WEBVTT

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That's way better. Do you guys want a blanket

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you can share? It's cozy. We'll get a Snuggie.

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We can have one arm and one side. That's perfect.

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The Snuggie podcast. Yeah, I like it. The Wasack

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crew has lost the bed. We can get Wasack logo

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Snuggies for just this purpose. Welcome to County

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Connection. the official podcast of the Washington

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State Association of Counties, where we dive

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into the legislative issues shaping the future

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of our communities. From budgets to public safety,

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infrastructure to elections, we'll break down

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what's happening in Olympia and how it impacts

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counties from across the Evergreen State. Stay

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informed, stay engaged, and join us as we amplify

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the voice of Washington's 39 counties. Welcome,

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everybody, to the County Connection Podcast.

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I'm Paul Jewell. This is the official podcast

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of the Washington State Association of Counties.

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I am the Government Relations Director for WASAC

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and your host. And it is a huge day here in the

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legislative session. It is finally, finally the

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last day. The day we call sine die, which means

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in Latin, without day. Which means there's no

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more days of the legislative session and I can't

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be more excited about it. I am joined today in

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the studio, not by one. but two members of the

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policy staff. Really two of the best members

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of the policy staff. I like that. Obviously.

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And we've got Kelsey Hulse and Brad Banks. How

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are you guys doing? Doing great. I mean, it's

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sine die. It is. It is a good non -day. It is

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a good non -day. Or whatever. Any energy left

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now that we've finally reached the finish line?

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Absolutely not. That ran out a couple weeks ago.

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Yeah. Yeah. Cool. Energy and interest. I'm surprised

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you guys aren't wearing hoodies and flip -flops.

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No, you're lucky I put pants on for this thing.

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I mean, honestly. We all consider ourselves lucky.

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Let's just be honest. Our whole audience is lucky

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to put pants on. My gift to you all on this shiny

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day. They don't care. They can't see you. They

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can't see you, but... I would tell them. Although,

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speaking of clothing, I hear it's shiny dye up

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there on the hill. Shiny dye. Right, right. So

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there's a lot of bow ties. Really? Yeah. A lot

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of sequins. A lot of sequins. Really? Yeah, there's

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some fetching outfits up there. It's been going

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on for a few years. I didn't know they had a

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sense of humor on the last day. Yeah, more and

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more every year, especially the ladies of the

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legislature wearing a lot of sparkly, shiny things.

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Yeah, there's a lot of bow ties, though, too.

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Huh, interesting. Okay, well. Huh. I've been

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doing this for a long time. Something to partake

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in next go around. I never noticed. Maybe it's

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because I'm so tired and done by the time shiny

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dye rolls around. I ran into Senator Frame and

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she said, it's shiny dye, you know better. Oh,

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there you go. And you're not very shiny. No.

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I didn't even go up there. I purposely wore clothes

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that would have made it inappropriate for me

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to go up there. Yeah, you can't go up there like

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that. No, right. So I was like, oh, I'd like

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to go, but I can't. Yeah, you're breaking all

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the rules with whatever this getup is that you're

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wearing. This is normal. I mean, to these poor

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listeners who now have this horrible image that

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I partly created. Yeah, no, I can. This is acceptable.

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Casual work office wear. Yeah, it's sort of casual.

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I think it's just casual casual. I'm not even

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going with more casual. No, that's right. I didn't

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even have a collar on. This is the Pacific Northwest.

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That's true. You can wear a soft shell and nice

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jeans to literally anything. I'm going to relent

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on this and say, if he was a coder and this were...

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Microsoft or Intel, this is probably 100 % exactly

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what you want. This is formal wear. This is executive

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wear right here is what this is. I was going

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to say, I don't know how many coders you have.

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It's got a zipper. It's got a zipper. And it's

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clean. And it's clean, right. It's been recently

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laundered. I showered today. Right, right. You

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guys are cracking me up. All right, well, let's

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do a little bit of a wrap -up. That's what we're

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here for. Kind of want to give folks the ins

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and outs of what happened during the legislative

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session. in both of your policy areas. Let's

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start out with Kelsey. You did not have a legislative

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priority agenda item, so you were handling land

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use, energy, a couple of other categories for

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us. What do you think was the biggest bill that

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you worked on this year that passed that was

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of interest to our members? If you had to pick

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one, what do you think was the biggest one? Well,

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I think the one that became the most interesting

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and had probably the most interesting journey

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as well was the transmission authority bill,

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which we saw go through late last night. Yeah,

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I was interested. I'm not surprised that you

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brought that one up. And isn't that one on a

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floor calendar today as well? Or is it all done

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last night? No, because to get it off of the

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House floor, they did have to take a couple of

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the amendments that had been proposed by Republicans.

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Because that thing just came out of committee,

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right? Yep. Well, so we should step back for

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a minute. Oh, I think it was third cutoff or

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something like that. But anyway, failed to make

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it through the process. And then the same language

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was reintroduced under new bill numbers in both

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the House and the Senate and then fast -tracked

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through the committee process, which is what

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we saw later on. So how does that work? Because

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the original bill, I think, was 5 ,466. Is that

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right? because that was the carryover from last

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session. I hate it when he says bill numbers.

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I just explained to him that my session brain

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is an Etch -A -Sketch. It's the transmission

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bill. I do my research here. Correct, 5466 and

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1673. See, I nailed it. Nailed it. So 5466 and

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1673, but 5466 I think ended up being the vehicle.

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That didn't make it past the cutoff, but for

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some other reason, two new bills with similar

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language were introduced after the cutoff and

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got, what, declared NTIB, and that's why they're

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still under consideration this late in the session.

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Well, one of them is still under consideration.

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So the Senate vehicle, the 6355, which was the

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new number, is still under consideration. Just

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give us a quick rundown of what that bill does.

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So the bill sets up a new state agency, essentially

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the Washington State Transmission Authority,

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which will be governed by a 10 -member board.

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One of the more interesting new amendments specifies

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that half of that board has to come from the

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east side of the mountains. So we'll see if that

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is an amendment that the Senate concurs with

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when it goes back over there. Governed by a 10

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-member board, the transmission authority can

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do a variety of things, including they have some

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early obligations, which include flagging high

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potential or high need transmission corridors

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or areas where we need more capacity to be built.

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They can utilize eminent domain to acquire land

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to then put. transmission lines on that land.

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They can develop, they can own, they can operate,

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they can maintain those lines, though there are

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guardrails put around each of those things. So

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for instance, they can construct construction

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line or construct transmission lines, but only

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as essentially the constructor of last resort.

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They can enter into public -private partnerships

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with independent developers or utilities who

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are interested in developing those lines. So

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they have kind of a broad mandate to do essentially

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what they need to do to build more transmission

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capacity in Washington. that language was reintroduced

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under a new set of bills is because that's a

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huge constraint to our electrical system here

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in Washington. It's also a huge constraint to

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building out more, whether it's clean energy

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to get us to our CETA goals or distributed energy

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resources, which are a real interest of a lot

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of members of the legislature. A lot of that

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is really being hamstrung by a lack of transmission

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capacity and the fact that most of our statewide

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capacity is owned by Bonneville. power administration,

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which we have very little control or influence

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over at the local level. So I have some questions

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about that because it's an interesting bill and

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there's really good reason. As far as the timing

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goes, right, I don't think we have to ask the

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question, why this bill, why now, right? Because

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we've been talking a lot about transmission capacity

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and the need for enhanced energy supply. In fact,

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almost double the amount. I think they're saying

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we need 96 % more than we have today within the

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next 10 to 20 years, right? And where is that

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going to come from? We've been talking about

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different energy production styles in the Northwest

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and nationwide for quite a while and how that's

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all going to play out. You know, rather than

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why this why this bill, why now, why the elements

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in this bill and why a new transmission authority?

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And the reason I ask that is because we have

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things in place already in Washington state around

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permitting across jurisdictional boundaries.

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That's given to the Energy Facility Siding Evaluation

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Council for transmission lines and other transmission

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owners, I guess, transmission line owners or

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power. they also have authority for eminent domain

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to be able to create these new corridors and

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do what's necessary to move power from one place

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to the other. Why do we need a separate transmission

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authority that's run by the state? Why not just

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rely on those entities that already have a vested

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interest? I think it's appropriate to issue a

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disclaimer at this stage. Okay. That never is

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a person, Never is a lobbyist more cynical than

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right around sine die or the last day of session.

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So the question you asked is why is the transmission

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authority needed? What legislators heard from

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utilities was that the help they need is to identify

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the routes and acquire the land. And some of

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the legislators who were working on these bills

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listened to that feedback and kind of went, well,

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how about this other thing? So I think there

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is debate as to whether the transmission authority

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is the best, fastest, or most effective way to

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get at what they want to do. So I think to some

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extent, the extent to which the authority is

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willing to make those hard decisions to determine

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the routes that we need and then start acquiring

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that land, sort of come hell or high water, that'll

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be... That will determine how effective it's

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able to be. that's not going to be made easier

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by the fact that we developed a separate state

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agency to do it. Yeah, it seems tough, right?

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It seems like the harder route to take rather

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than, you know, just trying to streamline the

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process that already exists. It's not so different.

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You know, we went through a least conflict siting

00:11:47.240 --> 00:11:49.879
process, whatever, a couple of years ago now,

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which was focused more on clean energy and generation.

00:11:53.279 --> 00:11:56.179
But I think the thing that they discovered through

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that and the thing that utilities know well is,

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and I think you and I have talked about this

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on a previous podcast, there's no such thing

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as land that no one cares about in this state.

00:12:05.620 --> 00:12:08.580
Yeah, not anymore. So I think there continues

00:12:08.580 --> 00:12:11.500
to be this persistent hope that if you just find

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the right spot. The perfect spot. You find the

00:12:14.600 --> 00:12:16.440
perfect spot and you won't have folks coming

00:12:16.440 --> 00:12:18.220
out of the woodwork to oppose these projects.

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And I think that's just not going to be the case

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regardless of the structure around it. Yeah,

00:12:22.580 --> 00:12:24.580
in today's world, I totally agree. That's totally

00:12:24.580 --> 00:12:28.750
naive. Kelsey, one more thing about this. And

00:12:28.750 --> 00:12:31.330
obviously, you know, if people want more information

00:12:31.330 --> 00:12:33.450
on this particular bill, they can call you directly.

