OLYMPIA — Lewis County’s legislators on Monday gathered here at the statehouse for opening day of the Washington state Legislature’s 2014 session, which runs from Jan. 13 through March 13.
Rep. Richard DeBolt, R-Chehalis, Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama and Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, legislators from the 20th District who represent the majority of Lewis County citizens, and Rep. Dean Takko, D-Longview, Rep. Brian Blake, D-Aberdeen and Sen. Brian Hatfield, D-Raymond, legislators from the 19th District, who represent citizens in portions of southwest Lewis County, were among the lawmakers who returned to the Capitol for the year’s first session.
Each of the six legislators is well placed to support important local issues.
Orcutt, for example, sits on the House Transportation committee — the group which has the power to further or to shut down the Chehalis River Basin Flood Authority’s request for $100 million in flood mitigation funding.
Blake acts as chair of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources committee; Braun is chair of Trade and Economic Development and vice chair of Commerce and Labor; and Takko is chair of the House Local Government committee.
Takko’s committee on Monday afternoon considered issues ranging from document disclosure laws for public utilities districts to streamlining the county valuation process.
Lewis County Assessor Dianne Dorey on Monday visited the Legislature’s opening day, to testify on the latter issue.
Under House Bill 1040, written by Takko, county assessors would be allowed to combine or state separately land and improvement values on the annual real property value notices that inform taxpayers of changes in real property and improvement values.
All real property in Washington that is subject to taxation must be listed and assessed annually by the county assessor. Unless provided otherwise by law, the property must be valued at 100 percent of its true and fair value, and assessed on the same basis.
The assessor must notify the taxpayer by mail of any change in the true and fair value of the real property and land improvements within 30 days after appraisal.
Currently, that notice must contain a statement of the prior and new true and fair value, stating separately land and improvement values.
Separating the two values is counterproductive, Dorey said in her testimony Monday
“It’s confusing to taxpayers when they call in and we have to explain to them the difference between these two things,” she said. “In the days when we have to be more efficient and conservative with our resources, that’s a big concern to us.”
Furthermore, taxpayers who want to appeal their assessed value may only do so using a single, combined figure.
“The courts have upheld this determination that the taxpayer can only appeal the total value,” Dorey said.
The program would be elective, not mandatory, according to Takko.
Last year, a similar bill made it through the Local Government and House Finance committees but failed to make it out of Rules.
It was reintroduced in the 2013 Special session and reinstated on Nov. 7 in the third special session.
The bill is scheduled to be put to a vote Wednesday morning.
