, right? That's 00:44:17.929 --> 00:44:19.989 the language. Oh, I hate that language. Right, 00:44:20.010 --> 00:44:22.889 yes. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's like this year's 00:44:22.889 --> 00:44:26.789 objectively reasonable. Right, right. But, you 00:44:26.789 --> 00:44:29.210 know, so the bill, it got watered down a bit. 00:44:29.289 --> 00:44:32.590 I still think it'll have the effect they wanted 00:44:32.590 --> 00:44:35.929 in the large urban areas, and I think luckily 00:44:35.929 --> 00:44:37.809 we were able to get most of our rural communities 00:44:37.809 --> 00:44:40.400 out of the bill. So is the war on parking over? 00:44:41.860 --> 00:44:44.380 It's paused. Where's that wood we were knocking 00:44:44.380 --> 00:44:49.820 on? It's this fiberglass desk in front of us 00:44:49.820 --> 00:44:52.340 from Micah Desk. That was the big surprise for 00:44:52.340 --> 00:44:55.019 me in your category this year. I don't think 00:44:55.019 --> 00:44:57.860 we saw a single parking bill. Well, last year 00:44:57.860 --> 00:45:00.559 they passed a bill that said you can't require 00:45:00.559 --> 00:45:04.039 it. So, I mean, I think normally when your opponent's 00:45:04.039 --> 00:45:06.260 dead and bleeding on the ground, the war's over, 00:45:06.380 --> 00:45:07.980 right? You think they're done? Yes. Is that what 00:45:07.980 --> 00:45:09.800 they think? I think they won. Oh, well, okay. 00:45:09.920 --> 00:45:12.179 All right. Well, it felt to me like it still 00:45:12.179 --> 00:45:15.780 wasn't over, like we'd still have more. Well, 00:45:15.840 --> 00:45:18.980 guys, we've been going at this for almost an 00:45:18.980 --> 00:45:21.380 hour. It looks like you have something you want 00:45:21.380 --> 00:45:23.199 to add there, Travis. I said a quick question. 00:45:23.639 --> 00:45:28.440 You can delete this or not. Who's the question 00:45:28.440 --> 00:45:33.420 for? You. Oh. I let you take the mic one time 00:45:33.420 --> 00:45:37.980 in one podcast, and suddenly you're pulling the 00:45:37.980 --> 00:45:40.820 host card on me. I'm going to flip the tables 00:45:40.820 --> 00:45:42.639 on you. Paul, I have a couple questions for you. 00:45:42.760 --> 00:45:44.619 Oh, my gosh. All right. I just have one question, 00:45:44.719 --> 00:45:47.000 and you may not have answers for this right now, 00:45:47.079 --> 00:45:51.699 but if you had to pick something for our highlight 00:45:51.699 --> 00:45:54.639 and blooper reel for Curtis and I, what would 00:45:54.639 --> 00:45:57.099 you, from this session, what stands out to you? 00:45:57.139 --> 00:45:59.539 Not like a whole bill, but I'm like, this day, 00:45:59.619 --> 00:46:02.320 Travis. You did this thing and it was ridiculous. 00:46:02.420 --> 00:46:05.920 And, or this day, you know, and probably safe 00:46:05.920 --> 00:46:07.780 to share. Your highlight and blooper reels. Yeah. 00:46:07.780 --> 00:46:10.059 What, what, what, you had a few, you had a few 00:46:10.059 --> 00:46:12.739 interesting testimony moments. Um, and I think, 00:46:12.760 --> 00:46:15.360 you know, I think, you know, which ones I'm talking 00:46:15.360 --> 00:46:19.579 about. I don't. Yeah. Did I, did I tell you I 00:46:19.579 --> 00:46:21.880 keep all my testimony and then I take it home 00:46:21.880 --> 00:46:23.739 at the end of session and I burn it all and I 00:46:23.739 --> 00:46:26.940 offer it up to the testimony gods. I, I, I have 00:46:26.940 --> 00:46:32.219 a, I have it on, uh, Pretty strong authority 00:46:32.219 --> 00:46:36.039 that TVW actually keeps all of that testimony. 00:46:36.940 --> 00:46:39.840 So for those of you who are interested in Travis's 00:46:39.840 --> 00:46:42.719 testimony, just look at the bill tracker, the 00:46:42.719 --> 00:46:46.219 ones that Travis was tracking this year, and 00:46:46.219 --> 00:46:49.380 go back and maybe review some of those clips. 