00:12:33.789 --> 00:12:36.690
And all the information in the bill itself is

00:12:36.690 --> 00:12:39.129
available on the website, including all the amendments

00:12:39.129 --> 00:12:42.190
and the final versions, etc. And it's still yet

00:12:42.190 --> 00:12:45.480
to be seen how this one actually. comes out because

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like you said it was being worked on yesterday

00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:50.340
it's on a run list today and today is signing

00:12:50.340 --> 00:12:53.200
die so we'll see what happens uh with the outcome

00:12:53.200 --> 00:12:55.379
eventually but one of the things that we've heard

00:12:55.379 --> 00:12:58.700
a lot from our members is uh concern around local

00:12:58.700 --> 00:13:02.120
government revenue associated with the types

00:13:02.120 --> 00:13:05.000
of transmission lines that this authority might

00:13:05.000 --> 00:13:10.200
either authorize or build or own or all three

00:13:10.200 --> 00:13:13.059
of those things versus what an existing utility

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does. You know, we have primarily, you know,

00:13:18.100 --> 00:13:21.460
PSE lines, Puget Sound Energy lines kind of running

00:13:21.460 --> 00:13:25.590
across the state. We have a few other... regional

00:13:25.590 --> 00:13:28.789
utility providers as well some municipal providers

00:13:28.789 --> 00:13:32.389
too and then there's bpa right and we don't we

00:13:32.389 --> 00:13:34.850
don't get any revenue from bpa for the most part

00:13:34.850 --> 00:13:38.509
um but the other ones do pay some revenue and

00:13:38.509 --> 00:13:41.789
there was concern that this that that any new

00:13:41.789 --> 00:13:44.330
transmission lines created under this authority

00:13:44.330 --> 00:13:46.129
would not pay revenue. But you and I had a long

00:13:46.129 --> 00:13:48.070
conversation about that, and you found some really

00:13:48.070 --> 00:13:50.549
interesting language in there that I think is

00:13:50.549 --> 00:13:52.710
really important to kind of bring up today in

00:13:52.710 --> 00:13:56.070
this podcast to dispel that concern for most

00:13:56.070 --> 00:13:58.070
of our members. Do you remember that specific

00:13:58.070 --> 00:14:04.830
discussion that we had? No. Just kidding. That's

00:14:04.830 --> 00:14:08.789
the wrong answer on the podcast, Casey. Don't

00:14:08.789 --> 00:14:10.190
know what you're talking about. What? What are

00:14:10.190 --> 00:14:12.129
you talking about, Paul? Two things I'll mention.

00:14:12.230 --> 00:14:17.570
One is there is an amendment that hung in the

00:14:17.570 --> 00:14:20.809
House that would require the transmission authority

00:14:20.809 --> 00:14:25.250
to make payment in lieu of taxes on land that

00:14:25.250 --> 00:14:27.590
is acquired that is then taken off the tax rolls.

00:14:28.529 --> 00:14:30.750
Was that one of the Mary Dye amendments? It was.

00:14:30.750 --> 00:14:32.190
Because I looked through those and I thought

00:14:32.190 --> 00:14:34.870
none of them actually hung. Two of her amendments

00:14:34.870 --> 00:14:38.169
did. Oh, they did? One deal is more related to

00:14:38.169 --> 00:14:42.870
kind of... corridor analysis and needs analysis

00:14:42.870 --> 00:14:45.970
and is a little wonkier but um but there is one

00:14:45.970 --> 00:14:48.149
that requires payment in lieu of taxes oh i think

00:14:48.149 --> 00:14:49.629
i looked at it out of the committee was this

00:14:49.629 --> 00:14:52.389
on the floor that they hung correct okay so these

00:14:52.389 --> 00:14:54.730
were amendments that were denied in committee

00:14:54.730 --> 00:14:59.100
a couple of days ago but then then we're um were

00:14:59.100 --> 00:15:02.039
successful on the floor. The question is, these

00:15:02.039 --> 00:15:04.019
were also unsuccessful in the Senate. So when

00:15:04.019 --> 00:15:05.740
it goes back to the Senate, how many of these

00:15:05.740 --> 00:15:07.820
are actually going to be concurred with? Right.

00:15:07.899 --> 00:15:10.659
Open question. The thing that you and I talked

00:15:10.659 --> 00:15:13.139
about is that there is language in the bill,

00:15:13.279 --> 00:15:15.720
and regardless, quite frankly, if the language

00:15:15.720 --> 00:15:21.399
is in the bill or not, in order for, well, never

00:15:21.399 --> 00:15:23.220
mind. It's better to have language in the bill.

00:15:23.259 --> 00:15:29.269
But in order for a an entity who owns a transmission

00:15:29.269 --> 00:15:31.470
line to make transmission service available to

00:15:31.470 --> 00:15:37.549
a customer, they have to be partnered with a

00:15:37.549 --> 00:15:41.269
FERC jurisdictional entity. Now, FERC is? FERC

00:15:41.269 --> 00:15:43.570
is the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

00:15:43.990 --> 00:15:47.149
Okay. So like the same entity licensing dams

00:15:47.149 --> 00:15:50.649
and other power producers. Correct. So FERC.

00:15:51.779 --> 00:15:54.720
licenses, generation facilities, and also generally

00:15:54.720 --> 00:15:58.620
interstate transmission. But a FERC jurisdictional

00:15:58.620 --> 00:16:02.279
entity is going to be something like a utility.

00:16:02.580 --> 00:16:05.940
It cannot be the state itself. So the state would

00:16:05.940 --> 00:16:08.100
have to have some partnership with either an

00:16:08.100 --> 00:16:10.740
investor -owned or a consumer -owned utility

00:16:10.740 --> 00:16:15.100
to be able to offer these services to folks.

00:16:15.580 --> 00:16:18.320
Those would be under an existing transmission

00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:22.960
tariff. or transmission rate, that rate schedule

00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:26.039
or tariff would include either a payment in lieu

00:16:26.039 --> 00:16:29.879
of taxes or a privilege tax in the case of a

00:16:29.879 --> 00:16:31.940
COU. So that's already built in. That's going

00:16:31.940 --> 00:16:34.019
to be wrapped into the rate that somebody is

00:16:34.019 --> 00:16:36.740
going to pay to access those lines. So there

00:16:36.740 --> 00:16:39.759
should not be circumstances in which some other

00:16:39.759 --> 00:16:44.059
entity is coming in to sell access to those transmission

00:16:44.059 --> 00:16:48.820
lines without having... one of those two types

00:16:48.820 --> 00:16:51.120
of tax structures already in place. So the bill

00:16:51.120 --> 00:16:54.639
itself limits the transmission authority's ability

00:16:54.639 --> 00:16:58.320
to contract and only says you can only contract

00:16:58.320 --> 00:17:01.659
with those FERC jurisdictions that have that

00:17:01.659 --> 00:17:05.359
built -in tariff piece to it. And so, like you

00:17:05.359 --> 00:17:09.359
said, I mean, that sounds like there's no chance

00:17:09.359 --> 00:17:12.240
that anybody else would be on that line that

00:17:12.240 --> 00:17:15.190
wouldn't be paying that. Privileged tax or otherwise.

00:17:15.490 --> 00:17:17.109
I think the thing we talked about is there's

00:17:17.109 --> 00:17:19.569
potentially a scenario where, you know, let's

00:17:19.569 --> 00:17:21.789
say the state acquires land and then it takes

00:17:21.789 --> 00:17:24.150
quite a while for something to be built and to

00:17:24.150 --> 00:17:26.210
be used. Yeah, maybe they're holding, kind of

00:17:26.210 --> 00:17:28.569
trying to build up their holdings. With the best

00:17:28.569 --> 00:17:30.710
of intentions, yeah. Right? It can take a very

00:17:30.710 --> 00:17:33.309
long time and contested. To make all those acquisitions,

00:17:33.309 --> 00:17:36.369
sure. Yeah, exactly. So transmission projects

00:17:36.369 --> 00:17:39.190
are not fast in the best circumstances. And so

00:17:39.190 --> 00:17:41.509
should they be in a situation where the property

00:17:41.509 --> 00:17:44.670
has already come off the tax? But there is no

00:17:44.670 --> 00:17:47.049
entity utilizing the lines. You know, there may

00:17:47.049 --> 00:17:50.130
be a delay there. And that may be something that

00:17:50.130 --> 00:17:52.369
we want to see altered or fixed. And I think

00:17:52.369 --> 00:17:55.490
is one of several great reasons that we should

00:17:55.490 --> 00:17:58.269
stay engaged in the rulemaking as it moves forward.

00:17:59.089 --> 00:18:02.609
But I think the actual risk to counties in the

00:18:02.609 --> 00:18:05.150
broadest sense is limited on that tax piece.

00:18:05.289 --> 00:18:07.289
Certainly far less than I think a lot of our

00:18:07.289 --> 00:18:10.849
members thought initially, which is good. Well,

00:18:10.869 --> 00:18:13.470
thanks for bringing that one up. Appreciate it.

00:18:13.609 --> 00:18:16.009
And I appreciate the description. It is one that

00:18:16.009 --> 00:18:18.490
we're going to have to keep an eye on. And, you

00:18:18.490 --> 00:18:20.009
know, one that just kind of popped up right at

00:18:20.009 --> 00:18:22.650
the towards the end of session out of nowhere.

00:18:23.069 --> 00:18:25.730
One of the I guess not really a zombie bill,

00:18:25.730 --> 00:18:27.849
but kind of thought it was dead. Yeah. Yeah.

00:18:27.869 --> 00:18:29.049
We didn't think it was going to move forward

00:18:29.049 --> 00:18:31.980
and suddenly a new version. And here we go. Well,

00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:35.400
Brad, did you have any priorities quite like

00:18:35.400 --> 00:18:38.460
that this year? No, I'd like to hear more about

00:18:38.460 --> 00:18:44.240
FERC. I'll bet you would. I'm nodding off over

00:18:44.240 --> 00:18:46.619
here. FERC is actually pretty interesting if

00:18:46.619 --> 00:18:49.880
you're into the energy business. Yes. FERC is

00:18:49.880 --> 00:18:52.720
an important part of it. Don't question it. Yeah,

00:18:52.759 --> 00:18:54.680
Brad. I don't question it. It's an important

00:18:54.680 --> 00:18:59.000
part. It's critical, no doubt. What about you,

00:18:59.059 --> 00:19:03.490
though, as far as bills that pass? Because you've

00:19:03.490 --> 00:19:05.769
got great stories on a few other ones. Yeah,

00:19:05.930 --> 00:19:08.410
I mean, I think it's funny. I was thinking about

00:19:08.410 --> 00:19:11.950
the question after you posed it to Kelsey. In

00:19:11.950 --> 00:19:15.410
between your naps? Yeah, right, when I was in

00:19:15.410 --> 00:19:20.750
and out of consciousness there. Imagine, Kelsey,

00:19:20.910 --> 00:19:22.690
the behavioral health guy has no interest in

00:19:22.690 --> 00:19:25.230
energy. He uses it every day. Can you believe

00:19:25.230 --> 00:19:27.549
that? Come on. Come on. I leave it to much smarter

00:19:27.549 --> 00:19:29.670
people like Kelsey to make sure our system and

00:19:29.670 --> 00:19:33.349
grid work properly. Oh, sure. You like that?

