2017/01/04 Council Agenda Packet

City of Everett— 2017 Legislative Agenda "Support/Oppose" & "Track/Monitor" Budget and Fiscal Matters • Everett is prepared to oppose legislation that would undermine local B&O tax collection/administration authority, but is open to legislative initiatives growing out of the EHB 2959 Task Force that could streamline business licensing applications; • Everett will closely track and monitor any legislative initiatives growing out of a study by the Office of the State Actuary into potential merging of the Law Enforcement and Firefighters'Plan 1 ("LEOFF 1") and the Teachers'Retirement System Plan 1 ("TRS 1"). If merger legislation or budget initiatives are introduced, the City will urge that they be structured in a way that protects underlying LEOFF 1 funding and assists cities with LEOFF 1 medical costs. Criminal Justice/Public Safety/Fire/Courts • Everett will support legislation that makes a fourth Driving Under the Influence offense a felony; • Everett will support legislation to strengthen penalties against serial property crime offenders. At the same time, the City has strong concerns with "Justice Reinvestment Initiative"(JRI) legislation that would put new resource and law enforcement burdens on local communities; • Everett will join other law enforcement interests in opposing legislation that prohibits local governments from using data on traffic citations to help evaluate officers; • Everett is prepared to support legislation that would better enable law enforcement agencies to terminate officers for breaches of honesty and professional conduct; • Everett will closely track and monitor a current study of how the state could potentially implement a statewide relicensing program for those who have committed Driving While License Suspended(DWLS) offenses. The City will want to ensure such a program does not cancel out successful relicensing and payment plans in individual jurisdictions; • Everett will join District and Municipal Court Judges in working to protect Operating Budget funding for Court Management System computer upgrades in courts of limited jurisdiction. Economic Development/Infrastructure • Everett will work in collaboration with the "Aerospace Works for Washington" coalition to retain the tax incentives package that is critical to protecting and growing aerospace industry cluster jobs in Snohomish County and throughout the state. • Everett will support a 2017 legislative initiative to modify and reform the Public Works Assistance Account so that the state retains a low-interest loan program for basic infrastructure needs throughout Washington; • Everett will support Capital Budget funding and grants for stormwater, including initiatives to make the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) account more sustainable and less prone to revenue spikes and reductions due to fuel prices;