Local Government Committee Hears Bills Impacting Rural

Washington’s rural counties and small communities operate within a complex framework of state regulations, and every session more are added. Sometimes that’s a good thing. On Friday, January 17, the House Local Government Committee heard four bills impacting rural communities in specific ways, some positive and some not so much. Video link to the hearing is here on TVW. https://tvw.org/video/house-local-government-2025011200/

Two of the bills would provide flexibility to fit statewide regulations to rural needs, one is a new recipe for unintended consequences, and one is intended to fix old unintended consequences. Let’s dive in:

Photo by Jesper Stechmann on Unsplash

HB 1037 - Public facilities district formation:

Simply modifies the RCW for forming a Public Facilities District to allow the boundaries to include only a portion of a county instead of the whole county. Residents of Upper Kittitas County, centered around the communities of Cle Elum and Roslyn, want to build a public pool and recreation center. After looking at all the options for how to fund such a center, they decided a PFD would be the best option, but state law says a PFD must include only whole counties.

Prime sponsor Rep. Tom Dent (R-Moses Lake) explained these communities want to take care of this need themselves, aren’t asking the state for money, and just need the RCW fixed. He also pointed out this change will give other rural counties another tool to address community needs. Sen. Judy Warnick (R-Moses Lake) will be sponsoring a companion bill in the Senate. They represent the 13th legislative district, which includes parts of Adams and Douglas counties, most of Grant and all of Kittitas.

Testimony from the public both in-person and on Zoom was powerful, demonstrating broad support. New taxes to support a PFD could only be levied if enough residents in the community decided the benefit is worth the cost and vote in favor. HB 1037 provides a local option for local solutions under local control at no cost to the state of Washington.

HB 1054 – County ferry maintenance and repair contracts:

The only road to get from here to there in parts of Wahkiakum, Pierce, Skagit and Whatcom counties are by county ferry. As part of county road systems, all maintenance and repairs fall under public works procurement rules, limited to a one year term with an extension for a second year.

Rep. Mari Leavitt (D-University Place) presented the bill extending the contract period for ten years. Jani Hitchen from the Pierce County Council pointed out Pierce County only has two ferries, and needs certainty to rotate in and out of dry dock. Residents are stuck when both end up under repair at the same time. When competing for repair space “we’re a bigger fish in a very small pond of ferry operators, there are limited dry docks . . .  this allows us to be a little bit bigger fish.” Without a longer contract, the county has to take whatever time period is available and often pays higher rates to get timely work.

Jumping through the public procurement process every year is expensive for everyone, and can leave residents stranded when both ferries are out of service. Extending the contract for a ten year period allows the effort to establish a contract to be spread over a longer period, providing certainty for both the island residents, the counties and the dry docks.

Bill proponents tried this bill last year and ran into objections by those insisting state regulations for prevailing wages, MWBE rules and other bureaucratic folderol must be followed. The sponsor think they’ve addressed those objections. It's another bill that helps rural communities without costing the state of Washington a penny.

HB 1015 – Energy labeling of residential buildings:

This bill establishes a new state program for optional adoption by counties or cities. Before publicly listing a house for sale, a potential home seller would be required to pay for a home energy performance report prepared by a certified home energy auditor.

Rep. Davina Duerr (D-Bothell) estimates the cost of the report to be $200 to $400. This seems highly optimistic in rural areas or for the older houses more common in rural areas. According to a Forbes magazine article dated March 1 2024, “The average home energy audit cost is $425, with prices ranging anywhere from $100 to $2,000 depending on the size of the home, the type of test and the geographic location.”  https://www.forbes.com/home-improvement/solar/home-energy-audit-cost/

A larger problem is there are currently no certified home energy auditors in the state of Washington.

Rep. Mark Klicker (R-Walla Walla) who is also a Realtor, pointed out the difficulty in scheduling home inspections and appraisals for rural properties, and the potential for this to add to the bottleneck. Rep. Dan Griffey (R-Allyn) and Rep. David Stuebe (R-Washougal) asked questions about other unintended consequences.

Although very rural counties would likely not adopt this rigmarole, every county has rural communities within it with residents who would be affected. Local Government Committee Vice Chair Rep. Lisa Parshley (D-Olympia) said Thurston County is about to pass a similar ordinance after three years of work with many stakeholders.

The bill bears close watching. So does the Thurston County Council, where Parshley previously served

HB 1135 Planning compliance under GMA

The Growth Management Act has been in place for thirty years. Some counties opted in to planning under the full requirements but all counties plan under GMA law at least in part. This bill is another tweak to fix another loophole, like so many GMA bills over the last 30 years.

The intent is to reduce litigation related to planning under GMA when a challenge has been made. The representative from the Association of Washington Cities signed in to testify with concerns to avoid putting cities in a position of never-ending appeals. The Washington State Association of Counties representative emphasized the need for clarification to make it more workable “and do it in a way that can be implemented by counties of all sizes.”

WREN Board member Joel Kretz, former representative from Wauconda in the far north of Okanogan County, once said the hardening of the age old rural-urban divide in Washington can be traced to the passage of the GMA. The legislature is still trying to make it more workable. County commissioners will be keeping an eye on HB 1135. So should you.

You can sign up to follow bills here: https://leg.wa.gov/

Take advantage of the opportunities for remote testimony. Testifying in person in Olympia always makes a strong impression but one of the best things to come out of the pandemic shutdowns is remote testimony options, allowing rural residents to (almost) fully participate in state government.

As long as you have access to a good internet connection, but that’s an issue for another day.