AS WE HEAD into the 2010 legislative session, local governments from across the state are calling for more local authority over using existing funds. Your union has joined this effort as we continue to explore new solutions to deal with worst economics recession in decades.

Currently, the state has a series of restrictions that hamper local governments in dealing with budget shortfalls. Three bills that would allow flexibility were heard in the House Finance Committee and drew positive testimony from a host of local government officials.

HB 2650
Brief Summary of Bill

• Allows city and county real estate excise taxes to be used for certain maintenance and operation expenditures for capital facilities.
• Allows a city and county real estate excise tax to be used for additional capital facilities.
• Eliminates non-supplant restrictions for various local sales and use taxes and multi-year property tax lid lifts.
• Adds "human services" to the list of permissible expenditures for local criminal justice and public safety sales and use taxes.
• Allows local gambling revenue to be used for any public safety purpose.
• Allows the state-shared hotel-motel tax to be used for maintaining or enhancing tourism, including public safety improvements.

HB 2749
Brief Summary of Bill

• Eliminates remaining non-supplant provisions for the county public safety sales and use tax, the county mental health/chemical dependency sales and use tax, and multi-year lid lifts.
• Authorizes counties to impose utility taxes.
• Authorizes cities to impose business taxes on water-sewer districts.
• Allows city and county real estate excise taxes to be used for park maintenance and operation expenditures and eliminates non-supplant restrictions.
• Imposes the brokered natural gas use tax at the location where the gas is consumed or stored.

HB 2775
Brief Summary of Bill

• Eliminates, until January 1, 2015, the voter-approval requirement for the public safety sales and use tax.
• Eliminates non-supplant restrictions for criminal justice, public safety,and mental health sales and use taxes.

Local option street maintenance

HB 2618
Brief Summary of Bill

• Authorizes cities and towns to establish a jurisdiction-wide street maintenance utility.
• Authorizes the governing body of a street maintenance utility to impose charges on users to fund the preservation and maintenance of urban streets.
• Repeals the existing street utility statutes.

SB 6449

Here's one that will give Tim Eyman a headache...

Tim Eyman and his wealthy benefactor, Michael Dunmire are sure to hate SB 6449, which seeks to identify the paid signature gatherers they hired to push their anti-government measures.  This bill would require paid signatures to register with the Public Disclosure Commission and be held accountable for any fraudulent signatures they’ve turned in.  It’s out of the shadows and into the light of day for the traveling circus of signature gatherers and Eyman isn’t going to like the heat.

Last session’s efforts to change the plan in which new hires are placed if they don’t choose on their own have been revived this session. HB 1722 and SB 5307 were joined by this year’s SB 6516. Our argument is simple: only employees who affirmatively choose Plan 3 should be put in Plan 3. The good news this year is that those bills would save around $12 million for the PERS system over a 25 year period.

Please call your legislators and ask them to support these measures.  To find your legislator or district, click here or visit: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/districtfinder