00:19:33.470 --> 00:19:38.470
Yeah, it's too late. So the challenge for me

00:19:38.470 --> 00:19:41.069
this year, I think, and particularly in the public

00:19:41.069 --> 00:19:44.710
safety space, there was a lot of defense we were

00:19:44.710 --> 00:19:46.910
playing. It was much more defense than offense

00:19:46.910 --> 00:19:51.559
this year. I think there were some opportunities

00:19:51.559 --> 00:19:54.079
that we tried to take out of some of that defense

00:19:54.079 --> 00:20:00.019
that were positive. But no, I think if I'm being

00:20:00.019 --> 00:20:02.000
honest with you, I don't know that there were

00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:03.859
a lot of bills out there that I think we were

00:20:03.859 --> 00:20:08.799
actively supportive of that we felt like were.

00:20:09.279 --> 00:20:10.779
you know, we're going to make our lives better

00:20:10.779 --> 00:20:13.039
in this space, unfortunately. I mean, I think

00:20:13.039 --> 00:20:15.259
it really was. Mostly a defensive game, like

00:20:15.259 --> 00:20:17.220
you said. Well, yeah, it was. Most of it was

00:20:17.220 --> 00:20:19.519
defense. And, you know, in and of itself, that's

00:20:19.519 --> 00:20:21.880
not an inherently bad or negative thing. That

00:20:21.880 --> 00:20:25.019
just means that it gives us an opportunity, I

00:20:25.019 --> 00:20:28.480
think, to kind of weigh in on. And do some reality

00:20:28.480 --> 00:20:30.720
checks in terms of, you know, where stakeholders

00:20:30.720 --> 00:20:32.920
and legislators may be on a particular issue

00:20:32.920 --> 00:20:34.759
that they think they want to move forward and

00:20:34.759 --> 00:20:36.440
where a lot of times, you know, the counties

00:20:36.440 --> 00:20:38.460
are doing kind of the rubber meets the road work

00:20:38.460 --> 00:20:40.099
there. And so it gives us the opportunity to

00:20:40.099 --> 00:20:42.240
come in and say, well, actually, if you want

00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:44.539
to do this effectively, this might be a way to

00:20:44.539 --> 00:20:47.380
do this. And or maybe we're not ready for that

00:20:47.380 --> 00:20:49.960
conversation just yet. Let's try to do some of

00:20:49.960 --> 00:20:51.880
that. So, yeah. So, I mean, there clearly were,

00:20:51.980 --> 00:20:54.819
you know, issues in the JR space, juvenile rehabilitation

00:20:54.819 --> 00:20:57.839
space. There were issues. In the law enforcement

00:20:57.839 --> 00:21:02.839
space, there were issues with the attorney general's

00:21:02.839 --> 00:21:05.539
office and sort of the powers of what's going

00:21:05.539 --> 00:21:09.099
on at the local level versus kind of who's overseeing

00:21:09.099 --> 00:21:15.000
the process. And, you know, if there's going

00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:18.119
to be violations of the Constitution or of laws

00:21:18.119 --> 00:21:20.599
at the governmental level, like where's the check

00:21:20.599 --> 00:21:22.980
and balance there? So, yeah, there was a lot

00:21:22.980 --> 00:21:25.619
of that this year. And I think it was particularly.

00:21:27.109 --> 00:21:29.609
acute in the fact that a lot of these were big

00:21:29.609 --> 00:21:31.609
conversations that we were having we were kind

00:21:31.609 --> 00:21:34.970
of forced to have in a very rushed manner right

00:21:34.970 --> 00:21:36.630
because of the nature of a short session yeah

00:21:36.630 --> 00:21:38.849
only 60 days right so it was really challenging

00:21:38.849 --> 00:21:41.609
and i think frustrating on on on some levels

00:21:41.609 --> 00:21:44.990
to kind of have to really figure out how to engage

00:21:44.990 --> 00:21:47.529
on some pretty complex issues was it more than

00:21:47.529 --> 00:21:49.289
usual though yeah you know it's funny i was just

00:21:49.289 --> 00:21:52.569
uh for full disclosure to those listening uh

00:21:52.569 --> 00:21:55.369
both kelsey and paul were gracious as i was late

00:21:55.369 --> 00:21:58.559
to coming to do this podcast full disclosure

00:21:58.559 --> 00:22:00.619
you were very late it was very late i was very

00:22:00.619 --> 00:22:02.579
late but part of the reason i was very late that's

00:22:02.579 --> 00:22:04.259
the nice thing about a recorded podcast though

00:22:04.259 --> 00:22:06.279
when we're not live right right i mean so it

00:22:06.279 --> 00:22:09.059
has no material effect on you but kelsey and

00:22:09.059 --> 00:22:10.559
i are still mad at you yeah and they even had

00:22:10.559 --> 00:22:12.599
a drink ready for you know a nice seltzer here

00:22:12.599 --> 00:22:15.559
for me so yeah i was gonna i was gonna exchange

00:22:15.559 --> 00:22:19.200
it for a warm one i know i know so i My apologies

00:22:19.200 --> 00:22:21.539
to my colleagues here. But what I was coming

00:22:21.539 --> 00:22:24.400
from was a bit of a debrief with my public safety

00:22:24.400 --> 00:22:27.880
partners where we were kind of having a. a conversation

00:22:27.880 --> 00:22:29.519
around sort of how things are wrapped up and

00:22:29.519 --> 00:22:31.779
how we felt and kind of where and you know feelings

00:22:31.779 --> 00:22:33.400
and all of a sudden you know people run late

00:22:33.400 --> 00:22:37.220
um but wait a minute public safety people were

00:22:37.220 --> 00:22:38.819
sitting around talking about feelings yeah well

00:22:38.819 --> 00:22:41.880
you know we we have our we we we hold it in all

00:22:41.880 --> 00:22:45.220
session and so on sine die we kind of have our

00:22:45.220 --> 00:22:47.859
cathartic we just let it all out kelsey are you

00:22:47.859 --> 00:22:52.180
buying any of this there were tears and What

00:22:52.180 --> 00:22:54.680
are you talking about? James and I held hands.

00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:57.460
No. Kelsey's not buying it. Yeah. Okay. Well,

00:22:58.059 --> 00:23:05.599
there was, listen, see, this is all fine and

00:23:05.599 --> 00:23:08.539
good. Oh yeah. Beautiful moments with you and

00:23:08.539 --> 00:23:12.339
the other public safety folks. Listen, prosecutors.

00:23:15.039 --> 00:23:18.779
Myself. You are not helping your case. Sheriff's.

00:23:19.279 --> 00:23:22.180
State Patrol. We're a soft bunch when we get

00:23:22.180 --> 00:23:23.920
together and talk about some of these things.

00:23:24.160 --> 00:23:26.279
It's important to create safe space. Right. Thank

00:23:26.279 --> 00:23:28.460
you. So we were in our safe space having some

00:23:28.460 --> 00:23:30.279
of these conversations. No one believes a word

00:23:30.279 --> 00:23:32.519
of this. One of the things that we were sort

00:23:32.519 --> 00:23:34.960
of reflecting on, though, was I don't think it

00:23:34.960 --> 00:23:37.599
was as much as the quantity wasn't as much as

00:23:37.599 --> 00:23:40.160
last session in terms of things we were working

00:23:40.160 --> 00:23:42.339
on actively. Right. The number of bills. Right.

00:23:43.739 --> 00:23:46.059
the intensity of the issues we were working on

00:23:46.059 --> 00:23:48.480
was definitely higher. And there seemed to be

00:23:48.480 --> 00:23:50.700
more at stake on a couple of the issues we were

00:23:50.700 --> 00:23:51.859
working on. Yeah, like they turned it up for

00:23:51.859 --> 00:23:53.599
whatever reason. They did, yeah. So while it

00:23:53.599 --> 00:23:58.099
didn't feel, you know, I didn't have to remember

00:23:58.099 --> 00:24:00.079
as many numbers, for example, bill numbers and

00:24:00.079 --> 00:24:02.440
things like that. There definitely was a lot

00:24:02.440 --> 00:24:07.440
more, it was a much more sort of passionate.

00:24:08.299 --> 00:24:10.059
effort this session in terms of the bills that

00:24:10.059 --> 00:24:11.940
we were working on because they did have broad

00:24:11.940 --> 00:24:14.720
ranging effects and impact. And so, yeah, I mean,

00:24:14.720 --> 00:24:18.039
so we were kind of all just. in our public safety

00:24:18.039 --> 00:24:21.359
way, talking to each other about how that made

00:24:21.359 --> 00:24:24.220
us feel and how we were going to... Well, and

00:24:24.220 --> 00:24:26.140
really what... I got to be honest with you. I

00:24:26.140 --> 00:24:28.599
mean, the images going through. Listen. Trust

00:24:28.599 --> 00:24:31.859
falls, campfires. We all have to have our moments

00:24:31.859 --> 00:24:35.539
of, you know, safe space and catharsis and whatever

00:24:35.539 --> 00:24:38.279
else. But no, I mean, I think where we're at

00:24:38.279 --> 00:24:40.859
now is also trying to think of how these conversations

00:24:40.859 --> 00:24:43.460
this session sort of portends for what we might

00:24:43.460 --> 00:24:45.680
expect next year. Yeah, well, let's go... into

00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:47.180
that a little bit you know since you got the

