Spokesman Review Endorses Architect Sue Lani Madsen for Legislature

From the October 15 Spokesman Review:

7th District, House Position 1: Both of the finalists for this seat would bring more energy and ideas to the position than retiring Rep. Bob Sump. Both have a pro-business, social conservative viewpoint. Both see the job as more than just voting no on the majority's agenda.

Sue Lani Madsen owns an architectural business and her family also runs a small ranching business from their spread in Edwall. Her key strengths are in business and health care issues. She is past president of the Washington Rural Health Association and serves on a rural advisory committee for the Washington Health Foundation. She acknowledges that the employer-based health care model is inadequate in trying to expand access to care. She points to the excessive mandates for insurance companies as one problem. Madsen also wants to work in the Legislature on strategies to recruit and retain medical workers in rural communities.

Like Madsen, Shelly Short is bright and engaged on the issues that are most important to the district. Her knowledge is derived from her years working for state Rep. Joel Kretz, U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and former U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt.

Short has the endorsement of Sump and the Building Industry Association. Madsen is favored by the National Federation of Independent Business.

We could recommend either candidate were it not for the controversy over Short family's personal finances. At a time when the Shorts were struggling with credit card debt, her husband Mitch Short was accused of dipping into the Northeast Washington Fair Association checking account. He now faces a theft charge. Shelly Short may not be culpable, but explanations thus far leave us uneasy.

Madsen is a safe, solid choice.

For more information on Sue Lani Madsen’s campaign visit her website at www.suelanimadsen.com

Post-primary update: Architect, Candidate Favored to Win

The AIA/WA supported architect, Sue Lani Madsen, running in the 7th district was the clear leader after the Washington primary on Tuesday, August 19th. Madsen took the lead (formerly held by candidate Shelly Short) by over 400 hundred votes. Short has had some personal complications that may have contributed to her drop in popularity.

However, it could be that Madsen’s campaign to meet the people of the 7th district face-to-face is what has turned the tide in her favor. Madsen has a wealth of knowledge and personal insight regarding the 7th district as she is the founding partner of Madsen Mitchell Evenson Conrad, an architectural firm in Spokane, and owns another small business in Edwall.

Because the State has a top-two primary both Short and Madsen will be in the general election despite the fact that both candidates are in the same party. The AIA supports Madsen and hopes to help further her success. If Madsen wins she would be the only Washington state legislator from the architectural profession.

The Race is On

Filing week came to a close last week on June 6. Who is involved in state races is now set and the AIA Washington Council is reaching out to political candidates. Among the candidates the Council supports is Sue Lani Madsen, who is running in the 7th district. If Madsen wins she would be the only Washington state legislator in the architectural profession. Madsen is the founding partner of Madsen Mitchell Evenson Conrad, pllc.

The Secretary of State’s office makes it easy to view who has registered at their website. The site will allow searches both by Federal and State office; the Governor’s race is under the Statewide Office label. Make sure to click on the Legislative Offices tab to see who is running in your district.

Washington has races this year for all nine congressional seats, nine statewide office, three state Supreme Court positions and numerous legislative and local races. The races have drawn heaps of candidates this year.

The new top-two primary may be the reason for the increased amount of candidates. As of April 2008, Washington will allow the two candidates with the most votes to move on to the general election, even if they are from the same party. The primary election is Aug. 19, and the general election is Nov. 4.

In addition to the primary modification, candidates also no longer list their party affiliation, but instead list a preference. These changes have been the source of some confusion and amusement that may make the new primary system short lived. Regardless of the outcome, results of the 2008 elections promise to be interesting. Stay posted for new updates on AIA involvement.

Climate Change & GMA Bill Revived

Never say die while the legislature still meets. Thursday, the House Local Government Committee voted against ESSB 6580 dealing with climate change and the Growth Management Act.

Alas, all is not lost for poor old ESSB 6580. It has been given new life. After some behind the scenes work an agreement was reached. The bill was amended and passed out to the House Appropriations Committee. Representative Deb Eddy (D-48, Kirkland) brokered the compromise agreement.

Also, after working the committee leadership an architect was added to the study committee.

Here is a quick summary:

Section 2: Requires CTED to develop advisory climate change response methodologies, computer programs and estimates to be made available to local governments

Section 3: Pilot project for up to 3 counties and 6 cities that are addressing climate change through land use and transportation planning.

