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.

AIA/WA Testifies Against Expanded Liability for Building Officials

The legislature’s concern over the poor construction in the residential market continued today with a hearing on a bill to add statutory liability for building officials if a problem occurs. SB 5892 was introduced in 2007 by Senator Jim Honeyford (R-15, Yakima). The hearing was held before the Senate Consumer Protection & Housing Committee.

The bill would hold a city or county building official “liable for damages caused by their negligent failure to enforce the provisions of the state building code.” AIA/WA testified that there are many other measures before the legislature to address problems with residential construction including, licensing home inspectors, licensing residential construction contractors, and other bills. More fundamentally, the solution to bad construction practices is not to create new lawsuits. Education, training and enforcement are better ways to address the problems.

Hearing on A/E Procurement Law Improvements

Yesterday the Senate Government Operations & Elections Committee looked at many bills introduced in the aftermath of a critical audit of the Port of Seattle. The audit found many procurement problems.

Senator Mary Margaret Haugen (D-10, Camano Island) introduced SB 6235 to broaden the application of state procurement laws to all port activities. The AIA/WA was opposed the bill as it was introduced. The original version added architectural and engineering services to the definition of “public work.” This change would create a conflict between the states construction bidding law and the qualifications-based selection (QBS) process used for professional services.

But, at the hearing Senator Haugen made it clear she understood the AIA/WA’s concerns. She offered a substitute version that took out all of the offending provisions and made several steps to improve the state’s A/E procurement law.

First, it retains a provision providing for fines and penalties if public agencies fail to follow state law on architecture and engineering services procurement.

Second, it expands the QBS law to include other services traditionally offered by architecture and engineering firms such as: project management, construction supervision, construction management, environmental services, technical testing and inspection services.

There are still some technical and terminology changes that need to be made to the bill. But, it is now a bill that the AIA/WA can enthusiastically support.

Anti-Vesting Bill Heard in Committee

The Senate Government Operations and Elections Committee held a hearing today on SB 6784

to radically alter our state’s vesting rights. In short, the bill would shift the point in vesting from the time of permit application to the time of permit approval.

The AIA/WA testified against the bill, citing the profoundly negative effects it would have on legal clarity and regulatory certainty.

SB 6784 would allow project and development opponents the ability to indefinitely block projects. All one would have to do is file a code or plan amendment and the vesting rights for an project pending approval are voided.

The bill is being pushed by Futurewise, an environmental group, and the United Food and Commercial Workers. Senator Adam Kline (D-37, Seattle) is the prime sponsor.

This issue will be one of several priority bills that AIA Washington members will educate lawmakers on during their annual legislative day on January It is not too late to attend AIA/WA’s Capitol Connections. For registration information, visit http://www.aiawa.org/.

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.

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.

Senate Adjourns Early Amid Wrangling on Simple Majority

In an unusual move, the Senate adjourned almost 2 hours before the 5 p.m. deadline on Wednesday. Senator Joe Zarelli (R-18, Ridgefield) moved to bring SJR 8207, simple majority for school levies, back to the floor. That move took precedent over other matters before the Senate. The Republicans had intended to provide enough votes to pass the measure out of the Senate and had informed the Democrats of that fact. However, the Senate Democrat leadership unexpectedly moved to adjourn rather than have another vote on SJR 8207.

The House version, HJR 4204, passed earlier in the week. Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown stated that she intends to move the house bill.

The Daily Olympian and the Vancouver Columbian have additional coverage of the story.

NOTE: This report has been updated to clarify the circumstances around the Senate’s early adjournment.

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.

Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct on the Agenda

At the AIA/WA Annual Meeting in November the delegates voted unanimously to support AIA Seattle’s proposal to permanently remove the viaduct. The position supported the Viaduct’s replacement with either a surface/transit corridor option or a cut-and-cover tunnel. Our press release on the issue is on the website, http://www.aiawa.org/.

In early December AIA/WA met with Governor Chris Gregoire’s chief of staff and her lead transportation aide to discuss the viaduct replacement. They were very understanding of the concerns that we raised. We were disappointed when later in December the Governor announced that rather than making a decision on the viaduct’s replacement, she would instead call for the tunnel and the elevated viaduct replacement to be put before Seattle voters in a head-to-head ballot battle.

This has caused no small amount of consternation in Seattle. The AIA/WA’s concern is the ballot measure is a Hobson’s choice for Seattle voters. It puts two bad solutions before the voters without adequate information available to voters on the choices, much less on other alternatives.

Today, the AIA/WA met with House Speaker Frank Chopp (D-43). He asked for the architects’ help in visioning a better option for policymakers to consider. He strongly opposes the tunnel because of its cost and high risk for complications. He supports an elevated solution, but is open to encouraging the development of more information on a surface/transit alternative. AIA/WA will follow-up with the speaker to see how we help with the decision-making process.

Next week will meet with Senator Ed Murray (D-43) from Seattle. He is the former chair of the House Transportation Committee and is now the vice-chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. He has been a tunnel advocate in the past, but always has been concerned about the environmental and social impacts of both the tunnel and elevated replacement options.

In other viaduct news, Senator Ken Jacobsen (D-46) introduced a bill (SB 5022) to authorize additional for the Viaduct project and for the Lake Washington Bridges on State Route 520 and Interstate 90. The bill is a mix of new sales taxes and an extension of the stadium taxes.