00:24:47.180 --> 00:24:50.759
mic um and and you didn't you know you didn't

00:24:50.759 --> 00:24:53.079
have anything that you were trying to pass sadly

00:24:53.079 --> 00:24:56.640
on a big level uh what do you think that does

00:24:56.640 --> 00:24:59.779
bode for the future being that you know here

00:24:59.779 --> 00:25:01.539
we are a short session and you had some pretty

00:25:01.539 --> 00:25:04.500
intense stuff yeah uh maybe fewer items than

00:25:04.500 --> 00:25:10.430
normal but like we said, a lot more consequential

00:25:10.430 --> 00:25:13.450
items. Yeah. So what was the conversation? What

00:25:13.450 --> 00:25:15.089
do you guys predict for coming sessions? Yeah,

00:25:15.089 --> 00:25:17.529
I think a couple things. I mean, I think we know

00:25:17.529 --> 00:25:19.309
there's going to be some issues coming back next

00:25:19.309 --> 00:25:21.630
year. We know the juvenile rehabilitation, and

00:25:21.630 --> 00:25:25.130
I'm sure Travis spoke about this in his time

00:25:25.130 --> 00:25:28.549
with you, but the juvenile rehabilitation issue

00:25:28.549 --> 00:25:30.950
is not going anywhere. That's something we're

00:25:30.950 --> 00:25:33.119
going to have to deal with. or try to deal with

00:25:33.119 --> 00:25:35.400
this interim and see if we can get to a better

00:25:35.400 --> 00:25:37.619
place with the legislature on that. And we talked

00:25:37.619 --> 00:25:39.740
about that in a previous podcast. So if you're

00:25:39.740 --> 00:25:41.420
a listener and you want more information on that,

00:25:41.460 --> 00:25:43.119
go check that out. Yeah, go check out one of

00:25:43.119 --> 00:25:45.059
the previous ones with Brad and I. Yeah, so that's

00:25:45.059 --> 00:25:47.039
going to be there. There's definitely going to

00:25:47.039 --> 00:25:48.940
be, I think, continued conversation. This is

00:25:48.940 --> 00:25:51.180
where it blurs from public safety into behavioral

00:25:51.180 --> 00:25:53.920
health as it relates to competency evaluations

00:25:53.920 --> 00:25:55.839
and restorations. If you really want to go back

00:25:55.839 --> 00:25:57.559
into some podcasts from the previous session,

00:25:57.759 --> 00:26:00.160
we had a lot of conversations about that last

00:26:00.160 --> 00:26:02.029
year on a bill that we worked on. last year on

00:26:02.029 --> 00:26:04.509
that. I do expect that. Well, there was just

00:26:04.509 --> 00:26:06.630
a Seattle Times article about it recently. And

00:26:06.630 --> 00:26:09.529
so I do think that's not going anywhere and that's

00:26:09.529 --> 00:26:11.130
going to continue to be an issue because it is

00:26:11.130 --> 00:26:14.410
related to a lawsuit, right? The True Bud lawsuit.

00:26:14.710 --> 00:26:16.769
And so that's going to continue to, I think.

00:26:17.319 --> 00:26:20.200
And we expect something in that space. And then

00:26:20.200 --> 00:26:23.880
similarly, it is a similar kind of adjacent issue

00:26:23.880 --> 00:26:26.880
is involuntary treatment and the Involuntary

00:26:26.880 --> 00:26:30.799
Treatment Act or ITA. There was a big bill on

00:26:30.799 --> 00:26:32.759
that this session. It was like 100 some pages

00:26:32.759 --> 00:26:34.759
and got bigger as it kind of went through the

00:26:34.759 --> 00:26:37.500
process. Didn't end up. going anywhere because

00:26:37.500 --> 00:26:40.119
it got saddled with an enormous fiscal note well

00:26:40.119 --> 00:26:42.119
and bills that big oftentimes just collapse under

00:26:42.119 --> 00:26:44.119
their own weight yeah and yeah it was just there

00:26:44.119 --> 00:26:45.819
was something for everybody to hate in it at

00:26:45.819 --> 00:26:47.599
that point too and so it'll get whittled down

00:26:47.599 --> 00:26:49.259
into something yeah and that's the thing i mean

00:26:49.259 --> 00:26:51.079
just there and that's the product of a short

00:26:51.079 --> 00:26:52.599
session right where they didn't actually have

00:26:52.599 --> 00:26:54.720
time to whittle it right it's sort of like it

00:26:54.720 --> 00:26:56.720
was like okay we just have to put this down but

00:26:56.720 --> 00:26:58.200
there were things in that that we really wanted

00:26:58.200 --> 00:27:00.440
and needed uh -huh but there was a bunch of stuff

00:27:00.440 --> 00:27:01.700
we were like well i don't know where this came

00:27:01.700 --> 00:27:03.779
from and so we have to go figure that out those

00:27:03.779 --> 00:27:06.359
there there's going to need i mean the ITA system

00:27:06.359 --> 00:27:09.880
needs reform. And so I don't, I would be shocked

00:27:09.880 --> 00:27:11.420
if that wasn't something that we're actively

00:27:11.420 --> 00:27:13.299
working on both during the interim and expecting

00:27:13.299 --> 00:27:15.960
to come forward next year. I think the other

00:27:15.960 --> 00:27:17.779
thing that we did talk about among ourselves

00:27:17.779 --> 00:27:21.720
today really was trying to figure out how we

00:27:21.720 --> 00:27:25.720
can as a county family in the criminal justice,

00:27:25.880 --> 00:27:28.119
public safety, and even behavioral health space

00:27:28.119 --> 00:27:32.839
to some degree. Think about how we're approaching

00:27:32.839 --> 00:27:36.180
issues and how we might want to proactively try

00:27:36.180 --> 00:27:39.279
to approach the legislature, whether individual

00:27:39.279 --> 00:27:42.880
members or leadership or whatever, to try to

00:27:42.880 --> 00:27:46.420
bring some issues, to not be forced in a position

00:27:46.420 --> 00:27:49.039
of always having to react, to really try to maybe

00:27:49.039 --> 00:27:50.859
broach issues that we know are going to be tough,

00:27:51.000 --> 00:27:53.180
but try to do it proactively. Right. And see

00:27:53.180 --> 00:27:55.279
what kind of reception we get. And maybe it's

00:27:55.279 --> 00:27:58.400
not a good reception and it's not met well with

00:27:58.400 --> 00:28:01.789
a lot of, you know. you know, welcome. But but

00:28:01.789 --> 00:28:05.049
regardless, I think there's going to be some

00:28:05.049 --> 00:28:07.589
thinking among ourselves on sort of what what

00:28:07.589 --> 00:28:10.430
those issues might look like and what what that

00:28:10.430 --> 00:28:13.230
strategy might be and how we kind of hang together

00:28:13.230 --> 00:28:15.910
as a group, because there are a lot of these

00:28:15.910 --> 00:28:17.470
issues that may affect different parts. You know,

00:28:17.509 --> 00:28:19.250
it might affect the sheriffs and police chiefs

00:28:19.250 --> 00:28:21.490
more. It might affect the cities more. It might

00:28:21.490 --> 00:28:23.230
affect, you know, prosecutors more or public

00:28:23.230 --> 00:28:27.099
defense or whatever. But making sure that we're

00:28:27.099 --> 00:28:29.559
all coordinating and sort of coalescing around

00:28:29.559 --> 00:28:32.619
this is a county impact broadly. Right. And sort

00:28:32.619 --> 00:28:37.200
of how do we as a county system or a county family,

00:28:37.299 --> 00:28:39.579
for lack of a better word, sort of sort of interact

00:28:39.579 --> 00:28:41.880
and engage on that collectively. Yeah. And I

00:28:41.880 --> 00:28:43.720
do think that there's going to I think more and

00:28:43.720 --> 00:28:45.859
more. I'm curious what you think, maybe, Paul.

00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:48.440
But I mean, I think more and more with what we're

00:28:48.440 --> 00:28:50.460
seeing from the legislature, I think it's going

00:28:50.460 --> 00:28:53.019
to be imperative that our partners that we lock

00:28:53.019 --> 00:28:55.400
arms with our partners on some stuff and really

00:28:55.400 --> 00:28:59.259
show. sort of united front on some issues. Well,

00:28:59.259 --> 00:29:01.299
you know, when you're isolated, you always lose.

00:29:01.519 --> 00:29:05.859
Yeah, right. So it's always a good idea to form

00:29:05.859 --> 00:29:08.740
partnerships, both, you know, in both directions,

00:29:08.839 --> 00:29:10.660
whether you're supportive of a bill or whether

00:29:10.660 --> 00:29:12.500
you have a lot of concerns on a bill, because

00:29:12.500 --> 00:29:16.960
it just, you know, multiplies the numbers that

00:29:16.960 --> 00:29:19.339
legislators hear from, right? And I think it

00:29:19.339 --> 00:29:22.519
adds credibility. As well. Of course, you want

00:29:22.519 --> 00:29:25.440
to pick your partners carefully, especially where

00:29:25.440 --> 00:29:28.039
certain issues are concerned. But it's never

00:29:28.039 --> 00:29:32.440
a bad idea. And I think as these things become

00:29:32.440 --> 00:29:35.619
more and more acute and more and more impactful,

00:29:35.740 --> 00:29:40.059
which they are probably going to do as our population

00:29:40.059 --> 00:29:42.859
continues to grow and our problems get more sophisticated.

00:29:43.160 --> 00:29:45.579
Right. Or you solve kind of the low hanging fruit

00:29:45.579 --> 00:29:47.440
and have to move on to the more complex issues

00:29:47.440 --> 00:29:51.769
developing those. those relationships, and finding

00:29:51.769 --> 00:29:54.970
ways to work together, even, you know, sometimes

00:29:54.970 --> 00:29:57.009
when you can't work together, but being able

00:29:57.009 --> 00:29:58.730
to come back and work together on other issues

00:29:58.730 --> 00:30:00.730
where you can, I think it's key. Well, I think

00:30:00.730 --> 00:30:03.269
it's even more so if we look at it from the political

00:30:03.269 --> 00:30:04.910
realities that we're dealing with right now.