Section 4: Requires CTED to prepare report on the actions of cities and counties to address climate change issues, recommendations for changes to planning statutes, descriptions of computer modeling on greenhouse gas emissions, assessment of state/local resources to implement recommendations on climate change mitigation and additional funding for such purposes. This section also establishes an advisory policy committee to assist the department with the tasks of the bill. Among the non-voting ex-officio members is “one member representing an association of architects.”

Section 5: This section gives safe harbor from lawsuits to those counties and cities participating in the pilot program created in Section 3.

One concern left with the bill is that while it provides protections for cities and counties in the pilot study, the lawsuit immunities were not extended to the climate change response methodologies and modeling. The study and pilot projects should encourage innovation in the development of performance standards and not in developing rote requirements that stifle innovation. The threat of lawsuits over climate change planning under the GMA will hamper creative solutions and only serve to prolong the planning process. Providing a safe harbor for cities and counties trying to mitigate climate change is a wise policy and will benefit the environment more than unproductive, lengthy and costly litigation.

AIA/WA will continue to work to perfect the bill as it moves forward.

House Committee Passes Housing Liability Expansion Bill

The House Judiciary Committee passed a bill that would expand liability for architects, engineers, contractors and inspectors involved in the development of single family housing and residential duplexes.

SSB 6385 was originally introduced by Senator Brian Weinstein (D-41, Mercer Island). As passed by the Senate it creates broad new legal liabilities for all design and construction professionals involved in the construction of any improvement on residential property.

Representative Pat Lantz (D-26, Gig Harbor) introduced a striking amendment in the House Judiciary Committee that replaced the text of the bill with new language. Her amendment creates an implied warranty, which cannot be waived and creates new legal causes of action. As mentioned, the language is largely taken from the Condominium Act reforms passed in 2004 and 2005 (RCW 64.34, 64.35, 64.50 and 64.55). It does explicitly apply the statute of repose and statute of limitation provisions of RCW 4.16.310. It also exempts condominiums projects (because they are covered by a separate statute) and non-profit housing developers. No clear reason was given for exempting non-profit developers.

From the perspective of AIA/WA, the bill has many negatives. It uses a few of the provisions of the Condominium Act reforms, but leaves out many of the provisions that have worked to improve construction and reduce litigation. It expands liability with new warranties, but provides little protection from meritless suits.

The bill now goes to the House Rules Committee. It is expected that the bill will be held in the Rules Committee and not pass the House. However, it is unclear if the changes made in the Judiciary Committee will change the views of the House leadership.

GMA Bill on Climate Change Stalls in the House

Substitute SB 6580, regarding climate change impacts on the Growth Management Act processes, failed to pass the House Local Government Committee. The bill was subject to a great amount of debate and several amendments in committee. Representative Geoff Simpson (D-47, Covington) offered a striking amendment that tweaked the latest version of the bill. Republican amendments and one Democrat amendment were either ruled out of order or defeated. In the end the bill fell several votes short of getting out of committee. All of the Republicans and two Democrats voted against the bill.

Representative Deb Eddy (D-48, Kirkland) offered an amendment that would have removed the pilot projects and CTED rulemaking provisions and left the study provisions intact. The amendment was ruled as outside the scope and object of the bill by the Chair and thus was not allowed to be brought up for a vote.

Today’s move functionally kills the bill. Although, bill can be resurrected by being referenced in a budget document. However, the provisions of the bill could be added to the budget as proviso language directing the Department of Community Trade & Economic Development (CTED) to implement the study, initiate the pilot projects and conduct the rulemaking. While a budget proviso would only be in effect until the end of this biennium (July 1, 2009) it would be more than enough time for the study to be completed and give a head start to the other provisions. It would basically get the program started and the proponents would have to finish the work in the 2009 legislative session.

Housing Lawsuit Bill Stumbles

ESSB 5550 expanding contractor and designer liability for housing projects hit a major roadblock this week. House Speaker Frank Chopp (D-43, Seattle) has publicly stated that he will kill the bill for 2007. He recognized that some of the ideas in the bill may have merit, but they need to be studied more before being implemented. This would indicate that the legislature is likely to create a study committee to work on the issue after the end of the 2007 legislative session, reporting back for action in 2008. For more background on this story visit the Olympian newspaper at: http://www.theolympian.com/125/story/73859.html.

