Legislature Requires Mediator for SR 520 Bridge Project

The House passed Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6099, by Senator Ed Murray (D-43, Seattle), to require the state to hire professional mediators to work with the local communities impacted by the State Route 502 floating bridge replacement project.

Senator Murray introduced the bill in response to major criticism from citizens in his district to the way the Washington DOT has handled the project. The bill requires to DOT to hire a mediator and planning staff to develop a project plan that can be agreed to by all appropriate parties impacted by the project. The mediator is empowered to work directly with citizens, local governments and others to resolve outstanding issue.

If successful, this could be a model for other mega-projects. The Alaska Way Viaduct replacement on SR 99 and the Interstate 5 “Columbia Crossings” bridge in Vancouver have also generated significant public controversy.

Legislature Passes New Tax Incentives for Multifamily Housing

The legislature has sent to the governor a bill to expand tax credits for multi-family housing. Currently, a city with a population of 30,000 may offer a ten-year property tax exemption to new, rehabilitated or converted multifamily housing projects. Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 1910 will lower that threshold to 15,000 in most counties to and 5,000 in the largest counties (King, Pierce, Snohomish, Kitsap, Thurston and Clark). The legislature also made some changes to the program. First, it limited the tax exemption to 8 years, but allows it to expand to 12 years if the developer includes at least 20 percent of the units as affordable housing.

The bill also adds new reporting requirements for developers and the cities. Developers must provide data to the city annually including the total number of units developed, total cost of each unit, monthly rental or sale amount of each unit, income of each renter at occupancy and the first homeowner of any unit sold. Cities will be required to report aggregate the data it collects from developers and report that information to the state.

Senate Passes School Levy Simple Majority Amendment

Today the Washington Senate passed Engrossed House Joint Resolution 4204. This measure proposes to amend the Washington State Constitution to allow school levies to pass by a simple majority of voters voting in an election. The measure passed with the bare minimum 33 votes needed to pass a constitutional amendment. Because the measure was unchanged in the Senate, it now goes to Governor Gregoire, who is expected to sign it. After being singed by the Governor, the measure will be put before the voters for adoption in the November 2007 election. The measure does not change the 60% super-majority requirement to pass school construction bonds.

Senate Passes Stricter Regulation of Contractors

The Senate passed Substitute House Bill 1843 to enact stricter regulations of construction contractors. The legislature has worked on many bills seeking to improve the quality of construction in Washington State. Some bills have been overly zealous and would have negatively impacted architects and others in the design professions and construction industry.

SHB 1843 is a reasonable measure to improve enforcement against bad contractors, increase penalties against unlicensed contractors and other take other steps to prevent unlicensed contractors from being active in our state.

The bill now goes to Governor Chris Gregoire.

House Passes Reclaimed Water Bill

Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill 6117, to promote the use of reclaimed water, passed the House late this evening. According to the bill report this bill:

• Requires the state to expand both direct financial support and financial incentives for capital investments in water reuse and reclaimed water.
• Creates one taskforce and two sub-taskforces to evaluate and make recommendations on various issues relating to the use of reclaimed water.
• Concludes that a reclaimed water project that reduces the quantity of sewage effluent that is discharged directly into marine waters does not impair any existing water rights.
• Requires state agencies and state facilities to use reclaimed water for nonpotable water uses, where feasible.
• Requires the Department of General Administration to develop a proposal for a comprehensive, campus-wide plan for the use of nonpotable water for irrigation and related outdoor uses.

The AIA/WA has been supporting this bill as part of its overall efforts to promote more sustainable development in our state. The use of reclaimed water has the potential to expand the availability of usable water in our state, but current law has many obstacles to actually using it. The bill was amended in the House, so it now goes back to the Senate for concurrence.

House Passes Transportation Goals Bill

Substitute Senate Bill 5412 amends the statutory policy goals for the Washington Department of Transportation. The bill sets 5 new major goals for DOT, including:

• Preservation: to maintain, preserve, and extend the life and utility of prior investments in transportation systems and services;
• Safety: to provide for and improve the safety and security of transportation customers and the transportation system;
• Mobility: to improve the predictable movement of goods and people throughout Washington;
• Environment: to enhance Washington's quality of life through transportation investments that promote energy conservation, enhance healthy communities, and protect the environment; and
• Stewardship: to continuously improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of the transportation system.