00:30:05.009 --> 00:30:06.390
And regardless of where you sit on the political

00:30:06.390 --> 00:30:09.150
spectrum, you know, we're in super majority territory,

00:30:09.390 --> 00:30:12.289
right, in terms of political makeup here in Washington

00:30:12.289 --> 00:30:16.230
State. And so the ability for lone wolves, you

00:30:16.230 --> 00:30:22.299
know, in terms of groups to be effective there's

00:30:22.299 --> 00:30:26.180
such a the headwind is much is much firmer right

00:30:26.180 --> 00:30:28.019
if the majority party decides it wants to do

00:30:28.019 --> 00:30:29.640
something and we certainly were on the end of

00:30:29.640 --> 00:30:31.299
that a little bit this session a couple times

00:30:31.299 --> 00:30:33.700
yeah there's it's hard to push back on that right

00:30:33.700 --> 00:30:36.819
and so figuring out how the broader your you

00:30:36.819 --> 00:30:39.440
can build your coalition the sometimes the more

00:30:39.440 --> 00:30:41.440
you can try to even those odds a little bit even

00:30:41.440 --> 00:30:43.180
though you're never going to even them you're

00:30:43.180 --> 00:30:46.299
at least i think make it less Less of an easy

00:30:46.299 --> 00:30:49.420
task to get rolled. And we can show you numerous

00:30:49.420 --> 00:30:51.799
examples of that just this session. Exactly,

00:30:51.900 --> 00:30:53.259
right. Some bills that you worked on, some bills

00:30:53.259 --> 00:30:54.700
that I worked on. Exactly. I'm sure some bills

00:30:54.700 --> 00:30:56.740
that Kelsey worked on, too. Right. So again,

00:30:56.920 --> 00:30:58.359
yeah, I think that's just going to be part of

00:30:58.359 --> 00:31:01.380
the calculus that we make. Yeah, well, talking

00:31:01.380 --> 00:31:06.200
about being maybe caught off guard a little bit

00:31:06.200 --> 00:31:08.859
and then trying to predict how things might go

00:31:08.859 --> 00:31:11.180
in the future, there's always a surprise or two

00:31:11.180 --> 00:31:15.450
every legislative session, right? Always. You

00:31:15.450 --> 00:31:18.369
know, sometimes it's a good surprise. Sometimes

00:31:18.369 --> 00:31:23.569
it's not such a good surprise. Kelsey, any big

00:31:23.569 --> 00:31:26.910
surprises for you this year that maybe caught

00:31:26.910 --> 00:31:28.549
you off guard, either in a good way or a bad

00:31:28.549 --> 00:31:32.509
way? It's okay. The microphone won't bite, I

00:31:32.509 --> 00:31:36.230
promise. Are you sure? Well, I only use this

00:31:36.230 --> 00:31:38.369
one, so maybe that one does bite. I don't know.

00:31:38.369 --> 00:31:43.329
You have no idea. I think the item that was surprising

00:31:43.329 --> 00:31:49.589
to me, More in form than in subject matter was

00:31:49.589 --> 00:31:55.950
Representative Parshley's bill to align county

00:31:55.950 --> 00:32:00.950
zoning and development regulations in the UGA

00:32:00.950 --> 00:32:07.119
to the nearest city, essentially. We were aware

00:32:07.119 --> 00:32:08.819
and have been aware for some time that she has

00:32:08.819 --> 00:32:12.619
a lot of interest in that area. I think the conversations

00:32:12.619 --> 00:32:16.720
that I had with her pre -session and early in

00:32:16.720 --> 00:32:20.440
session after the bill dropped, she understands

00:32:20.440 --> 00:32:25.819
why there needs to be some... balance there between

00:32:25.819 --> 00:32:28.759
what you're requiring counties to do on behalf

00:32:28.759 --> 00:32:31.519
of the cities, essentially, and then what cities

00:32:31.519 --> 00:32:35.440
are obligated to do in return. And so I think

00:32:35.440 --> 00:32:37.900
that is a conversation, not I think, that is

00:32:37.900 --> 00:32:39.880
a conversation that is going to continue and

00:32:39.880 --> 00:32:42.839
we will see that in some form next year. But

00:32:42.839 --> 00:32:46.279
I think the way that that came out being essentially

00:32:46.279 --> 00:32:49.980
a bill that purely obligated counties to do quite

00:32:49.980 --> 00:32:53.880
a bit of work in terms of that. Code alignment

00:32:53.880 --> 00:32:57.799
and regulation alignment. That was a surprise

00:32:57.799 --> 00:33:01.059
to me. Well, Representative Parsley now, she's

00:33:01.059 --> 00:33:05.119
former city council. Correct. So I guess, you

00:33:05.119 --> 00:33:07.539
know, hindsight being 2020, maybe not a huge

00:33:07.539 --> 00:33:09.960
surprise that it would come out in that direction,

00:33:10.079 --> 00:33:12.720
being the lens that she might be views it with.

00:33:14.329 --> 00:33:18.950
Maybe. Yeah. When you first mentioned Representative

00:33:18.950 --> 00:33:20.410
Parsley, I thought you were going to say the

00:33:20.410 --> 00:33:22.130
sheer number of bills that were introduced by

00:33:22.130 --> 00:33:24.089
Representative Parsley this year. She was prolific.

00:33:24.289 --> 00:33:29.529
Oh, she was prolific, yeah. Was this only her

00:33:29.529 --> 00:33:33.049
second session, right? I mean, she was paper

00:33:33.049 --> 00:33:35.809
in the heck out of that place up there during

00:33:35.809 --> 00:33:38.130
pre -file. Yeah, I think she ended up with 27

00:33:38.130 --> 00:33:42.920
or something like that. Very ambitious. Yeah,

00:33:42.980 --> 00:33:44.819
so I think that one was probably the most surprising,

00:33:44.900 --> 00:33:47.099
and that is a conversation that a lot of folks

00:33:47.099 --> 00:33:50.819
are interested in having is sort of what happens

00:33:50.819 --> 00:33:54.259
and how in UGAs in particular. Has there been

00:33:54.259 --> 00:33:56.759
any talk about an interim, you know, some formal

00:33:56.759 --> 00:34:01.039
interim discussions about it? Depends on what

00:34:01.039 --> 00:34:03.019
you mean by formal and what you mean by discussion

00:34:03.019 --> 00:34:05.640
and who it's going to include. I think that...

00:34:06.829 --> 00:34:10.170
The planners group, for example, the Association

00:34:10.170 --> 00:34:12.789
of County and Regional Planning Directors has

00:34:12.789 --> 00:34:15.829
it on their agenda for their upcoming conference.

00:34:16.230 --> 00:34:20.130
So certainly that group is going to be preparing

00:34:20.130 --> 00:34:23.030
to make some recommendations and to, you know.

00:34:23.420 --> 00:34:25.639
kind of spend some time early in the interim

00:34:25.639 --> 00:34:27.519
being thoughtful about what would we want to

00:34:27.519 --> 00:34:30.800
see in something like that representative partially

00:34:30.800 --> 00:34:32.639
is very open to that conversation and would like

00:34:32.639 --> 00:34:36.219
to you know be a part of it as well so yes there

00:34:36.219 --> 00:34:38.699
will be some how formal those conversations will

00:34:38.699 --> 00:34:42.619
be remains to be seen but certainly think that

00:34:42.619 --> 00:34:45.320
that's going to be ongoing work that will be

00:34:45.320 --> 00:34:50.059
engaged in throughout yeah interesting it's always

00:34:50.059 --> 00:34:51.820
interesting when you hit one of those surprising

00:34:51.820 --> 00:34:54.719
bills that just kind of come out of nowhere that

00:34:54.719 --> 00:34:57.440
you weren't anticipating and, and how those do

00:34:57.440 --> 00:35:00.460
or do not interact with the ongoing discussions

00:35:00.460 --> 00:35:02.860
around say housing or land use or something else

00:35:02.860 --> 00:35:05.079
that, you know, we're currently working on. Obviously

00:35:05.079 --> 00:35:07.860
that one kind of does fit, right. But it's not

00:35:07.860 --> 00:35:10.300
something that, and it's in, you know, being

00:35:10.300 --> 00:35:12.559
kind of in that policy area that you're working

00:35:12.559 --> 00:35:14.340
in, we've been having discussions about that

00:35:14.340 --> 00:35:16.519
stuff for a while, but just hadn't seen any formal,

00:35:16.579 --> 00:35:19.300
any actual formal proposals come forward that

00:35:19.300 --> 00:35:21.889
said. you know, like this bill did, county, you

00:35:21.889 --> 00:35:25.409
must do this thing without any sort of reciprocal

00:35:25.409 --> 00:35:28.690
action on the part of the other entities in this

00:35:28.690 --> 00:35:31.150
particular instance, the cities. Did the cities

00:35:31.150 --> 00:35:33.610
weigh in on that bill? And what were they saying

00:35:33.610 --> 00:35:37.869
about it? Do you remember? I don't recall exactly.

00:35:37.929 --> 00:35:41.269
I think as with a lot of issues, there were a

00:35:41.269 --> 00:35:42.929
couple of cities that were very enthusiastic

00:35:42.929 --> 00:35:45.670
about it. I think most of them understood that,

00:35:45.670 --> 00:35:48.269
you know. our side was going to have some issues

00:35:48.269 --> 00:35:53.369
there. Um, but it didn't get very far. I mean,

00:35:53.369 --> 00:35:56.210
once we were able to have a sit down with representative

00:35:56.210 --> 00:35:59.860
partially. outline our concerns she heard those

00:35:59.860 --> 00:36:02.000
pretty quickly and in fact she asked that the

00:36:02.000 --> 00:36:04.840
bill not move forward so she was proactive from

00:36:04.840 --> 00:36:08.579
the get -go about kind of managing that once

00:36:08.579 --> 00:36:10.780
the bill had been introduced so we really appreciate

00:36:10.780 --> 00:36:12.460
that of course that's something that's often

00:36:12.460 --> 00:36:15.139
really nice about a former local government official

00:36:15.139 --> 00:36:17.139
it's not true with all of them surprisingly enough

00:36:17.139 --> 00:36:21.000
no i would say a shout out to rep partially actually

00:36:21.000 --> 00:36:23.420
i think in terms of her willingness to not only

00:36:23.420 --> 00:36:26.210
not only did she have a ton of bills, she really

00:36:26.210 --> 00:36:28.849
actually tried to stakeholder her bills and talk

00:36:28.849 --> 00:36:31.570
to people and make herself available by phone

00:36:31.570 --> 00:36:35.409
or by text or in meetings. I mean, that is not

00:36:35.409 --> 00:36:39.269
an art that a lot of them value up there all

00:36:39.269 --> 00:36:42.670
the time. So yeah, I mean, it was refreshing,

00:36:42.829 --> 00:36:44.809
even on issues that we might have, at least we

00:36:44.809 --> 00:36:46.929
knew we might have disagreement on, because there

00:36:46.929 --> 00:36:48.650
were a couple in the public safety space from

00:36:48.650 --> 00:36:51.519
her as well. She was just good to work with.

00:36:51.760 --> 00:36:53.980
Well, and it's great to have someone not only,

00:36:54.039 --> 00:36:55.880
you know, willing to work on them, but to actually.

00:36:56.590 --> 00:37:00.449
You know, listen. Yes. But then be able to listen

00:37:00.449 --> 00:37:02.789
from a perspective of experience. That's right.

