5/4/12 – On Wednesday, May 2, Governor Gregoire officially concluded the 2012 legislative session by taking action on all remaining bills addressed in the session that ended April 9. Several of the bills she s...  [Read more]

5/2/12 – Confused how the state operating budget and bills passed this past session impact your liquor revenues? You can find a liquor revenue impacts to your city here.  [Read more]

4/20/12 – On April 20, AWC sent a request to Governor Gregoire, asking her to partially veto ESHB 2823. View the letter here. The Governor is expected to sign the bill on May 2 at 1:30 pm. Specifically, we ask...  [Read more]

4/12/12 – Reform bills were a key factor in the operating and capital budget negotiations. These bills resulted in both temporary and permanent fund shifts that directly or indirectly impact cities. Those that ...  [Read more]

4/11/12 – The Legislature adjourned a second special session early Wednesday morning after finishing a budget deal that had legislators working throughout Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning. Some details ...  [Read more]

4/3/12 – House and Senate members have been called back tomorrow (April 4) to the Capitol for the first time of the special legislative session. Neither the Governor, legislative leaders nor budget negotiators...  [Read more]

3/23/12 – Sales taxes are collected by the state’s Department of Revenue (DOR) and those portions identified for distribution back to local governments are deposited in the Local Sales & Use Tax Accou...  [Read more]

3/20/12 – Your AWC Board of Directors sent a letter to legislative leadership and the Governor once again making the case that cuts to local government revenues should be temporary, not permanent. Please share ...  [Read more]

3/16/12 – A new Senate budget proposal was released March 15 by 22 Republicans and three Democrats. It moves closer to the previously-released House and Senate Democratic proposals – no cuts to K&nda...  [Read more]

3/9/12 – Late Wednesday night, the House Democrats offered a last-minute budget amendment. Among the elements of the House Democrats’ plan is the one-day delay in the payment of approximately $340 millio...  [Read more]

3/6/12 – The main focus of the 2012 legislative session was the need to balance the state budget by filling a nearly $2 billion budget hole that developed after the Legislature went home in 2011.  That jo...  [Read more]

3/5/12 – On Friday, March 2, the Senate went to the 9th Order of Business, which is a procedural move that allows any party (or combination of members constituting a majority) to pull a bill or group of bills ...  [Read more]

2/28/12 – The Senate’s partisan supplemental budget proposal spares higher education and K-12 schools and includes a plan for looking long term at a better approach to funding education. Like the House, t...  [Read more]

2/24/12 – Released on February 21, the proposal significantly impacts cities: Liquor revenues: Cities currently receive two types of liquor revenue distributions from the state: liquor excise taxes and ...  [Read more]

2/22/12 – To Mayors, Councilmembers, and City Managers/Administrators: State-shared revenues are targeted in the House Democratic Proposed Supplemental Operating Budget (released on February 21). The proposal...  [Read more]

2/22/12 – The House Democrats released their proposed supplemental operating budget on February 21. AWC has prepared this matrix to highlight impacts to cities. We will be updating the matrix as we learn more. ...  [Read more]

2/21/12 – We appreciate and sympathize with House budget writers’ efforts to maintain essential services in these challenging fiscal times. Cities face the same challenges. Last year the state share...  [Read more]

2/21/12 – Additional councilmanic sales tax authority: •   Counties with a population less than 250,000 may impose a 0.2% sales and use tax and split the receipts 85% to the county and 15% to ...  [Read more]

2/10/12 – More information is available in the From the Legislative Director article.  [Read more]

1/27/12 – Governor Gregoire discusses her critical legislative priorities with city officials at AWC’s City Legislative Action Conference.  Her speech focused on the state’s budget, revenue, ed...  [Read more]

1/27/12 – Rep. Ross Hunter tells city officials that he believes cities need the flexibility to make the revenue choices that make sense for their community, without micromanagement at the state level.   [Read more]

12/9/11 – HB 2146 permanently reduces the Annexation Sales Tax Credit by 10%. This was a credit against the state sales tax first enacted in 2006. The credit helps fund cities’ annexations in pockets of c...  [Read more]

12/9/11 – On Monday, Governor Gregoire delivered legislation to raise $835 million in new revenue to Democratic leaders in the House and Senate. One of the bills calls for voters to consider a half-cent sales t...  [Read more]

12/2/11 – State budget debate begins (HB 2127) A lively public hearing was conducted on the Governor’s proposed 2011–13 supplemental operating budget in the House Ways & Means Committee on Nove...  [Read more]

11/22/11 – A rundown on the proposed revenue sharing cuts (see AWC analysis). Critical information for cities to consider as they finalize their budgets. More  [Read more]

11/21/11 – Governor’s supplemental budget outlines reductions to local government revenue sharing and a proposed temporary one-half cent sales tax increase. More  [Read more]

11/15/11 – The mayors of Tacoma, Spokane, Kent, Federal Way and Washougal met with Governor Gregoire Monday to share city concerns about her proposed revenue sharing reductions. During the frank and cordial hour...  [Read more]

10/28/11 – Well in advance of the upcoming special session scheduled to begin November 28, the Governor held a press conference yesterday outlining approximately $4 billion in possible budget cuts, of which she ...  [Read more]