PORT ANGELES — With five days left in the state legislative session, conversations are wrapping up on bills that have impacts on property tax, housing, behavioral health, public defense, transportation and more.
This session, increasing the property tax cap has been a contentious issue. While Democrats attempted to increase the growth factor from 1 percent to the combined rate of population growth plus inflation, not to exceed 3 percent, that proposal now appears to be off the table.
In the realm of housing, Senate Bill 5471 has passed in both chambers. If signed into law, the bill would have “a couple of significant impacts” for Peninsula housing, Clallam County Commissioner Mark Ozias said.
The bill would allow planning counties to authorize at least one middle housing unit (those between single-family homes and apartment complexes) on each parcel that permits single-family residences in urban growth areas (UGAs) or limited areas of more intense rural development (LAMRIDs).
Additionally, it would only allow four residential units pre lot in LAMRIDs and UGAs; prohibit middle housing standards that are more restrictive than those for detached single-family residences; and require counties to apply the same developmental permit and environmental review processes that are used for single-family housing.
One of the impacts would be to boost density for LAMRIDs, Ozias said.
Another bill, HB 1813, has been a top priority for the Association of Washington Counties (AWC), Ozias said. It has passed both chambers.
“While this bill does not do everything that we had hoped, it still includes meaningful impacts for communities,” Ozias said.
The behavioral health bill requires the Health Care Authority to continue to prepare for a re-procurement process. It also would require managed care organizations to look for ways to reduce administrative burdens for providers and would allow for more delegation of crisis services to Behavioral Health-Administrative Services Organizations (BH-ASOs), which are locally controlled and not the responsibility of managed care organizations, Ozias said.
In the realm of public defense, Ozias said AWC is waiting for the outcome of budget reconciliations between the chambers.
“This is the first time that counties’ message with regards to the importance of the state funding more public defense has broken through,” Ozias said, noting that budget challenges may impact whether more funding comes through. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”
Transportation wise, Ozias said legislators are still pondering a road usage charge program as a potential future substitute for gas tax. This session, Ozias said any road usage charge program likely would be limited and would come through a budget proviso rather than legislation.
In the meantime, Ozias said, “It’s hard to imagine that we’re not going to see an increase in the gas tax in some way, shape or form.”
Ozias, who sits on the AWC legislative steering committee, typically provides a legislative session update every other work session.
The Legislature’s last day is Sunday, provided it does not go into a special session.
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Reporter Emma Maple can be reached by email at emma.maple@peninsuladailynews.com.