00:46:49.599 --> 00:46:52.820 There were a few moments where Travis had some 00:46:52.820 --> 00:46:54.219 interesting testimony. I mean, that's the one 00:46:54.219 --> 00:46:59.289 thing that comes to mind. For me, for you, for 00:46:59.289 --> 00:47:01.550 sure. I'm trying to think about Curtis. I'm sure 00:47:01.550 --> 00:47:05.530 there's something. I don't think Curtis had really 00:47:05.530 --> 00:47:08.050 any interesting testimony moments, at least none 00:47:08.050 --> 00:47:11.829 that I'm super aware of. Yeah, let's stick with 00:47:11.829 --> 00:47:14.429 that. Yeah. Why don't you out yourself? What 00:47:14.429 --> 00:47:17.289 was your biggest blooper moment? Blooper moment? 00:47:17.650 --> 00:47:21.820 Well. I don't know if it's so much funny as it 00:47:21.820 --> 00:47:25.940 was just tragic, but I had a moment with another 00:47:25.940 --> 00:47:30.019 lobbyist that since has been resolved and we 00:47:30.019 --> 00:47:34.019 were on very good terms, but I learned a lesson 00:47:34.019 --> 00:47:37.519 about looking behind me in a hearing room before 00:47:37.519 --> 00:47:42.619 making a joke. So I received a text from a person 00:47:42.619 --> 00:47:45.420 and leaned over to the person sitting next to 00:47:45.420 --> 00:47:47.579 me and made a joke about it only to have a... 00:47:47.769 --> 00:47:50.989 tap on my shoulder and turn around and find that 00:47:50.989 --> 00:47:52.889 the person we were talking about was sitting 00:47:52.889 --> 00:47:55.750 directly behind us. Yeah, that's not good. Yeah, 00:47:55.829 --> 00:47:58.070 no. That's not good. The only other thing that 00:47:58.070 --> 00:48:03.170 really comes to mind with Curtis is Curtis needs 00:48:03.170 --> 00:48:10.099 to have a backup shirt. at work on a regular 00:48:10.099 --> 00:48:13.380 basis um and maybe a backup tie occasionally 00:48:13.380 --> 00:48:16.659 as well um there were a few there were a few 00:48:16.659 --> 00:48:19.239 mishaps this year and i said where's your backup 00:48:19.239 --> 00:48:22.000 shirt he said well i used my backup shirt yeah 00:48:22.000 --> 00:48:25.780 it's true it's true i keep them dry cleaners 00:48:25.780 --> 00:48:29.460 busy you know you know it's honestly a backup 00:48:29.460 --> 00:48:32.699 shirt and tie is always a good idea for all of 00:48:32.699 --> 00:48:35.210 us but In particular this year, I think it was 00:48:35.210 --> 00:48:37.510 a necessity for Curtis, and it wasn't always 00:48:37.510 --> 00:48:40.510 there. My issue is Lynn keeps the good food stock 00:48:40.510 --> 00:48:43.710 so well around here that I can't buy the backup 00:48:43.710 --> 00:48:46.949 shirts fast enough. Different size of backup 00:48:46.949 --> 00:48:51.329 shirt needed every month. So I guess I don't 00:48:51.329 --> 00:48:53.670 know if that adequately answers your question, 00:48:53.750 --> 00:48:55.889 but those are the things that mostly come to 00:48:55.889 --> 00:48:58.690 mind this year. You skipped the highlights, I'll 00:48:58.690 --> 00:49:03.110 note. Well, there were good highlights this year. 00:49:03.190 --> 00:49:07.150 I mean, obviously for Travis and really for me 00:49:07.150 --> 00:49:10.809 too, I think 1960 was a big deal. The work that 00:49:10.809 --> 00:49:17.170 you did on 2368 with Brad was a big deal. As 00:49:17.170 --> 00:49:21.269 far as the work that Curtis did, this was a good 00:49:21.269 --> 00:49:23.590 year for you, especially I think on the land 00:49:23.590 --> 00:49:26.190 use stuff, taking much more of a lead there. 00:49:26.409 --> 00:49:30.210 You were not in my office nearly as much. you 00:49:30.210 --> 00:49:32.610 had been in the first couple of years when you 00:49:32.610 --> 00:49:35.010 were really trying to get your legs underneath 00:49:35.010 --> 00:49:38.829 you with that. And I think that also the work 00:49:38.829 --> 00:49:42.829 with the planners group this year, kind of keeping 00:49:42.829 --> 00:49:47.429 them in the loop around legislation. I attended 00:49:47.429 --> 00:49:49.570 most of those meetings last year, and this year 00:49:49.570 --> 00:49:52.449 I actually only attended a few. And I just didn't 00:49:52.449 --> 00:49:55.769 feel like I needed to. I felt like you were handling 00:49:55.769 --> 00:49:59.559 that a lot more capably on your own. Lots of 00:49:59.559 --> 00:50:02.539 growth, I think, this year on the team, especially 00:50:02.539 --> 00:50:04.739 with you guys. And you guys are the newest members, 00:50:04.820 --> 00:50:08.960 