Spokane County lobbyist briefs commissioners on fast‑moving session; GMA, aviation, waste‑to‑energy and behavioral health bills highlighted

Mike Burgess, Spokane County’s lobbyist, briefed commissioners on Feb. 18 about the state legislative session as it approached the first policy‑committee cutoff and the second, fiscal cutoff two weeks later.

Burgess and county planning counsel Scott told commissioners two bills — Senate and House measures numbered in the transcript as 1135 and 5197 — would change how prior nonconforming uses are treated under local codes and called those bills “problematic” for counties. “They turn sort of on its ear the well established tradition in planning and zoning of a prior nonconforming use,” Scott said, warning that the language could penalize jurisdictions that try to correct a nonconforming situation.

Burgess reviewed other bills on Spokane County’s legislative agenda. He said House Bill 1969, creating a law enforcement aviation…