Senate Bill 5024, Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5024: Transportation appropriations for the 2013-15 biennium and supplemental appropriations for 2011-13.
Passed the House on April 28 by a vote of 72-25.
The Senate accepted the House amendments, and the bill is headed to the Governor for signature. It now provides $8.9 billion for state transportation agencies and programs for the 2013-15 fiscal biennium to allocate money for maintenance, infrastructure, and existing large-scale projects, such as the SR 520 floating bridge and Seattle’s Alaskan Way Viaduct tunnel. This budget also includes about $82 million for design work on the I-5 Columbia River Crossing project. The bill also modifies appropriations for the existing 2011-13 transportation budget. The transportation revenue package remains unresolved as of the close of the regular session of the Legislature.
Rep. Steve Tharinger, (D-Sequim) Y
Rep. Kevin Van De Wege, (D-Sequim) Y
House Bill 2058, House Bill 2058: Requiring transparency in enacted capital and transportation budgets.
Passed the Senate on April 28 by a vote of 35-13.
The House passed this bill on April 27 by a vote of 92-1, and the bill has been delivered to the Governor. It requires that capital and transportation project appropriation and expenditure data be available to the public on a website. The data must be searchable by legislative district, county, and agency project identifier.
Sen. James Hargrove N
Senate Bill 5843, Engrossed Senate Bill 5843: Requiring legislative intent statements and expiration dates for tax preferences.
Passed the House on April 26 by a vote of 67-29.
The bill passed the Senate 47-0 on March 7th. It was amended in the House and was returned to the Rules committee when the Legislature adjourned. It requires that any new tax preference legislation must include legislative intent language, effectiveness measurements, and data to facilitate the review of the preference. It creates a 10-year expiration date for new tax preferences that do not separately specify an expiration date. Taxpayers who use a new tax preference must report the amount of the tax incentive that is used to the Department of Revenue (DOR), regardless of the type of tax preference. When taxpayers who use a tax preference designate job creation or industry competitiveness as the general purpose of the new tax preference they must also file an annual survey with the DOR. The bill allows data collected by the DOR to be disclosed, unless the affected taxpayer can show economic hardship by disclosure of the data, or the tax benefit to that taxpayer is $10,000 or less for the calendar year.
Rep. Tharinger Y
Rep. Van De Wege Y
House Bill 1287, Engrossed House Bill 1287: Subjecting property owned by Indian tribes to the same tax treatment as state and local governments.
Passed the Senate on April 28 by a vote of 29-15.
The bill passed the House 64-29 on April 18 and was amended in the Senate. It was returned to the House Rules Committee when the Legislature adjourned. The state Constitution exempts property owned by federal, state, or local governments from property tax obligations, and the Legislature may exempt other property from taxation by statute. This legislation exempts a leasehold interest in property owned by a federally recognized Indian tribe from state property taxation, and extends the state leasehold excise tax to a private leasehold interest in property owned by a tribe. It recognizes economic development as an essential government service for purposes of qualifying tribally owned property for the state tax exemption.
Sen. Hargrove N
Senate Bill 5607, Engrossed Senate Bill 5607: Authorizing a liquor license for theaters to sell beer, wine, and spirits to patrons.
Passed in the Senate on April 28 by a vote of 38-9.
The bill was amended in the House and passed on April 15 by a vote of 84-11. The Senate refused to accept the amendments at first, but concurred after the House insisted on its position. This act creates a theater beer, wine, and spirits license. In order to obtain this license from the Liquor Control Board (LCB), a theater cannot have more than 120 seats per screen. It must provide tabletop accommodations for in-theater dining, and it must comply with the same meal preparation and service requirements as restaurant licensees. The annual fee is $2,000 and permits theaters to sell beer, wine, and spirits to be consumed on theater premises. An alcohol control plan must be submitted to the LCB at the time of application for the license if minors will ever be present at the theater.
Sen. Hargrove N
House Bill 1195, Second Substitute House Bill 1195: Changing primary election requirements when there are no more than two candidates for an office.
Passed in the Senate on April 28 by a vote of 45-3.
The bill was amended in the Senate, and the House accepted those amendments, voting for final passage 94-1. It repeals the laws prohibiting a special primary election in an odd numbered year for partisan offices that will be voted on for a full term in an even numbered year, if there are no more than two candidates. It also expands the prohibition against primary elections for local offices, when there are no more than two candidates, to include all non-partisan offices.
Sen. Hargrove Y