so hopefully you felt that way as well. Well, 00:50:09.119 --> 00:50:11.420 gentlemen, thanks for your work this year. I 00:50:11.420 --> 00:50:13.579 mean, we don't say it enough, but really, thank 00:50:13.579 --> 00:50:16.739 you. We couldn't have done it without you. I 00:50:16.739 --> 00:50:18.159 know I certainly couldn't have done it without 00:50:18.159 --> 00:50:20.739 you, and you were a big help to me personally, 00:50:20.900 --> 00:50:23.920 and you were a great help to our members. You 00:50:23.920 --> 00:50:25.900 know, a bit of a mixed bag this year, but I think 00:50:25.900 --> 00:50:28.760 overall we were pretty successful in a pretty 00:50:28.760 --> 00:50:31.980 tough year. I know I'm exhausted. I'm sure you 00:50:31.980 --> 00:50:33.820 guys are looking forward to getting back home 00:50:33.820 --> 00:50:36.440 for a week or two without having to travel to 00:50:36.440 --> 00:50:39.599 Olympia every single day. Any final words before 00:50:39.599 --> 00:50:44.019 we sign off your last podcast of the 2026 legislative 00:50:44.019 --> 00:50:47.860 session? I like this 360 review via podcast thing. 00:50:48.519 --> 00:50:52.079 Your tone's perfect. Oh, perfect. You know, just 00:50:52.079 --> 00:50:56.360 to... feedback there i'll keep that in mind yeah 00:50:56.360 --> 00:50:58.179 that's a good strategy on the record paul what's 00:50:58.179 --> 00:51:00.099 our what to keep that in mind that's not what 00:51:00.099 --> 00:51:01.940 i was intending i just want to see how close 00:51:01.940 --> 00:51:03.739 he was paying attention to yeah i never say the 00:51:03.739 --> 00:51:05.659 things that i actually mean while we're recording 00:51:05.659 --> 00:51:07.679 these podcasts you guys ought to know that yeah 00:51:07.679 --> 00:51:10.579 no this will never stand up in a court of law 00:51:10.579 --> 00:51:16.059 um no i i i think just to back to what you said 00:51:16.059 --> 00:51:22.559 i think it's um it's it's very it's helpful to 00:51:22.559 --> 00:51:24.519 be at a place where we all are dealing with the 00:51:24.519 --> 00:51:28.559 same level of, of stress and issues. And we are 00:51:28.559 --> 00:51:30.360 sometimes in our own little silos worrying about 00:51:30.360 --> 00:51:32.059 our own little things, but then can bring it 00:51:32.059 --> 00:51:33.900 back to this group of folks, like the rest of 00:51:33.900 --> 00:51:36.179 the WSAC staff, a lot of our partners and be 00:51:36.179 --> 00:51:42.360 able to hash it out or have long, you know, philosophical 00:51:42.360 --> 00:51:44.639 discussions to try and get to the root of whatever 00:51:44.639 --> 00:51:46.300 the issue is that we're talking about. And I, 00:51:46.320 --> 00:51:49.280 I, I think just as much as what you were saying 00:51:49.280 --> 00:51:51.349 earlier, I don't think. I mean, I'll speak for 00:51:51.349 --> 00:51:53.190 myself. I don't think I could have done it without 00:51:53.190 --> 00:51:55.210 Curtis, you, other folks around here, right? 00:51:55.289 --> 00:51:58.230 Like, it's impossible to do this in a silo. And 00:51:58.230 --> 00:51:59.769 I think even though we're all under pressure, 00:51:59.829 --> 00:52:01.510 the ability to show up for each other is huge. 00:52:01.610 --> 00:52:04.230 So I think just to echo what you said. Yeah, 00:52:04.349 --> 00:52:06.690 that old saying, it takes a village, is not just 00:52:06.690 --> 00:52:08.780 true when it... when you're talking about raising 00:52:08.780 --> 00:52:11.880 kids, it's like a necessity when you're in the 00:52:11.880 --> 00:52:15.619 policy game, especially when you cover as many 00:52:15.619 --> 00:52:19.500 things as we do, you know, and you have as broad 00:52:19.500 --> 00:52:23.440 a portfolio as WASAC does. It's almost as much 00:52:23.440 --> 00:52:28.539 therapeutic support for each other. It's great 00:52:28.539 --> 00:52:29.980 to be there for one another when we celebrate 00:52:29.980 --> 00:52:31.500 the wins, and it's great to be there to support 00:52:31.500 --> 00:52:33.820 each other when we don't necessarily get things 00:52:33.820 --> 00:52:35.820 to go the way we wanted them to. Yeah, and then 00:52:35.820 --> 00:52:38.099 I feel... I feel like