S-1356.1 _______________________________________________
SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 8016
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State of Washington 54th Legislature 1995 Regular Session
By Senators McAuliffe, Swecker, Fraser, C. Anderson and Long
Read first time 02/13/95. Referred to Committee on Ecology & Parks.
TO THE HONORABLE BILL CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED:
We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:
WHEREAS, Flow control is the legal authority to determine where solid waste generated within a jurisdiction shall be sent for processing or disposal; and
WHEREAS, Flow control authority has been delegated by state legislature to local governments in Washington state; and
WHEREAS, Because flow control authority was generally upheld legally until recently and because the authority was properly delegated to local governments by the state of Washington, many counties, cities, and towns believed themselves empowered to flow control the solid waste generated within their respective jurisdictions; and
WHEREAS, Local jurisdictions have financed facilities and developed programs, and in many instances assumed considerable debt, based upon their flow control authority; and
WHEREAS, In May 1994, the United States Supreme Court found flow control authority to be an unconstitutional infringement of congress' exclusive power to regulate interstate commerce; and
WHEREAS, Private and public sector flow control stakeholders negotiated a flow control bill during the 1994 congressional session to restore an appropriate level of flow control authority to local governments; and
WHEREAS, The proposed congressional legislation is an affirmation of appropriate state and local power because it permits, but does not require, states and local governments to undertake a traditionally accepted function of these governments, solid waste management, and to finance this activity in a manner acceptable to the citizens of the state and local government; and
WHEREAS, The proposed legislation permits a local government to exercise flow control only if that government has made a significant investment based on its previously accepted flow control authority; and
WHEREAS, After its investment has been repaid, the legislation requires that the local government cease using flow control within ten years unless it analyzes all realistic alternatives and formally finds that flow control is necessary to achieve its solid waste management goals; and
WHEREAS, During the 1994 congressional session the proposed legislation unanimously passed the United States House of Representatives; and
WHEREAS, The proposed legislation arrived in the Unites States Senate so late in the 1994 session that it required unanimous consent for passage, but it failed to achieve that unanimity as a result of the objection of a single senator; and
WHEREAS, That same legislation has been reintroduced into the current session of congress as H.R. 24; and
WHEREAS, By providing the sense of certainty necessary for the private sector to make long-term business decisions, and by protecting investments local governments have made in solid waste handling and disposal facilities, H.R. 24 will serve the long-term interests of taxpayers and solid waste service customers;
NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that congress enact H.R. 24, the Community Solvency Act, expeditiously.
BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable Bill Clinton, President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.
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