Education funding is clearly the primary issue of the Washington State Legislature’s 2017 session, but the city of Mercer Island has a few other priorities it wants to see addressed.

Assistant City Manager Kirsten Taylor introduced a draft of Mercer Island’s 2017 legislative agenda at the Dec. 5 City Council meeting, and the council was set to finalize its list on Jan. 3.

The list of priorities serves as a guide for 2017 work with area legislators, and allows the city “to respond quickly and efficiently to issues of interest that arise in Olympia during the [session],” according to the Dec. 5 agenda bill.

The entire 2017-2018 session is considered the 65th session of the Legislature and will contain at least two regular sessions. A “long” session will be held in 2017 (105 days) and a “short” session in 2018 (60 days).

This year’s long session will start on Jan. 9 and end on or by April 23, though the city anticipates extra 30-day sessions, as the Legislature attempts to address the 2012 McCleary decision and figure out a way to fully fund basic education across the state.

Mercer Island’s top goal in the draft plan was to “request the state Legislature to comply with the McCleary ruling and fully fund basic education, while ensuring that all districts either maintain the same or receive increased per‐student public funding from all local and state sources over 2015‐2016,” and to “support state funding for counselors in each school to help address mental health and social emotional learning.” City staff consulted with the Mercer Island School District on the language included in the proposed priorities.

After first review, Councilmember Wendy Weiker said that the city should change the wording to be more proactive, especially if representatives are sent to Olympia on the city’s behalf to lobby against proposals like the levy swap, which could decrease funding for school districts in wealthier areas. She also said that the city should advocate for the school funding gap to be addressed without reducing funding for other critical services.

The city does not have lobbyists or the budget to send staff to Olympia, Taylor said, which is why it works with other groups who do to draft legislative priorities. These groups include the Association of Washington Cites, Sound Cities Association, Washington Recreation and Park Association and A Regional Coalition for Housing (ARCH).

The city endorses the goals of other groups, many of which involve environmental and public health, such as increasing the purchase age for vapor and tobacco products from 18 to 21and setting a statewide price on carbon pollution.

Other priorities are more specific to the city of Mercer Island, including adjusting the property tax cap and supporting legislation allowing the collection of reasonable fees or alternative methods of financing for long‐range planning and code enforcement costs. One of the recreational legislative priorities is to include state funding of at least $200,000 for the Aubrey Davis Park Master Planning project.

City staff will work with Rep. Judy Clibborn’s staff to further the state funding request for the park master plan in the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) budget. On Dec. 5, the council expressed interest in setting up a meeting between the 41st District legislators — all of whom (Clibborn, Tana Senn and Lisa Wellman) live on Mercer Island — and the mayor and new city manager to discuss the city’s priorities.

Notably absent from the first list was any mention of the ongoing transportation issues involving access to Interstate 90 and light rail, though the city has been working with Clibborn’s office in its negotiations with Sound Transit, WSDOT and the Federal Highway Administration.

In the Jan. 3 agenda bill, an item to “maintain full access to I-90 R8A lanes,” as provided for by historic documents, is listed as the city’s top priority.

The council also discussed drafting a value statement, similar to its proclamation in the wake of the presidential election, that would be included with the legislative agenda. This was included in the final priority list.

The council also considered asking the school district or PTA legislative representatives to clarify questions about education funding, such as how it would be paid for. Councilmember Jeff Sanderson said that taxes are a “separate issue highly related to this one,” and that he hopes the state pursues a progressive solution.

To see the draft and final lists, go to www.mercergov.org/CouncilMeetings.