when I first got here, 00:52:38.239 --> 00:52:41.659 we had a certain dynamic in the policy team that 00:52:41.659 --> 00:52:44.139 kind of accomplished the goals we're talking 00:52:44.139 --> 00:52:48.460 about there. Especially, I remember Mike Hoover 00:52:48.460 --> 00:52:52.920 was kind of the, you know. He was the person 00:52:52.920 --> 00:52:54.840 when he had a problem no one could solve. That's 00:52:54.840 --> 00:52:58.400 the guy you talk to. He still is. I call him 00:52:58.400 --> 00:53:02.820 sometimes. Everyone across all our policy issues 00:53:02.820 --> 00:53:06.460 would bounce ideas off him. He's a great help. 00:53:07.039 --> 00:53:11.099 And we had a lot of turnover before last session. 00:53:11.239 --> 00:53:15.079 And we had really a new policy team, right? And 00:53:15.079 --> 00:53:18.579 it felt like this year we... we gelled a lot 00:53:18.579 --> 00:53:21.400 more and kind of fell into roles on the team. 00:53:21.460 --> 00:53:23.960 And I especially appreciated Brad Banks. I think 00:53:23.960 --> 00:53:27.059 he kind of stepped into the Hoover shoes a bit, 00:53:27.139 --> 00:53:30.239 at least for me and Travis. And I think that's 00:53:30.239 --> 00:53:31.960 a big reason I wasn't in your office so much, 00:53:32.000 --> 00:53:35.219 right, is because when there's a – Sounds like 00:53:35.219 --> 00:53:37.000 an old Brad maybe or something. Well, I mean, 00:53:37.019 --> 00:53:39.900 I would hope we owe him the contract we pay him 00:53:39.900 --> 00:53:42.199 with, right? But, yeah, I think he earned it 00:53:42.199 --> 00:53:44.119 well this year, I guess. Yeah, well, everybody 00:53:44.119 --> 00:53:46.400 contributed, that's for sure. Well, thanks for 00:53:46.400 --> 00:53:48.400 the – the work that you guys did this year again 00:53:48.400 --> 00:53:52.219 uh really appreciate it um you know obviously 00:53:52.219 --> 00:53:55.059 it's not over we got a couple of days left the 00:53:55.059 --> 00:53:57.039 rest of today all of tomorrow to see what actually 00:53:57.039 --> 00:53:59.940 happened budgets came out today i know you guys 00:53:59.940 --> 00:54:02.099 have been evaluating those i'm sure there uh 00:54:02.099 --> 00:54:05.059 will be a surprise or two hopefully not but maybe 00:54:05.059 --> 00:54:07.400 maybe a good surprise or two in the budgets and 00:54:07.400 --> 00:54:10.300 we do have our final legislative update for the 00:54:10.300 --> 00:54:12.639 members on friday and we'll get a chance to make 00:54:12.639 --> 00:54:15.030 sure that we go through all that stuff with them 00:54:15.030 --> 00:54:17.230 and that's casual right we can be online virtually 00:54:17.230 --> 00:54:20.329 sweatpants you can be online virtually but no 00:54:20.329 --> 00:54:22.789 sweatpants no hoodies yeah all right sorry it's 00:54:22.789 --> 00:54:26.269 still it's still um you know uh session ties 00:54:26.269 --> 00:54:30.909 thought we were changing that shirt policy we'll 00:54:30.909 --> 00:54:32.849 have to talk to our executive director about 00:54:32.849 --> 00:54:36.380 the shirt policy Well, along with you guys, thank 00:54:36.380 --> 00:54:38.239 you to all our listeners for the work that you 00:54:38.239 --> 00:54:40.059 do every single day. As county commissioners 00:54:40.059 --> 00:54:42.480 and other county officials, we know how hard 00:54:42.480 --> 00:54:45.000 it is to do your jobs, and we're honored to be 00:54:45.000 --> 00:54:47.059 supportive and to represent you here in Olympia. 00:54:47.400 --> 00:54:50.480 Hope you can join us for our next chat. And until 00:54:50.480 --> 00:54:55.619 then, everybody take good care. Thanks for tuning 00:54:55.619 --> 00:54:57.860 in to County Connection. Stay in the loop by 00:54:57.860 --> 00:55:00.219 subscribing to us through your preferred podcasting 00:55:00.219 --> 00:55:02.960 app and following us on LinkedIn. Facebook, and 00:55:02.960 --> 00:55:05.039 Instagram. And don't forget to join The Hub, 00:55:05.159 --> 00:55:07.340 your go -to source for the latest news and updates 00:55:07.340 --> 00:55:09.539 from the Washington State Association of Counties. 00:55:09.659 --> 00:55:12.420 Until next time, stay connected and stay informed.