It was a relatively quiet return to work for the Council today, with only one major bill.
This afternoon, the Council gave its final approval to an ordinance expanding and clarifying the subpoena power of the OPA and Inspector General and establishing due process rights for the recipients of a subpoena. However, there are terms in the ordinance that are subject to collective bargaining, so it won’t fully go into effect until after a new SPOG contract is negotiated (the most recent one expired last week).
The Council also approved an ordinance making several minor updates to the city’s water regulations.
Today Helen Howell takes over as Interim Director of the city’s Human Services Department, replacing embattled Interim Director Jason Johnson.
Several updates on committee meetings were announced during this morning’s Council Briefing:
- Councilmember Juarez’s Public Assets and Native Communities Committee won’t be meeting tomorrow, and its next meeting is scheduled for February 2.
- Councilmember Lewis’s Select Committee on Homelessness Strategies and Investments will be meeting on January 27. Lewis said that the committee will continue its discussions on streamlining land use regulations for permanent supportive housing. He also said that he plans to have a standing agenda item at all of his committee meetings for the executive branch to provide updates on its efforts to stand up new shelter and housing resources to aid the city’s homeless.
- Councilmember Pedersen’s Transportation and Utilities Committee will be meeting on January 20 — but in the afternoon instead of the morning to avoid a conflict with Inauguration Day ceremonies.
- Councilmember Sawant’s Sustainability and Renters Rights Committee will meet next on January 26.
- Council President Gonzalez’s Governance and Education Committee will not meet on January 12; its next meeting will be on February 9.
Councilmember Morales, whose office is overseeing the Black Brilliance Research Project community-research effort in advance of a participatory budgeting effort later this year, said this morning that he office received their preliminary report just before the Council’s two-week recess. She is reviewing it and expects to distribute it to the rest of the Council later this week.
Councilmember Sawant announced this morning that she will be introducing a bill to extend Seattle’s eviction moratorium through the end of 2021.
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