Here are some notes from today’s Council Briefing and Full Council meetings.
This afternoon, the Council put on hold for one week a bill that would waive event fees for the Special Olympics being held in Seattle next month. More on that later this afternoon.
The Council also repealed the tax on short-term rentals imposed last year, to make way for a similar one to be imposed and collected by the Convention Center Public Facilities District and passed through to the city. Here’s my writeup on this tax-swap from last week.
Council member Mosqueda announced that this Thursday her Housing, Health, Energy, and Workers’ Rights Committee would include:
- a report on the community outreach session held so far related to her “domestic workers’ bill of rights.” She expects to release draft legislation soon.
- a session on the epidemic of drug overdoses, with a report on overdoses in 2017, an implementation report on the opioid task force recommendations, and a “field trip” to the mobile medical van, which will be parked outside City Hall on 5th Avenue.
Council member Johnson reported that the joint US/Canada/Mexico bid for the 2026 World Cup (which includes hosting some matches in Seattle) was ranked higher than the competing bid from Morocco. According to the BBC, however, the Trump administration’s new immigration/visa rules are raising concerns. The final vote to choose the 2026 location will beheld on June 13.
Council member Gonzalez reported that her June 13th committee hearing will include the first briefing and discussion of a pair of gun-safety bills introduced recently by her and Mayor Durkan.
Council member O’Brien announced that on the heels of tomorrow’s report on SDOT’s pilot program for free-floating bike share in the city, he expects the city to submit legislation in the next two weeks that would extend and revise the program. O’Brien noted that there are now 44 cities that have free-floating bike share systems.
Council member Herbold announced that at her next committee meeting on June 12th, they will hear a report on the “green pathways” program to create opportunities for green jobs in the city. They will also receive a briefing on a resolution related to the MHA program’s implementation in the Chinatown-International District, specifically using affirmative marketing as an anti-displacement tool.