The 2020 Washington State Legislative session will begin a short session (60 days) in January 2020. In preparation for the legislative session, the Health District has an opportunity to approve a legislative agenda in alignment with our values and priorities. In years past, the District has informally followed the Washington State Association of Local Public Health Officials (WSALPHO) legislative agenda with the Board of Health adopting resolutions in support of specific legislative actions—for example, Res. 18-20 calling for Washington state legislature support of funding for foundational public health services.
Under direction from Board of Health Chair Stephanie Wright legislative priorities for 2020 were drafted for consideration and review (Exhibit A). Drafted priorities are based on three sources:
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2019 WSALPHO legislative priorities and discussions on 2020 priority informed guesses (Exhibit B)
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2020 Washington State Department of Health Budget and Legislative Proposals (August 2019 draft; Exhibit C)
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Staff discussions
Drafted priorities have been shared with the Public Health Advisory Council (9/25/19), and the Program Policy Committee (10/11/19). Both bodies were supportive of the drafted legislative priorities asking that additional organization of the priorities happen. Suggested grouping were policy vs. funding, state vs. local vs. federal, and highest vs. lowest tier.
Staff shared the content with the Executive and Admin Committees on 10/23/19. Board members were supportive of the content presented, but requested an additional section on opioids and including federal and state request language where appropriate. The revised draft before the Board incorporates all requested changes.
If approved, the 2020 Snohomish Health District legislative priorities will be shared with cities, the County, and our state legislators. Staff will also work to identify potential champions that may be willing to start drafting bills in advance of legislative session beginning in January.