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COMMISSION AGENDA MEMORANDUM Item No. 7b BRIEFING ITEM Date of Meeting October 25, 2016 DATE: October 25, 2016 TO: Ted Fick, Chief Executive Officer FROM: Pearse Edwards, Director, Government Relations Eric ffitch, Manager, State Government Relations SUBJECT: Draft 2017 State Legislative Agenda EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In advance of the 2017 state legislative session in Olympia, Port of Seattle government relations staff has worked with Commissioners, executive team members, internal subject matter experts, and external stakeholders, to develop an agenda to guide Port advocacy efforts. The following Draft 2017 State Legislative Agenda consists of two categories: Priority agenda items, and priority issue areas. The "items" section is comprised primarily of specific actions that Port staff will work to accomplish with the help of allies in the state legislature. The priority "areas" are more general and could encompass a range of efforts, allowing the Port staff the flexibility to work with key allies and advocate for priorities that may arise during session. DRAFT STATE LEGISLATIVE AGENDA Priority Agenda Items Maritime and manufacturing land use: Provide detailed information to legislators and to House and Senate Committees on the current land use issues facing Washington ports, with a specific focus on zoning issues related to the Growth Management Act that may affect port competitiveness. This may include testimony from subject matter experts or Commissioners, letters to relevant committees, along with potential development of legislative proposals through which the state can express its support for port facilities as facilities of statewide economic significance. Workforce development: Support proposals to enhance state investments in workforce development in the maritime, manufacturing, and industrial sectors. This may include advocating for additional funding for the Core-Plus Program and possible amendments to port statute to ensure ports can continue to play a role in workforce development in these sectors. Continue to support funding for high school students to pursue summer internships in maritime and manufacturing related fields. Template revised September 22, 2016. COMMISSION AGENDA Briefing Item No. 7b Page 2 of 4 Meeting Date: October 25, 2016 Fishing fleet modernization: Support policies that will promote construction of new fishing boats in Washington State shipyards while making the fleet more efficient, both operationally and environmentally. Identify additional funding mechanisms through the state that can further lower the cost of building new fishing boats in Washington shipyards. Statewide tourism marketing authority: Support efforts to establish a statewide tourism funding authority to fund statewide tourism marketing efforts. Identify a means of funding the statewide tourism authority, and ensure that funds collected for tourism marketing are not used for other purposes or transferred to the state general fund. REAL ID compliance: Provide detailed information on the potential ramifications of Washington State's continued non-compliance with federal REAL ID law, and work with legislators and stakeholders to build collective support behind a legislative solution that will bring the state into compliance with federal law prior to the January 2018 deadline. Priority issue areas: Transportation: Closely monitor, and support continued funding of, state transportation projects that are critical to Port of Seattle and Northwest Seaport Alliance operations, including the Puget Sound Gateway Project, the Lander Street Grade Separation Project, the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Project, and others. Support proposals that speed the movement of freight from origin to destination, and to export markets through seaport and airport facilities. Environment: Closely monitor, and support continued funding of, state investments in environmental cleanup programs, including those programs funded through the Model Toxics Control Act, that assist Port efforts to promote environmental stewardship and support Washington State's pursuit of a healthier Puget Sound. Labor: Support proposals that seek to provide equity in the workplace for disadvantaged groups, including through the possible repeal of Initiative 200, and augment existing Port efforts to promote the health of small businesses, including disadvantaged, minority, and women owned business enterprises. Energy: Support proposals that promote energy efficient operation of large-scale transportation infrastructure. This may include proposals to allow municipal utilities Template revised September 22, 2016. COMMISSION AGENDA Briefing Item No. 7b Page 3 of 4 Meeting Date: October 25, 2016 broader flexibility in installing infrastructure that can incent high-volume energy consumers to transition to clean sources of power. ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND Below you will find the "problem statements" to accompany each of the policy statements in the first section of the draft state legislative agenda. Maritime and manufacturing land use: In 2007, Governor Gregoire convened a group of city, state, and port representatives to identify recommendations for improvements to land use policy that could "help ensure the effective function and long-term viability of the state's marine container ports." The recommendations made by that work group were passed into law in the 2009 legislative session. Among its many provisions, the law required the cities of Seattle and Tacoma to consider the efficient and effective functioning of their large container ports when making land use decisions. Since that time, the City of Seattle, the Port, and the broader industrial community, have had different ideas about how the law should be implemented. The most recent example of this issue, the proposed siting of a sports arena near Terminal 46 and the Duwamish MIC, caused significant concern in the industrial community and with some in the state legislature. Workforce development: The maritime, manufacturing, and industrial sectors are critical to the economic vitality of the Puget Sound region. The workforce in those sectors is aging and nearing retirement, and there is not currently a new generation of workers with the skills required to support the growth of these sectors. From a lack of clear understanding from students, teachers, counselors, and parents of the opportunities that are available to young people in maritime, manufacturing, and industrial jobs, to a lack of investment at the state level into Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, the challenges to building a strong workforce are myriad. The future economic success of the region, and the state as a whole, relies on addressing this challenge and building a skilled workforce in these critical sectors. Fishing fleet modernization: The North Pacific Fishing Fleet, based at the Port of Seattle's Fishermen's Terminal, is comprised of vessels that have an average age of 30 years. Many of these boats are in need of replacement. The cost of replacing the fleet is estimated at $14.3 billion. New vessels are more fuel efficient and can allow fishermen to make better use of raw products thus earning them more money. But the cost to replace a vessel is a barrier to many fishermen. Action at the state and federal level, and from other entities such as the Port of Seattle, could help reduce the cost and incentivize the replacement of many boats in the fleet. Such action could also promote replacing the vessels with ships built in Washington shipyards. This process would have long-term economic benefits to the region as a whole. REAL ID: Currently, Washington State is out of compliance with a federal law passed in 2005 known as REAL ID. That law established minimum security standards for state-issued driver's licenses and identification cards, including the requirement that the issuing agency verify the legal status of the applicant. Washington State is currently the only state in the union that does Template revised September 22, 2016. COMMISSION AGENDA Briefing Item No. 7b Page 4 of 4 Meeting Date: October 25, 2016 not require proof of legal status when issuing a driver's license. Beginning January 22, 2018, driver's licenses issued by the Washington State Department of Licensing, with the exception of the Enhanced Driver's License, will not be sufficient for federal purposes. This would prevent Washington residents from passing through Transportation Security Administration checkpoints at airports across the state, significantly complicating the process of airline travel and harming the economy in the process. ATTACHMENTS TO THIS BRIEFING (1) Presentation slides Template revised September 22, 2016.
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