Author: mwaldie

Improving Government Efficiency

Each year Roger has found many ways for the government to save money, even in small amounts, because every scarce taxpayer dollar counts.
Roger has even voluntarily cut his own pay to help balance the budget, believing that everyone has to give a little in tough times. Roger serves as Chair of the Statute Law Committee, which oversees the Code Reviser’s Office and the publication of our laws.
Roger has passed many bills to reduce huge government printing costs, allowing the electronic versions of rules and regulations to be considered the official versions, and shrinking the size of the printed volumes of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW).
Roger has sponsored many bills that have saved public resources, including:

  • HB 1071 (incorporated into HB 2359, Chapter 202, Laws of 2016), updating dozens of forms in the code and eliminating obsolete provisions of law.
  • HB 1479 (Chapter 156, Laws of 2011), making the electronic version the official version of the Washington Administrative Code (WAC), thereby eliminating huge publishing requirements for useless hard copies.
  • HB 2518 (Chapter 190, Laws of 2010), eliminating duplicative and time-consuming procedures for the swearing-in of foreign language interpreters at court proceedings.
  • HB 1335 (Chapter 174, Laws of 2009, enacted as companion SB 5298), eliminating unnecessary paperwork requirements for state park rangers in issuing citations and infractions.
  • HB 1257 (Chapter 135, Laws of 2009), reducing needless filing requirements for deferred prosecution cases in county courthouses.
  • HB 1218 (Chapter 37, Laws of 2009), allowing for more flexible use of city and county jails in order to reduce transportation costs.
  •  HB 1058 (Chapter 186, Laws of 2009), reducing obsolete notes and citations from the printed laws, thereby shrinking the size of the volumes of the RCW.
  • HB 1859 (Chapter 456, Laws of 2007), making the electronic version the official version of the semi-weekly State Register of state regulations, thereby eliminating huge publishing requirements for useless hard copies.
  • HB 1431 (Chapter 171, Laws of 2007), eliminating duplicate responsibilities of three different state agencies in documenting Certificates of Discharge for felony offenders. HB 1268 (Chapter 219, Laws of 2007, enacted as companion SB 5193), allowing law enforcement to donate unclaimed property to charity.

Protecting Property and Natural Resources

As the bottom of the economy fell out in late 2008, King County and Washington State revenue agencies considered increasing some property taxes as a means to bring in more revenue.

One proposal was the threat to charge excessive taxes on rural, horse-boarding facilities, a burden that would have put them all out of business.

In response, Roger introduced and passed HB 1733 (Chapter 255, Laws of 2009), which secured in perpetuity the favorable tax valuation for horse-boarding properties as agricultural land.

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This helped to ensure the unique quality of our Eastside horse farms, an important part of our culture for many generations.

The economic crisis also put real estate brokers at risk, exposing them to extreme liability when dealing with so-called “distressed conveyances” as the housing market was crashing.

Roger sponsored and helped secure the emergency enactment of HB 1132 (Chapter 15, Laws of 2009, enacted as companion SB 5221), which shielded real estate brokers from liability as they handled the many transactions of homes that were “under water.” Roger-Goodman-Environment-2016_085

Roger has worked for many years with the Cascade Water Alliance, a unique partnership of local jurisdictions that have banded together to secure a safe water supply for the Eastside.

Roger sponsored and passed two important pieces of legislation (HB 1332, Chapter 504, Laws of 2009; and HB 1014, Chapter 97, Laws of 2011, enacted as companion SB 5241)to ensure that the Cascade Water Alliance has the proper authorities of a public utility to complete the construction and operation of the pipelines for this critical water supply.

Other important bills Roger has passed related to property rights include:

  • HB 1214 (Chapter 36, Laws of 2011, enacted as companion SB 5115), prohibiting the charging of private transfer fees by out-of-state developers, who were secretly profiting from hidden fees on the resale of properties.
  • HB 1078 (Chapter 168, Laws of 2011, enacted as companion SB 5035), ensuring proper documentation of rent payment transactions between mobile home tenants and mobile home park owners.
  • HB 1663 (Chapter 165, Laws of 2009), requiring relocation assistance for long-term tenants of residential motels that are shut down through no fault of their own.