Published date: January 29, 2024
The First Cutoff Date is Near
We are 1/3 of the way done, and Wednesday, January 31st is the first bill deadline – policy committees must finish their work. Consequently, new bill introductions are few since they have no chance for a hearing. A few will still straggle in, but usually as talking points for the upcoming elections.
Why is this important:
A lot of bills will “die” this week. The fiscal committees will continue their work until February 5th, and then all attention turns to floor action. February 13th is the last day for each chamber to consider their own bills – more bills will die. This culling of the bills allows us to determine what bills have a legitimate chance.
Deeper dive:
Few bills that APWA is monitoring will make past February 13th. For example, HB 2051 would limit the use of small off-road gas engines like those used in landscaping. That bill is likely to stay in its committee of origin. HB 1099 and SB 5726 would direct that prevailing wage requirements are for the prevailing wage when the work is performed as opposed to when the contract is executed. These bills seem stuck in their chambers of origin. We will know for sure on February 13th.
Other bills that seem to be moving but have a long way to go include the “prompt payment” bills: SB 6040 is scheduled for a committee vote on January 30th. It requires payment to subcontractors that are state certified small, women, and minority owned or disadvantaged business enterprises to be paid no later than 30 days after the work is accepted by the state or municipality, regardless of when the prime contractor receives payment. Another “prompt payment” bill is SB 6192 – Adds private construction projects to the statute requiring issuance of a change order no later than 30 days after satisfactory completion of any additional work on public works projects. It also provides that a contractor or subcontractor that requests a change order from the project owner is not liable for any interest on unpaid amounts for additional work if the project owner has not issued the requested change order. That bill is scheduled for a committee vote on January 29th.
Committee chairs are not keeping a lot of bills in committee, so it is difficult at this point to determine which of these bills are “real”, and which will soon die a quick death when floor action starts in earnest. I assume most will fail, but we won’t know for sure until February 13th.
Committee Meetings:
Labor & Commerce (Senate) – SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 1/29 @ 10:30am
SB 6192 – Exec Session – Addressing additional work and change orders on public and private construction projects.
Environment & Energy (House) – HHR C and Virtual JLOB – 1/29 @ 1:30pm
HB 2070 – Exec Session – Integrating environmental justice considerations into certain project decisions.
Local Government, Land Use & Tribal Affairs (Senate) – SHR 3 and Virtual JACB – 1/30 @ 8:00am
SB 6167 – Exec Session – Concerning local government procurement rules.
Labor & Commerce (Senate) – SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 1/30 @ 10:30am
SB 6111 – Public Hearing – Concerning prevailing wage sanctions, penalties, and debarment. (Remote Testimony Available).
Local Government (House) – HHR E and Virtual JLOB – 1/30 @ 10:30am
HB 2465 – Public Hearing – Streamlining the state building code council operating procedures by establishing criteria for statewide amendments to the state building code. (Remote Testimony Available).
Environment, Energy & Technology (Senate) – SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 1/30 @ 1:30pm
SB 5990 – Public Hearing – Integrating environmental justice considerations into certain project decisions. (Remote Testimony Available).
State Government & Elections (Senate) – SHR 2 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 1/30 @ 1:30pm
SB 6040 – Exec Session – Concerning prompt payment in public works.
SHB 1012 – Public Hearing – Addressing the response to extreme weather events. (Remote Testimony Available). (Neutral/Monitoring)
SB 6291 – Exec Session – Streamlining the state building code council operating procedures by establishing criteria for statewide amendments to the state building code.
Environment & Energy (House) – HHR C and Virtual JLOB – 1/30 @ 4:00pm
HB 2051 – Exec Session – Reducing emissions from small off-road engines.
Higher Education & Workforce Development (Senate) – SHR 2 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 1/31 @ 8:00am
HB 1950 – Exec Session – Concerning the public service loan forgiveness program.
Local Government (House) – HHR E and Virtual JLOB – 1/31 @ 8:00am
HB 2465 – Exec Session – Streamlining the state building code council operating procedures by establishing criteria for statewide amendments to the state building code.
Capital Budget (House) – HHR B and Virtual JLOB – 2/1 @ 8:00am
HB 1982 – Public Hearing – Concerning the authority of the community economic revitalization board with respect to loans and grants to political subdivisions and federally recognized Indian tribes for broadband. (Remote Testimony Available).
Transportation (Senate) – SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 2/1 @ 1:30pm
SB 6302 – Public Hearing – Creating a Washington state supply chain competitiveness infrastructure program. (Remote Testimony Available).