00:37:02.889 --> 00:37:05.630
Right. Where, you know, that's what I'm what

00:37:05.630 --> 00:37:07.110
I was trying to get out with the local government

00:37:07.110 --> 00:37:08.989
officials when they kind of come from local government

00:37:08.989 --> 00:37:11.050
to the legislature. They really do have a different

00:37:11.050 --> 00:37:13.429
perception. They do. And a different lens. Some

00:37:13.429 --> 00:37:17.210
of them forget about that. Seems to fade. Seems

00:37:17.210 --> 00:37:19.329
to fade relatively quickly. Yeah. But there's

00:37:19.329 --> 00:37:21.250
a few others up there. In fact, there's several

00:37:21.250 --> 00:37:23.809
others up there who go, oh, OK. Yep. I remember

00:37:23.809 --> 00:37:25.489
that. Or, yep, you're right. That's an issue.

00:37:25.610 --> 00:37:27.360
I didn't. think about that let's work on that

00:37:27.360 --> 00:37:29.019
you know let's make sure we don't move this forward

00:37:29.019 --> 00:37:31.239
without having considered that i think you know

00:37:31.239 --> 00:37:33.119
she showed a real willingness to do that this

00:37:33.119 --> 00:37:36.579
year which was great yeah agreed so kelsey um

00:37:36.579 --> 00:37:39.820
you know kind of thinking along the same lines

00:37:39.820 --> 00:37:43.380
of uh you know what were surprises this year

00:37:43.380 --> 00:37:51.159
um sometimes you're how do i put this you're

00:37:51.159 --> 00:37:55.000
not necessarily surprised by a bill but um You

00:37:55.000 --> 00:37:57.579
don't like it very much, if that makes sense.

00:37:58.139 --> 00:38:01.599
And if you had to pick one, Bill, that was out

00:38:01.599 --> 00:38:03.280
there in your policy area. Why didn't I get this

00:38:03.280 --> 00:38:04.780
question? You'll get it. I have a whole list

00:38:04.780 --> 00:38:07.320
of things I didn't like. Take it easy. You were

00:38:07.320 --> 00:38:08.920
late, so you get the questions last. All right,

00:38:08.920 --> 00:38:14.320
fair enough. If you had to pick one, what do

00:38:14.320 --> 00:38:20.519
you think was the most difficult? I want to call

00:38:20.519 --> 00:38:21.860
it something else, but I'm going to try to be

00:38:21.860 --> 00:38:24.039
nice. The most difficult proposal for cities

00:38:24.039 --> 00:38:26.019
and counties that you worked on this year that

00:38:26.019 --> 00:38:28.840
didn't pass. Aside from the one I mentioned.

00:38:30.400 --> 00:38:32.599
Yeah, maybe aside from the one you mentioned.

00:38:35.179 --> 00:38:37.000
Let's talk about that one again. That makes great

00:38:37.000 --> 00:38:40.099
podcast material. Well, I bring it up because

00:38:40.099 --> 00:38:42.960
I think that had the potential to be, you know,

00:38:42.960 --> 00:38:45.710
pretty. Yeah. Pretty darn significant. Right.

00:38:45.769 --> 00:38:48.130
That was a tough bill. And you did a good job

00:38:48.130 --> 00:38:50.110
representing our members on that. I appreciate

00:38:50.110 --> 00:38:55.730
it. What was the question? Were there any other

00:38:55.730 --> 00:38:58.610
surprises that would have been particularly tough

00:38:58.610 --> 00:39:02.969
for counties had they made it through the session

00:39:02.969 --> 00:39:08.630
this year? In other words, which ones were you...

00:39:09.050 --> 00:39:13.969
glad to see die not to be terribly morbid but

00:39:13.969 --> 00:39:17.130
if there was a bill upon whose grave you could

00:39:17.130 --> 00:39:20.010
dance which one would it be the funny part about

00:39:20.010 --> 00:39:23.909
this is you know we do a lot of testifying a

00:39:23.909 --> 00:39:25.929
lot of testimony especially early in session

00:39:25.929 --> 00:39:29.710
yeah i remember almost none of that at the moment

00:39:29.710 --> 00:39:32.590
which you know because thinking back on it there

00:39:32.590 --> 00:39:34.130
were certainly a number of bills that we testified

00:39:34.130 --> 00:39:37.789
on a number of times you play golf uh kind of

00:39:38.519 --> 00:39:42.360
Are you good? No. See, now your ability to forget

00:39:42.360 --> 00:39:44.579
things so quickly, I would think you'd be an

00:39:44.579 --> 00:39:46.679
amazing golfer, right? You blow the shot, you've

00:39:46.679 --> 00:39:48.880
got to forget it and move on to the next shot.

00:39:49.019 --> 00:39:50.380
Oh, yeah, I'm good at that part. Oh, you're good

00:39:50.380 --> 00:39:56.940
at that part. Okay. The best golfers have short

00:39:56.940 --> 00:40:00.659
memories. That's what they say. Yes. Yeah. So,

00:40:00.699 --> 00:40:04.889
sure. By that, like I said. possibly before we

00:40:04.889 --> 00:40:07.409
were recording. I feel sometimes like my brain

00:40:07.409 --> 00:40:10.070
is an etch -a -sketch and you just shake it and

00:40:10.070 --> 00:40:13.389
start over the next session. But I think the

00:40:13.389 --> 00:40:16.570
other conversation that's pretty consequential

00:40:16.570 --> 00:40:19.329
and that we will... again be working on in the

00:40:19.329 --> 00:40:21.590
interim have been playing defense on the last

00:40:21.590 --> 00:40:25.309
couple of years is are the issues around agritourism

00:40:25.309 --> 00:40:28.570
which we dove into more deeply on another podcast

00:40:28.570 --> 00:40:31.789
but we had several different bills that all kind

00:40:31.789 --> 00:40:34.429
of you know nipped around the edges of this this

00:40:34.429 --> 00:40:38.030
broader concern. None of those bills moved forward,

00:40:38.150 --> 00:40:40.570
which we were happy to see. We did testify on

00:40:40.570 --> 00:40:43.190
a few of those. Neither did the proviso, though,

00:40:43.269 --> 00:40:45.530
and that surprised me. I thought there would

00:40:45.530 --> 00:40:47.630
be a willingness to kind of put that one in this

00:40:47.630 --> 00:40:51.489
year. Yeah, and we could talk about, we should

00:40:51.489 --> 00:40:58.409
talk more about that. Yeah, I think the, I think

00:40:58.409 --> 00:41:01.230
agritourism is not a front and center issue.

00:41:02.039 --> 00:41:05.860
for anybody who isn't a planner or code compliance

00:41:05.860 --> 00:41:09.519
person or kind of operates in that world. Because

00:41:09.519 --> 00:41:12.739
I think the general sense is that it's mostly

00:41:12.739 --> 00:41:16.119
nice things, right? Whether it's a farm stand

00:41:16.119 --> 00:41:18.739
or a wedding venue or, you know, whatever. Yeah.

00:41:18.780 --> 00:41:20.440
That there's these nice little things that are

00:41:20.440 --> 00:41:23.059
happening and, you know, so what if they aren't?

00:41:23.139 --> 00:41:26.579
Quite little activities. Right. I don't think

00:41:26.579 --> 00:41:29.619
people usually think of that activity as being,

00:41:29.679 --> 00:41:34.969
as having, potentially detrimental impacts to

00:41:34.969 --> 00:41:37.030
public health or safety, for example, right?

00:41:37.150 --> 00:41:40.230
So I think the urgency around it is a little

00:41:40.230 --> 00:41:43.889
lower. Again, if you aren't somebody who's watching

00:41:43.889 --> 00:41:45.650
these kinds of businesses crop up everywhere

00:41:45.650 --> 00:41:48.809
and is concerned about all of the associated

00:41:48.809 --> 00:41:54.090
impacts. So I think that's probably why it really

00:41:54.090 --> 00:42:00.690
felt like in the budget approach that I think

00:42:00.690 --> 00:42:02.389
you would hear budget writers say they kind of

00:42:02.389 --> 00:42:05.429
cut off everything, you know, all of the, had

00:42:05.429 --> 00:42:06.949
to separate the wheat from the chaff. Everything

00:42:06.949 --> 00:42:09.269
that wasn't absolutely critical, they cut out.

00:42:09.309 --> 00:42:11.809
Now we can talk about how they define critical,

00:42:12.050 --> 00:42:14.849
but I think that was the perception and that

00:42:14.849 --> 00:42:17.820
it probably just fell victim to that. Okay. I

00:42:17.820 --> 00:42:20.199
also want to highlight that the microchipping

00:42:20.199 --> 00:42:22.699
of employees, the prohibition on microchipping

00:42:22.699 --> 00:42:24.539
employees, that was a surprise to me. Can we

00:42:24.539 --> 00:42:26.300
just talk a little bit about that for a second?

00:42:26.320 --> 00:42:27.760
You know, that bill was actually being discussed

00:42:27.760 --> 00:42:29.780
on the radio this morning. I was shocked. Is

00:42:29.780 --> 00:42:32.199
that happening? It is not. Where is that happening?

00:42:32.380 --> 00:42:35.940
That is the weirdest. It is weird. Even weirder

00:42:35.940 --> 00:42:38.480
that it passed. Even on the radio this morning,

00:42:38.559 --> 00:42:40.579
they talked about the fact that it passed, and

00:42:40.579 --> 00:42:42.730
they said, You know there's not a single employer

00:42:42.730 --> 00:42:44.829
in Washington State. Who would agree to that?

00:42:44.989 --> 00:42:47.170
Like, what is this James Bond stuff? I mean,

00:42:47.170 --> 00:42:49.889
it's just weird. It's just a weird bill. Okay,

00:42:49.949 --> 00:42:53.650
okay. Counterpoint. Okay. I do not like keys

00:42:53.650 --> 00:42:56.909
and having to have keys anywhere for anything.

00:42:57.349 --> 00:43:00.530
Fobs are just keys, but, you know, fancy keys.

00:43:00.789 --> 00:43:03.989
If I could put a little chip in the palm of my

00:43:03.989 --> 00:43:07.250
hand and never use a key again, I'd do it. You

00:43:07.250 --> 00:43:09.690
putting a chip in you is one thing, but, like,

00:43:09.690 --> 00:43:11.889
your employer. Putting you a chip so you can

00:43:11.889 --> 00:43:13.949
get into the Wasack building? Yeah, I'd probably

00:43:13.949 --> 00:43:16.230
do that too. I would never do that. I would put

00:43:16.230 --> 00:43:23.679
anything at Wasack. Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness.

00:43:24.519 --> 00:43:27.360
Maybe edit that. I don't know if that's going

00:43:27.360 --> 00:43:29.579
to stay in the podcast. Entirely correct. I don't

00:43:29.579 --> 00:43:30.920
know if that's going to stay in the podcast.