In addition to Speaker Chopp, several other of the House Democrat’s leadership team have voiced concerns about the bill. While the press has focused on the Building Industry Association of Washington, every other group involved with design and construction are opposed the bill, including the AIA/WA. Major insurers testified that they would not be able to provide liability insurance if the bill is enacted. At least on insurer said it would pull out of Washington’s market entirely if ESSB 5550 passes. While the bill did pass out of the House Judiciary Committee yesterday, it now appears to be dead for the year.

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UPDATE: Recent news reports have given more details on a meeting between Speaker Chop and the primary sponsors Representative Brendan Williams (D-22, Olympia) and Senator Brian Weinstein (D-41, Mercer Island). The Seattle Times and The Olympian report that the Speaker has not changed his opposition to the bill as a result of the meetings.

Bill Circumventing Statute of Repose Passes Senate

A bill that would undermine the state’s statute of repose for designers and builders of residences passed the State Senate late yesterday on a 30-19 vote. SB 5550, sponsored by Senator Brian Weinstein (D-41, Mercer Island), creates a new “warranty” requirement for residences. The warranty would be up to 10 years for certain aspects of a residence – nearly doubling the current 6 year statute of repose. The bill does not directly alter the statute of repose, rather it creates new legal rights to sue builders and designers beyond the current 6 year limit. While AIA/WA and its allies were successful in getting the bill narrowed before it came to a vote in the Senate, we remain very concerned about the negative impact the bill would have on housing prices and the availability of professional liability insurance for those that design and build houses.

The bill now goes to the House of Representatives where it will be referred to the House Judiciary Committee. A companion bill, HB 1935, sponsored by Representative Brendan Williams (D-22, Olympia) remains pending on the House Second Reading Calendar.

Simple Majority for School Levies Fails to Pass Senate

The Senate today failed to pass Engrossed Substitute Senate Joint Resolution (ESJR) 8207, sponsored by Senator Tracey Eide (D-30, Federal Way) to amend the Washington Constitution to allow school excess levies to pass with a simple majority of votes (50% plus one). The vote was (30-17) and a constitutional amendment needs 33 votes to pass the Senate.

ESJR 8207 was amended on the Senate floor to apply the simple majority clause only if the levy is voted on during a general election. Senator James Hargrove (D-24, Hoquiam) sponsored the amendment. If a levy is put forward at another time of year, the current requirements would apply (60 percent majority and 40 percent of total voters voting in the last preceding general election.

After the vote, Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown (D-3, Spokane) moved to allow the bill to be reconsidered by the Senate at a later date.

If the bill were to be passed by the Legislature, it would be put before the voters for a vote in November 2007. It would need to receive a simple majority of voters to be adopted.

AIA/WA Testifies on Transportation Goals

Today the AIA Washington Council’s Executive Director Stan L. Bowman, Hon AIA/WA, testified before the House Transportation Committee about future transportation goals.

Recent work on the Alaska Way Viaduct, State Route 520 floating bridge and the Interstate 5 bridge across the Columbia River have raised serious concerns about the goals under which the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) operates. AIA’s involvement in these projects have made clear that WSDOT is not handling such projects well.

First, WSDOT poorly handles relations with communities in the development, design and implementation of major transportation systems. These “mega-projects” have enraged the local communities about the lack of sensitivity to their community context and ignore community goals.

Second, WSDOT does a poor job of designing these mega-projects. WSDOT only uses internal agency engineers for nearly all of their projects. They do use consultants on a limited basis for guidance, but the design of the systems is performed by in-house engineers. The result is that recent project designs lack creativity and sensitivity to local conditions.

HB 2041, introduced by Representatives Fred Jarrett (R-41, Mercer Island) and Geoff Simpson (D-47, Covington & Black Diamond), and HB 2139, introduced by Rep. Simpson, would require WSDOT to adhere to several goals. These goals are described in the bill reports. HB 2091 also requires WSDOT to have greater focus on sustainability and carbon reduction goals.

The AIA/WA testified that while these goals are laudable, they still miss a major goal that transportation systems should be context sensitive and focus on design excellence. To support this testimony, Bowman distributed to the committee members copies of AIA’s 10 Principles for Livable Communities and a chapter from the AIA Publication Livability 101 titled Effective Planning for Regional Transportation.

To listen to the hearing, go to http://www.tvw.org/ and enter either bill number in the search engine.