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Hello friends! It’s me again, Dani Madrone, the Legislative Director for the Washington State Conservation Commission. Legislative session starts on Monday and will be a fast and furious “short session,” lasting only 60 days. This year, you can expect weekly updates on Friday afternoons to keep you apprised of what is happening on the hill.
SCC and WACD? Two organizations for locally-led conservation
Two entities look out for the interests of conservation districts at the Legislature: the Washington State Conservation Commission (SCC – that’s us!) and the Washington Association of Conservation Districts (WACD). This has been a point of confusion for some folks. Why two entities? What is the role of each?
SCC is the state agency that supports conservation districts - but we are a state agency. Our engagement at the Legislature is driven by our Commission and statute. We are not permitted to use state resources to support advocacy for other entities. We can, however, educate legislators about the importance of conservation districts and the impacts of proposed policies. You may hear from me to learn about how proposed legislation could impact district operations and your work on the ground. I am also available to help answer your questions throughout session.
WACD, on the other hand, is a membership-based organization that is responsive to its membership: Washington’s 45 conservation districts. They do this through their resolution process and by engaging their membership on issues throughout session. In addition to lobbying legislators on behalf of conservation districts, WACD also provides resources and support for districts to directly engage with their representatives. You can sign up for their newsletter at this link.
Budget and Revenue
During a short session, the Legislature will develop a supplemental budget, which will address changes to the biennial budget that was passed last year, including shifts in revenue and emergency needs. This process starts with a proposal from the Governor, which will be introduced as legislation in the budget committees of both the House and Senate (see the operating budget bills listed below).
Unfortunately, like last year, the Legislature will need to reckon with another major deficit for the state budget, estimated to be up to $4.5 billion over a 4-year period. These impacts are specific to the operating budget, which relies heavily on the general fund. Governor Ferguson put forward a cuts-only budget proposal (no new revenue) that includes reductions, closing tax loopholes, and tapping the rainy day fund. While the Governor has expressed interest in a millionaire’s tax that could take effect in 2029, some legislators are interested in pursuing additional revenue options that could be implemented in the current biennium.
The proposed reductions will have an impact on SCC and conservation districts if they carry through the legislative process. This shows up as $676,000 cut per fiscal year to technical services and program delivery. Also, none of our budget requests are funded in the Governor’s proposal, which include funding for the Forest Health and Community Wildfire Resiliency program, Conservation Technical Assistance, and a much needed IT upgrade. However, this is only the first step of the budget process. The House and Senate will put forward their own proposals after the next revenue forecast, which we should see by February 20. SCC will continue to engage on the budget throughout session.
Bills, Bills, Bills
Legislators can prefile bills before session starts as early as December 1. At the time of completing this newsletter (early Friday), there are already 500 prefiled bills in the hopper! This does not include bills that carry over from the previous session, which could be revived in the committee they were last assigned. After this year, the second year of the 69th biennial session, any bills that haven’t made it over the finish line are officially dead.
Each week, I will highlight a few bills of interest for the conservation community (see below). SCC monitors and potentially engages on bills that impact our agency, conservation districts, and other areas of policy that are written into our statute, including farmland preservation and the Food Policy Forum.
Resources
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