00:43:31.159 --> 00:43:35.400
Entirely correct? I'm shocked that you made an

00:43:35.400 --> 00:43:37.619
argument for it, Kelsey. Me too. I can make an

00:43:37.619 --> 00:43:40.179
argument for anything. I heard an argument there.

00:43:40.219 --> 00:43:43.079
Yeah, but I mean, okay. It was a necessary vote.

00:43:43.820 --> 00:43:45.800
Anybody who's good at these jobs can make an

00:43:45.800 --> 00:43:47.440
argument for anything, but it sounded like that

00:43:47.440 --> 00:43:50.420
was actually sincere. Yeah, I mean, that's why

00:43:50.420 --> 00:43:51.880
I'm good at this job is because I can make a

00:43:51.880 --> 00:43:55.460
sincere argument for anything. But when it comes

00:43:55.460 --> 00:43:58.940
to the microchipping thing, I don't. If it's

00:43:58.940 --> 00:44:01.099
optional, I don't care. I think that was the

00:44:01.099 --> 00:44:02.880
weirdest bill of session. That had to be the

00:44:02.880 --> 00:44:04.840
weirdest bill of session. I agree. Although I

00:44:04.840 --> 00:44:07.780
thought there was a drone militia bill, and now

00:44:07.780 --> 00:44:10.539
I think I may have dreamt about it. I don't remember

00:44:10.539 --> 00:44:12.559
that one. I know. I think I invented it. You

00:44:12.559 --> 00:44:16.320
might have. Ripped from the headlines. All right,

00:44:16.320 --> 00:44:19.000
Brad, your turn. What about surprises this year?

00:44:19.059 --> 00:44:21.619
Well, no, I think – I don't know surprises, but

00:44:21.619 --> 00:44:25.099
I – what's that? Yeah, that's all right. I was

00:44:25.099 --> 00:44:27.320
late, so she was reminding me I have another

00:44:27.320 --> 00:44:29.400
meeting. But I was late to this one, and so,

00:44:29.400 --> 00:44:31.199
you know, that's how you do it. Yeah, well, forget

00:44:31.199 --> 00:44:33.460
that. I owe you. There's earned time here. We'll

00:44:33.460 --> 00:44:34.679
get you out of here in just a minute. No, I'm

00:44:34.679 --> 00:44:36.280
not worried about it. Yeah, I mean, I think surprises

00:44:36.280 --> 00:44:40.599
for me – there were two. One was kind of a bill

00:44:40.599 --> 00:44:44.070
that had been kind of – It had simmered over

00:44:44.070 --> 00:44:47.150
the years, and I referenced it earlier around

00:44:47.150 --> 00:44:52.789
the scope of the AG, which was $52 .95, I think

00:44:52.789 --> 00:44:56.630
was the bill number. What I was surprised—that

00:44:56.630 --> 00:44:58.690
bill ended up passing. That's the one around

00:44:58.690 --> 00:45:01.329
the AG investigation, right? Right. It gives

00:45:01.329 --> 00:45:05.630
the AG really broad authority in terms of investigating

00:45:05.630 --> 00:45:09.369
a variety of things. Pre -lawsuit. Pre -lawsuit

00:45:09.369 --> 00:45:13.719
and really— With fairly, fairly minimal thresholds

00:45:13.719 --> 00:45:16.519
in terms of what they would need to sort of instigate

00:45:16.519 --> 00:45:20.980
an investigation. It really that bill really

00:45:20.980 --> 00:45:24.360
expanded that authority in a way that I think

00:45:24.360 --> 00:45:28.139
is being under talked about, I think, or maybe

00:45:28.139 --> 00:45:32.039
underappreciated in terms of. the vast expanse

00:45:32.039 --> 00:45:35.059
of power that that now has bestowed on the AG's

00:45:35.059 --> 00:45:36.920
office. And I, whether that's a good thing or

00:45:36.920 --> 00:45:38.980
a bad thing. Is appreciation the right word there?

00:45:39.000 --> 00:45:40.800
Well, right. Yeah. Right. Yeah. I mean, so I

00:45:40.800 --> 00:45:42.679
think we, I think that's a bill. I was a little

00:45:42.679 --> 00:45:46.539
surprised at how little pushback beyond, I mean,

00:45:46.579 --> 00:45:48.360
we certainly had concerns with it and expressed

00:45:48.360 --> 00:45:51.300
some of those, but it was, I was a little surprised

00:45:51.300 --> 00:45:54.159
at how kind of easily that bill kind of moved

00:45:54.159 --> 00:45:58.369
its way through the process. I expected. more,

00:45:58.670 --> 00:46:02.429
I guess, from other stakeholders and sort of

00:46:02.429 --> 00:46:04.369
making an issue out of that. Do you think maybe

00:46:04.369 --> 00:46:06.210
they just didn't understand it? I think so, right?

00:46:06.309 --> 00:46:09.769
And I do think to some degree it is a game of...

00:46:10.349 --> 00:46:12.510
It really is a game of, well, it's not a bad

00:46:12.510 --> 00:46:15.090
thing unless it's used badly. Right. Right. It's

00:46:15.090 --> 00:46:17.329
one of those where it's unless it's abused. Yeah.

00:46:17.349 --> 00:46:19.909
You know, is it really a negative thing? Right.

00:46:19.969 --> 00:46:22.210
And so it's hard to push back on sort of, you

00:46:22.210 --> 00:46:25.289
know, hyper sort of scenarios or what ifs. Right.

00:46:25.329 --> 00:46:26.789
And which is which is what you sort of had to

00:46:26.789 --> 00:46:28.329
do if you were going to testify or work against

00:46:28.329 --> 00:46:31.409
that bill. And but you want you want people to

00:46:31.409 --> 00:46:34.050
think of. Well, right. Like I said, yeah, I think

00:46:34.050 --> 00:46:35.969
it was just interesting to me that, you know,

00:46:35.969 --> 00:46:37.829
as the concerns we were raising, our partners

00:46:37.829 --> 00:46:40.639
at WAPA and other places where. They just weren't

00:46:40.639 --> 00:46:42.920
being met with much. And WAPA, just for everybody's

00:46:42.920 --> 00:46:44.199
knowledge. I'm sorry, our Prosecuting Attorneys

00:46:44.199 --> 00:46:46.219
Association, which we coordinate, you know, part

00:46:46.219 --> 00:46:48.519
of my therapy group that was down there. They're

00:46:48.519 --> 00:46:50.519
represented there. They're the ones with the

00:46:50.519 --> 00:46:53.480
therapy cows that you can hug. That's right,

00:46:53.579 --> 00:46:56.619
exactly, exactly. So that was one bill. And then

00:46:56.619 --> 00:46:58.199
I think the other one, and you worked a lot on

00:46:58.199 --> 00:47:01.880
this, Paul, was the tort reform. That was a bill

00:47:01.880 --> 00:47:04.219
that I think what surprised us was that we were

00:47:04.219 --> 00:47:06.820
included in it initially. Yeah, which was a great

00:47:06.820 --> 00:47:08.460
surprise. It was a great surprise. A happy surprise.

00:47:08.619 --> 00:47:10.699
Very, very good surprise. You know, I think I

00:47:10.699 --> 00:47:14.900
was then equally surprised by the lack of anything

00:47:14.900 --> 00:47:17.300
meaningful that sort of came out of that in the

00:47:17.300 --> 00:47:20.920
sense of really helping the state solve a significant

00:47:20.920 --> 00:47:24.079
problem of their own, much less help us solve

00:47:24.079 --> 00:47:26.059
any problems. Well, you did see what came out

00:47:26.059 --> 00:47:29.119
of it, right? I did. I did. It's kind of that

00:47:29.119 --> 00:47:31.579
old, you can't get the bill passed, turn it into

00:47:31.579 --> 00:47:34.079
proviso. Yeah, there is definitely some proviso.

00:47:34.079 --> 00:47:37.139
Right. It's a good old study bill. Yep. Right.

00:47:37.219 --> 00:47:39.559
So which is fine. Make it a study. Yeah. I mean,

00:47:39.559 --> 00:47:41.480
you know, and if anything, you know, I think

00:47:41.480 --> 00:47:43.420
everybody agreed that that was a shot across

00:47:43.420 --> 00:47:45.639
the bow bill. Right. Like we're going to raise

00:47:45.639 --> 00:47:47.400
this issue this session and it's something the

00:47:47.400 --> 00:47:49.000
state's going to have to deal with. But if you

00:47:49.000 --> 00:47:51.179
do the budget analysis. Right. I mean, and Brian

00:47:51.179 --> 00:47:53.719
Inslow, you know, channeling him on this. I mean.

00:47:54.679 --> 00:47:57.159
You know, there's $900 million the state still

00:47:57.159 --> 00:47:59.039
has to deal, figure out how to deal with next

00:47:59.039 --> 00:48:01.039
year, and almost all of that is wrapped up in

00:48:01.039 --> 00:48:04.739
liability. You know what surprised me most about

00:48:04.739 --> 00:48:07.460
that bill was actually the testimony. Yeah. By

00:48:07.460 --> 00:48:11.139
some of the blatant testimony. Yeah. By some

00:48:11.139 --> 00:48:13.760
of the trial lawyers. Yes. And I don't know that

00:48:13.760 --> 00:48:16.659
I'm quoting exactly, but words were said in testimony

00:48:16.659 --> 00:48:21.179
in public to the tune of, the reason we support

00:48:21.179 --> 00:48:24.340
the Democratic Party. Yes. to the level that

00:48:24.340 --> 00:48:26.139
we do is so that we don't have to put up with

00:48:26.139 --> 00:48:28.019
bills like this. That's exactly right. It was

00:48:28.019 --> 00:48:30.280
very blunt. That is shocking. It was shocking

00:48:30.280 --> 00:48:33.360
to me. Like I said, that whole bill process was

00:48:33.360 --> 00:48:35.239
a bit of a surprise to me in terms of how it

00:48:35.239 --> 00:48:37.099
played out. Not only that, because I agree with

00:48:37.099 --> 00:48:38.699
you. I was a little bit galled by that. Well,

00:48:38.760 --> 00:48:41.340
I mean, someone should be ashamed for taking

00:48:41.340 --> 00:48:44.440
that position. But I think, if anything, it should

00:48:44.440 --> 00:48:47.059
really raise a lot of eyebrows in terms of money

00:48:47.059 --> 00:48:49.260
and politics. Whoa, right. Where are we at at

00:48:49.260 --> 00:48:51.139
this point? And how, you know, we're talking.

