SENATE BILL REPORT
SHB 1724
This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent. |
As Reported by Senate Committee On:
Local Government, March 19, 2019
Title: An act relating to local government responsibility and accountability in mitigating impacts of public facilities on certain surrounding neighborhoods with high poverty and concentrations of persons of color.
Brief Description: Concerning the mitigation of public facilities in certain cities.
Sponsors: House Committee on Local Government (originally sponsored by Representative Santos).
Brief History: Passed House: 3/04/19, 88-8.
Committee Activity: Local Government: 3/14/19, 3/19/19 [DPA].
Brief Summary of Amended Bill |
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SENATE COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT |
Majority Report: Do pass as amended.
Signed by Senators Takko, Chair; Salomon, Vice Chair; Short, Ranking Member; Honeyford.
Staff: Greg Vogel (786-7413)
Background: Community Reporting Areas. The City of Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development established community reporting areas (CRAs) as a standard citywide geography for the purpose of reporting census information. There are 53 CRAs composed from one to six census tracts.
Census tracts are used by the United States Census Bureau (bureau) and are established to provide a stable set of geographic units for the presentation of statistical data. Census tracts are small statistical subdivisions of a county or equivalent entity that generally have a population size between 1,200 and 8,000 people. Census tracts are updated by local participants prior to each decennial census, but the bureau determines census tracts in situations where no local participant existed or where state, local, or tribal governments declined to participate.
American Community Survey. The American community survey (ACS) is a nationwide survey from the bureau that is part of the Decennial Census Program. The ACS collects detailed information on demographic, socioeconomic, and housing characteristics of the population. The bureau sends the ACS to a small percentage of the population on a rotating basis throughout the decade, but no household will receive the survey more often than once every five years. The bureau combines the data over different time periods and publishes it in two different data sets as follows:
a one-year estimate, which is data collected over a 12-month period and available for all types of geographic areas with a population greater than 60,000; and
a five-year estimate, which is data collected over a 60-month period and available for all geographic areas, including areas with a population of less than 60,000.
Summary of Amended Bill: A city with a population over 550,000 permitting, constructing, or operating a public facility in a neighborhood with a high poverty level and a high rate of ethnic diversity must assume responsibility for the negative impacts that facility has had or might have on the surrounding neighborhood. The city must consider disparate racial, social, and economic impacts on nearby residents, and develop a mitigation plan.
Neighborhood boundaries are defined by the boundaries of community reporting areas. A neighborhood has a high poverty level if 12 percent or more of the population is below the poverty level, and has a high rate of ethnic diversity if 40 percent or more of the population identifies as persons of color, according to the most recent five-year estimate of the ACS.
EFFECT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE AMENDMENT(S):
Changes the party responsible for assessment and mitigation of the negative impacts from the public facility from the entity that constructs or operates the public facility to the city that permits, constructs, or operates the public facility.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Available.
Creates Committee/Commission/Task Force that includes Legislative members: No.
Effective Date: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.
Staff Summary of Public Testimony on Substitute House Bill: The committee recommended a different version of the bill than what was heard. PRO: Parking is an issue everyday for residents in south Seattle because of the current restricted parking zone. Good public policies have collided with one another causing inconvenience and hardship for these residents. Sound Transit was established to promote mass public transportation, and to discourage car ridership, less park and rides were created. However, commuters have created their own park and rides in neighborhoods. Additionally, Seattle unevenly applies policy for the restricted parking zones citywide. In some areas, the fees are paid for, and in others, residents must pay. This bill is about equity and fairness.
Persons Testifying: PRO: Representative Sharon Tomiko Santos, Prime Sponsor.
Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: No one.