The bill as amended by the House expands upon these goals by including an additional section (section 6) that balances the needs of all transportation users including those using cars, bicycles and public transportation.

AIA/WA worked with the House Transportation Committee to also include a provision requiring the DOT to “Select engineers and architects to design environmentally sustainable, context-sensitive transportation systems that are integrated into the communities they serve.”

The bill now goes back to the Senate for concurrence with the House amendments.

House Passes Study Bill for Home Inspector Licensing

Today the House passed Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5788 to study whether and in what manner the state should to license home inspectors. Problems in residential construction have been a reoccurring issue in this year’s legislature. The Senate earlier passed a version of the bill to mandate licensure. The AIA/WA was successful in ensuring that the new license would not impact architects and engineers as it came out of the Senate. Even though the vote was very strong out of the Senate (45-2) deep divisions existed within the home inspection community over the details of the licensing proposal. The House Commerce & Labor committee replaced the Senate language with a “sunrise review” study by the Department of Licensing. The DOL is to report back its findings by December 1, 2007. The issue is likely to come back in 2008.

ESSB 5788 now goes back to the Senate to vote on concurrence with the House amendments.

Senate Passes Government Contracting Changes

Second Substitute House Bill 1506 reauthorizes the state’s alternative public works law that authorizes government entities to use design-build, general contractor/construction manager (GC/CM) and job order contracting procurement procedures. The AIA/WA was heavily involved in the drafting of the bill through the Capital Projects Advisory Review Board. The bill expands the number of public agencies who may be authorized to use design-build and GC/CM. It also requires all public agencies to go through a new review process under the Project Review Committee (PRC). The PRC will review public owners and the projects to ensure they are appropriately using alternative procurement procedures. This bill will have to go back to the House for concurrence with the minor changes made in the Senate.

The Senate also passed Substitute House Bill 2010 to establish new bidder responsibility criteria for construction contractors. State law provides that a construction contract should be awarded to the lowest, responsible, responsive bidder. Up to now state law has not defined “responsible,” instead leaving it to each government entity to set its own rules. Absent clear direction from the state, agencies have not been willing to set criteria. The bill sets basic responsibility criteria, such as being properly registered with the state and be current with tax and other responsibilities. In addition, local governments may set additional project-specific criteria in the bid documents. The criteria will also apply to subcontractors. This bill now goes to the Governor.

Crane Safety Bill Sent to the Governor

The Legislature has sent a new construction crane safety bill to Governor Chris Gregoire, who is expected to sign the measure into law.

Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2171 requires cranes to be inspected and certified by the Department of Labor & Industries. It also requires crane operators to be certified and have 2,000 documented hours of training prior to operating a crane. The bill has limited exemptions for small cranes, such as those installed in the back of a pickup truck, for manufacturing purposes.

The bill, setting some of the most stringent requirements in the nation, is targeted at cranes use in building construction.

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UPDATE: Governor Gregoire signed the bill into law on April 10.

Legislature Bans PDBEs

The Legislature passed Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1024 to ban polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PDBEs) in most products sold in Washington State after January 1, 2008. PDBEs are class of flame retardants used in a plethora of products. Governor Gregoire is expected to sign the bill.

Washington is one of the first states to adopt a comprehensive ban on PDBEs. There are some certain exemptions. One exemption is for a type of PDBE called “deca” in mattresses, residential upholstered furniture and electronic equipment. Products made from recycled materials containing deca are also exempt. Another exemption is new carpet cushion made from recycled foam containing less than one-tenth of 1 percent “penta” (another specific PDBE).

Architects will need to be cognizant if PDBEs are in materials they are specifying on projects and if those materials are exempt from the ban, especially if ordering materials from out-of-state suppliers and manufacturers.

Eminent Domain Notice Requirements Sent to Governor

Substitute House Bill 1458, which sets new rules for how government entities must notify landowners prior to taking a condemnation action under eminent domain, is on its way to the Governor. Under the bill notice must be made at least 15 days prior a final action on condemnation and be issued by certified mail to all property owners of record. The notice must contain a general description of the property, and specify that condemnation will be considered during the final action or public meeting. The notice must also describe the date, time, and location of the final action at which the condemnor will decide whether to authorize the condemnation of the property.

Governor Gregoire is expected to sign the bill.