Washington State Emergency Management Association

Legislative Committee MeetingSummary

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Present: Cheryl Bledsoe, Luke Meyers, Chandra Fox, Barnaby Dow, Tom Mattern, Dylan Doty

Legislative Update

Dylan walked through the items on the WSEMA Legislative Update which is available at the link below:

Key points included:

  • Currently in the midst of the 2nd special session with cautious optimism that the budget issues may wrap up in the middle of next week.
  • E911 Fund: General fund for State EMD was cut by 12 million. Looks like there may be offset from E911 funds. House originally fixed this issue, but current budget proposals continue to illustrate sweep with commitment for fund NG911 work in 22 counties. APCO-NENA & Fire Chiefs are sending in letters of opposition. At this stage, unsure whether letters will have any impact.
  • WIN 2-1-1 Funding remains tied up with HB 1971 which looks like it will pass. It eliminated directed funds, but changes the statute to guarantee funding for 2-1-1. Not sure what the final commitment amount will be. Numbers from $500K-3M continue to be referenced.

Legislative Process Presentation for WSEMA Members

  • Group reviewed powerpoint, provided by Dylan, for content. Feedback was positive on the information.
  • Chandra recommended looking at the Tier 2 Decision-Making Flow Chart by Dept of Ecology as role model for use.
  • Cheryl will see to add additional graphics and a flow-chart as recommended by participants.

2013-2014 Legislative Agenda

  • Preliminary Discussion about what we might want to include on next year’s Legislative Agenda in preparation for the Sept WSEMA Conference.
  • WAC 118 monitoring was recommended
  • EM Sustainability Legislation ~ pursuing our path forward
  • Other possible revenue sources for EM Sustainability
  • Luke shared what he learned from a recent EMAP assessment for CDC in which is saw the development of a 501C in order to assist with collection of private and public sector support partners.
  • Barnaby shared interest and support of this idea and has experience in this area. Takes about 6 months to a year to IRS review, but very doable. Need Board of Directors, By-Laws, and higher up engagement. Puget Sound Health Alliance is set up like this.
  • Dylan recommended fleshing out a plan to develop, if the WSEMA E-Board wishes to move in this direction
  • Exploration of Special License Plate for EM Preparedness (currently on moratorium until 2015, but might be possible future small funding sources for WSEMA?!?)
  • Cheryl will gather additional ideas from members who weren’t present on today’s discussion for more chatting next month.
  • We will also pull out our 2012-2013 agenda and review to see if there is interest in any other topics like:
  • Sales Tax Holiday

Legislative Committee Continuity Discussion

Discussed possible recommendation to the E-Board for longer-term leadership of the Legislative Committee to minimize the annual re-education of the chair by the lobbyist and to provide continuity for multi-year initiatives.

Ideas shared included:

  • Having the WSEMA President be the Vice-Chair to the Legislative Committee
  • Adding another position to the E-Board or creating Ad-Hoc appointment
  • Separating role from the presidency
  • Outgoing President be a standing member, but not the chair
  • Stagger Commitment or Lengthen Chair Role to 3 years
  • Appointed by the President to indefinite term, renewable every year
  • President-Elect Chairs Committee

We will continue to collect other ideas from other Legislative Members in order to formulate a continuity recommendation.

Sustainable Legislation Next Steps Discussion

Discussed active path forward on the EM Fiscal Sustainability Legislation & timeline for this coming year

  • Summer-time Relationship building at local levels
  • Continued relationship-building with other associations and groups that may have concerns (insurance/fire). Dylan will explore where insurance lobby is at with ideas about our future bill.
  • Pre-session presentation (November/December). Need to identify topic and focus which will be dependent on whether we propose current legislation or alt path (with likely input from WSEMA Membership in September).
  • Introduction of legislation (timelines)

In-Person Meeting of the Legislative Committee

Participants supported working Plan towards a meeting on-site at the WSEMA Conference to gather WSEMA Legislative Members and provide input opportunity for the membership on 2013-2014 Agenda.

NEXT MEETING ~ July 16that 12:00 p.m. via teleconference