00:48:51.820 --> 00:48:53.820
well over a billion dollars in taxpayer money

00:48:53.820 --> 00:48:57.019
now just being shunted away to these lawsuit

00:48:57.019 --> 00:49:00.980
juries. And we don't want to be insensitive,

00:49:01.059 --> 00:49:03.280
right? No, no, no. These are really tough cases.

00:49:03.420 --> 00:49:07.900
These are victims who deserve remuneration. None

00:49:07.900 --> 00:49:10.599
of that was my comment. My comment is this is

00:49:10.599 --> 00:49:13.670
a very real. budget issue now for the state absolutely

00:49:13.670 --> 00:49:16.090
it's a very real issue for counties as well you

00:49:16.090 --> 00:49:19.090
bet it is and so how we and cities for that matter

00:49:19.090 --> 00:49:20.650
as well i mean it's a local government issue

00:49:20.650 --> 00:49:22.730
and so and it's one that you would think that

00:49:22.730 --> 00:49:24.630
there would be more collective interest in trying

00:49:24.630 --> 00:49:26.550
to figure out how we how we get there i'm hopeful

00:49:26.550 --> 00:49:28.349
i mean you know i appreciate it and we did a

00:49:28.349 --> 00:49:30.090
whole podcast on that that's right not mistaken

00:49:30.090 --> 00:49:32.570
so go back and listen to that right so more information

00:49:32.570 --> 00:49:34.130
right i mean so that definitely but that was

00:49:34.130 --> 00:49:35.670
a bill that i was surprised when it came out

00:49:35.670 --> 00:49:37.510
and i was a little surprised at the way it sort

00:49:37.510 --> 00:49:40.289
of meandered through yeah um and yeah it'll be

00:49:40.289 --> 00:49:41.780
interesting to see that be one that'll be interesting

00:49:41.780 --> 00:49:43.599
i actually thought that one might have had a

00:49:43.599 --> 00:49:45.900
better chance that it did it it actually ended

00:49:45.900 --> 00:49:48.519
its journey oh boy i hate saying that that sounds

00:49:48.519 --> 00:49:53.139
so popular culture a bill doesn't have a journey

00:49:53.139 --> 00:49:56.460
but it ended its kind of you know process uh

00:49:56.460 --> 00:49:57.960
earlier than i thought it would yeah it was sort

00:49:57.960 --> 00:49:59.760
of a whimper yeah it kind of just went it just

00:49:59.760 --> 00:50:02.500
kind of went away all of a sudden yeah yeah but

00:50:02.500 --> 00:50:04.199
i think it'll be back and i know we'll have some

00:50:04.199 --> 00:50:08.460
conversations Well, guys, it's been a great conversation.

00:50:09.260 --> 00:50:12.340
Really appreciate both of you and the work that

00:50:12.340 --> 00:50:14.559
you did this year. Any closing remarks for our

00:50:14.559 --> 00:50:17.159
listeners before we kind of close this one out?

00:50:19.079 --> 00:50:22.739
Share your wisdom. We don't have time for that,

00:50:22.760 --> 00:50:29.659
Paul. But I will say that the thing that I think

00:50:29.659 --> 00:50:33.880
we utilized better this session than I've seen

00:50:33.880 --> 00:50:38.889
us in recent sessions. is getting members involved

00:50:38.889 --> 00:50:44.110
and the extent to which our membership stays

00:50:44.110 --> 00:50:48.289
engaged and willing to weigh in and to be involved,

00:50:48.530 --> 00:50:51.750
to make calls to their legislators, to really

00:50:51.750 --> 00:50:57.769
take action when we've asked them to. That's

00:50:57.769 --> 00:50:59.750
a really powerful thing and it does move the

00:50:59.750 --> 00:51:02.610
needle. And so I've really appreciated the willingness.

00:51:03.730 --> 00:51:07.030
both of our members to be coached because I think

00:51:07.030 --> 00:51:09.650
talking points are important. Staying on message

00:51:09.650 --> 00:51:11.789
is important. Speaking with one voice is important.

00:51:11.949 --> 00:51:13.750
Some of these issues were really tough this year.

00:51:13.809 --> 00:51:16.570
Tough and complex, right? And so there was just

00:51:16.570 --> 00:51:18.570
a lot there. And I really appreciated the willingness

00:51:18.570 --> 00:51:20.849
to, for a lot of folks, I think, get outside

00:51:20.849 --> 00:51:22.690
their comfort zone and do some things that they

00:51:22.690 --> 00:51:24.630
might not have been willing to otherwise. And

00:51:24.630 --> 00:51:27.289
I think... Though we didn't get everything we

00:51:27.289 --> 00:51:29.489
had hoped for out of the session, we also avoided

00:51:29.489 --> 00:51:31.929
some things that would have been really detrimental.

00:51:32.190 --> 00:51:33.929
And I think that's a credit to the members. Yeah,

00:51:33.949 --> 00:51:35.469
no, I think that's a really good point. We saw

00:51:35.469 --> 00:51:37.269
the members sticking together this year in ways

00:51:37.269 --> 00:51:39.269
that maybe they haven't in the past or in the

00:51:39.269 --> 00:51:41.650
recent past, which has been nice. And I agree

00:51:41.650 --> 00:51:44.150
with you. They were really coachable on some

00:51:44.150 --> 00:51:46.630
pretty complex and pretty tough issues. So I

00:51:46.630 --> 00:51:48.610
think that's a great point. And hopefully we

00:51:48.610 --> 00:51:51.050
can use that to build upon in the future. What

00:51:51.050 --> 00:51:54.670
about you, Brad? Yeah, I would echo those comments.

00:51:54.889 --> 00:51:57.110
And I would build on them to say I think similarly

00:51:57.110 --> 00:52:00.809
the way the WASAC team worked together, you know,

00:52:00.829 --> 00:52:02.949
we've had a lot of joking and fun aside here

00:52:02.949 --> 00:52:05.289
on this podcast. But, you know. Mostly at your

00:52:05.289 --> 00:52:07.610
expense. Well, you know, whatever I can do for

00:52:07.610 --> 00:52:10.869
the cause. Whatever I can do for the cause. But,

00:52:10.929 --> 00:52:13.110
no, I mean, you know, whether it was Kelsey sitting

00:52:13.110 --> 00:52:16.170
up there with me late, you know, late after cutoff

00:52:16.170 --> 00:52:18.570
trying to figure out where we were on a priority

00:52:18.570 --> 00:52:21.769
issue for us or whether it was numerous conversations

00:52:21.769 --> 00:52:23.849
you and I had to have, Paul, and running around.

00:52:24.110 --> 00:52:26.710
trying to get things worked on um you know other

00:52:26.710 --> 00:52:29.489
you know it felt futile at times it does but

00:52:29.489 --> 00:52:33.030
the futility you know as part of a group is a

00:52:33.030 --> 00:52:35.650
little maybe a little less painful um when you're

00:52:35.650 --> 00:52:37.389
sharing the when you're sharing the futility

00:52:37.389 --> 00:52:40.469
yeah so no i mean i think just the the the teamwork

00:52:40.469 --> 00:52:45.409
and camaraderie of of the county team was enjoyable

00:52:46.090 --> 00:52:49.190
And I think if you look at the end of the day,

00:52:49.349 --> 00:52:51.070
and you and I talked about this, Paul, if you

00:52:51.070 --> 00:52:54.230
look at just a tally board, I think at the end,

00:52:54.309 --> 00:52:57.090
the counties were remarkably effective considering

00:52:57.090 --> 00:52:59.650
what we were sort of up against and what we were

00:52:59.650 --> 00:53:02.590
dealing with up on the Hill in terms of not only

00:53:02.590 --> 00:53:06.489
policy wins or defeats, where that mattered,

00:53:06.769 --> 00:53:10.050
but also in preserving ourselves and the budget

00:53:10.050 --> 00:53:12.989
as best as we could. So, you know, for a short

00:53:12.989 --> 00:53:15.719
session, I walk away with it feeling... as good

00:53:15.719 --> 00:53:18.849
as I think you can, even despite some late. gut

00:53:18.849 --> 00:53:21.849
punches in the process. But that's inherent to

00:53:21.849 --> 00:53:24.849
the process. Unfortunately, I probably feel a

00:53:24.849 --> 00:53:26.630
little worse about those late gut punches than

00:53:26.630 --> 00:53:28.590
you do. I know. But at the end of the day, it

00:53:28.590 --> 00:53:30.650
was a bit of a mixed bag. Maybe a therapy session.

00:53:31.510 --> 00:53:33.150
Maybe I should join you. I was going to say,

00:53:33.190 --> 00:53:35.389
I'll see if our folks are willing to bring you

00:53:35.389 --> 00:53:38.510
in for a little time so that you can... I know

00:53:38.510 --> 00:53:39.969
a sheriff or two. Do you think they'll give me

00:53:39.969 --> 00:53:42.389
a hug? Maybe. I mean, I'll have to run it by

00:53:42.389 --> 00:53:45.489
our group. I have a feeling that they're not

00:53:45.489 --> 00:53:49.929
going to. No predetermined outcome there. The

00:53:49.929 --> 00:53:52.570
mental images you've left us all. Like a legislator

00:53:52.570 --> 00:53:54.469
once said, I'll run it up the flagpole for you.

00:53:54.469 --> 00:53:57.489
Yeah, literally in this case. Well, thanks again,

00:53:57.570 --> 00:53:59.769
guys. Appreciate it very much. And for all of

00:53:59.769 --> 00:54:01.989
you listeners at home, we appreciate everything

00:54:01.989 --> 00:54:05.030
that you do every day for your communities, the

00:54:05.030 --> 00:54:07.329
dedication you show as an elected official and

00:54:07.329 --> 00:54:10.989
the sacrifices that you make. We definitely notice

00:54:10.989 --> 00:54:13.389
those things here at WASAC, and we're here to

00:54:13.389 --> 00:54:15.630
support you and help you in any way that we can.

00:54:15.989 --> 00:54:18.909
Please reach out. if you need anything at any

00:54:18.909 --> 00:54:21.309
time. Until then, I hope you can join us for

00:54:21.309 --> 00:54:27.150
our next chat and take good care. Thanks for

00:54:27.150 --> 00:54:29.449
tuning in to County Connection. Stay in the loop

00:54:29.449 --> 00:54:31.969
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00:54:31.969 --> 00:54:34.730
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00:54:34.730 --> 00:54:36.789
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00:54:36.909 --> 00:54:39.090
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00:54:39.090 --> 00:54:41.269
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00:54:41.449 --> 00:54:44.170
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