Believe it or not, the 2024 legislative session is already 1/3 of the way done, and the first major bill cut off is fast approaching. Cut off dates are important during the legislative session, as bills that fail to advance by these dates are considered “dead.” There is always the possibility of resurrection, but more often than not if you fail to meet these deadlines, your legislation is toast.
At the County Road Administration Board we are paying close attention to bills, and also budget conversations. Transportation budgets are in tough shape this year, and at CRAB we are holding onto hope that legislators will not use our budget, and other local government programs, as their “rainy day fund” to balance their budget. We have some early reassurances our Rural Arterial Program is safe, but I will not sleep well until that final gavel comes down on the last day of session.
Some of these reassurances were communicated during our Board “Day on the Hill” that was held January 17th. Our board members and staff met with transportation lawmakers to educate them on our 2024 priority recommendations and requests. Our messaging included the need for new dollars for our agency decision package requests, and protection for existing programs. We had a great day and look forward to continuing these important conversations!
If you are interested in learning about a few of the bills we are monitoring, you can read about them below:
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Representative Joe Timmons, D-Bellingham
The bill authorizes the Military Department's Emergency Management Division to administer a program for emergency assistance to county governments and federally recognized tribes that experience public infrastructure damage due to a natural, technological, or human-caused disaster. The County Road Administration Board hosts the County Emergency Loan Program and believes there would be coordination among these two programs if HB 2020 is passed.
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Representative Marie Leavitt, D-University Place
HB 2391 would define county ferry maintenance as “ordinary” for contracting compliance purposes. Representative Leavitt engaged a large county ferry stakeholder community, including the County Road Administration Board, during the interim to develop this legislation. The County Road Board is supportive of these changes and will continue to provide updates as they become available.
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Senator Jesse Salomon, D-Shoreline
SB 5846 directs the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to create and implement a beaver ecosystem management plan including managing beaver conflicts and identifying locations where beaver provides benefit to salmon habitats. Again, this legislation would not affect CRAB, but we are monitoring it closely as it could impact county road departments.
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Senator Marko Liias, D-Edmonds, Representative Brandy Donaghy, D-Snohomish County
SB 5959/HB 2384 makes explicit the authority for cities and counties to use automated traffic safety cameras through ordinance adoption.
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Senator Javier Valdez, D-Seattle
SB 6040 would require payment to subcontractors that are state certified small, women, and minority owned or disadvantaged business enterprises to be paid no later than 30 days after the work is accepted by the state or municipality, regardless of when the prime contractor receives payment. While this legislation has no impact on CRAB programs, we are monitoring it closely as it will impact counties.
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Senator Marko Liias, D-Edmonds, Senator Curtis King, R-Yakima
SB 6277 strives to make it easier and more accessible for private industry to enter into public-private partnerships with the State of Washington for transportation projects. Specifically, the legislation aims to make procurement, financing, and contracting less burdensome and complicated. SB 6277 tasks the Washington Department of Transportation with developing policies and rules to govern the use of public-private partnerships for transportation projects.
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We are committed to the success of our counties and our state, and we will be actively engaging in conversations with stakeholders and decisionmakers regarding the bills of interest noted above. Please do hesitate to reach out to us with thoughts, questions or follow up.
