Bad State Senate bills in Olympia that need your attention

by Sue | Mar 6, 2021 | 2021 Olympia Bills to Watch, Olympia News & Views 2021

by Ruth Peterson

First up are bills that have to do with law enforcement and our criminal justice system. These are some very bad bills – everything from civilian oversight of police departments and putting all law enforcement complaints on a public database to gutting our 3-strikes-you’re-out policies and removing requirements of criminals to pay back what they owe to society. I’m adding a link to the bill next to each one.

Some of the descriptions do not have much information, so please click on the link (the bill number below) and when you get to the bill page, click on the “Bill Report” (click on the last one in the list – if there are more than one bill reports, that means the original bill was amended). I will try at a later time to summarize what is so bad about a lot of these, but for now, I’m giving you a list and links.

The bill report tells you about a bill in general layman’s terms. It tells you the background and what the bill does. It also gives you a summary of the people testifying for and against the bill. That testimony will point out some of the issues. Remember also, that many bills may sound great and may have many good ideas in them. The problem with many of these is they have terrible ideas in them, as well. If the Republicans cannot get amendments to change those bad parts, they must vote against the bill entirely.

I am also going to add a link to one of the debates related to the bills. You can hear for yourself some of the problems with the bills. It takes some time to listen to these, but please at least listen to 15 – 20 minutes of each of these. Pay attention the arguments, but also note the attitudes –>  https://www.tvw.org/watch/?clientID=9375922947&eventID=2021031083&startStreamAt=3778&autoStartStream=true

Here are the bills that passed the Senate related to Law & Justice.
 

Here are the bills related to social justice –
Watch one of the debates here (this points out another negative about this session. The Democrats do not allow all the members on the floor, so they have to participate remotely. Like many school kids, there are technology problems. In this debate, you will see that Senator Ericksen could not participate because of technology  problems and was listed as absent. That wouldn’t have happened, if we were on the floor)–> https://www.tvw.org/watch/?clientID=9375922947&eventID=2021031093&startStreamAt=2388&autoStartStream=true
 

Here is the open carry ban debate –> https://www.tvw.org/watch/?clientID=9375922947&eventID=2021021470&startStreamAt=44&autoStartStream=true
 

Two here have to do with pro-life issues. But even if you are not pro-life, if you have a daughter, you might want to watch this debate. Did you know that if your child is in public school, the school is their guardian while they are there? They can take your 14 year old daughter in for an abortion without even telling you as a parent. –>  https://www.tvw.org/watch/?clientID=9375922947&eventID=2021021347&startStreamAt=2187&autoStartStream=true
 

There are more bills to tell you about, but it took me a couple of days to put this together, and I wanted to at least get you some information. The Democrats are able to pass much of their radical agenda this year. In fact, they will be passing more terrible bills today and then tomorrow, starting at 10:00 am, they will be on the floor. Rumor has it that the Income Tax debate will happen tomorrow. You can watch it live on TVW.org. I will try to get the House bills out this weekend.

It’s been a tough session, and it feels discouraging. But focus your anger and discouragement on getting organized. Get this information out to people. If they understand how damaging Democrat policies are, they will be more willing to help get Republicans elected. Without a majority, we cannot stop these bills – but also recognize that our Republican legislators are there all day every day into the night debating and making clear the problems with these bills. They aren’t giving up – neither should we.

One last link to a speech by Sen. Braun urging an amendment that would reopen our schools. https://youtu.be/5qYzWqjH5GE

State lawmakers debate and vote on dozens of bills this week. Controversial issues decided along sharply divided partisan lines.

by Sue | Feb 26, 2021 | 2021 Olympia Bills to Watch, Olympia News & Views 2021

Feb. 24, 2021

No committee meetings or public hearings have been scheduled for most of this week, as the full House and Senate start to debate and vote on more than 150 bills that have been placed on their respective floor action calendars.

The action follows Monday’s deadline for passing fiscal and transportation measures out of committees in their originating chamber. The next key cut-off deadline is Wednesday, March 9th. That is the last day to pass bills in their house of origin.

On Tuesday, the House passed 16 bills, and the Senate passed 21 bills—most by broad margins or unanimous votes. Some key issues, however, passed along sharply divided partisan lines. Democrats control the House by a 57-41 margin, and the Senate by 29-20 votes.

The Senate passed SB 5066, to require law enforcement officers to intervene and try to stop excessive force by fellow officers. Police officers who witness excessive or attempted excessive force by a fellow officer would need to step in, or face suspension or decertification. The bill would also require that officers report any wrongdoing by another officer to that officer’s supervisor.

The bill passed by a mostly partisan 28-21 vote, with all Republicans and one Democrat, Sen. Tim Sheldon (D-Mason County) voting against it. Republicans said they supported the broader intent of the bill regarding police accountability, but said parts of the bill were too subjective. Senate Republicans proposed nine amendments to clarify the bill’s language and to more precisely define terms like “excessive force” or “intervention.” The amendments were rejected by voice vote.

The bill is now headed to the House for further consideration. A bill in the House, HB 1054, to prohibit chokehold and neck restraint actions by police officers, is also currently on the House floor calendar for possible action this week.

Also on Tuesday, the House passed HB 1009, to require student health plans to provide coverage for the abortion of a pregnancy. The bill passed by a strictly partisan 57-40 vote, with all Democrats voting for it. One Republican member was excused.

Under current law, health plans that provide coverage for maternity care or services must also provide coverage to permit abortions. Student health plans are generally exempt from this requirement. The bill would include student health plans in this requirement.

The Senate on Tuesday also passed SB 5021, to provide that pensions for public employees will not be reduced as a result of pandemic-related furloughs or compensation reductions. According to proponents of the bill, employees would not be penalized by being furloughed during the pandemic, which would reduce the amount of compensation used in calculating their pension benefits. They said this would prevent delayed retirements and protect recruitment and retention of public employees.

The bill passed by a 29-20 mostly partisan vote, with one Democrat voting against it, and one Republican voting for the measure.

WashingtonVotes.org is a free service provided by Washington Policy Center and is the go-to tracking tool to keep up with all the action in Olympia, especially during this mostly virtual session. Please check in often and follow us on Facebook and Twitter at #waleg.

State lawmakers shift their focus to tax and spending bills after committee cut-off deadline passes.

by Sue | Feb 19, 2021 | 2021 Olympia Bills to Watch, Olympia News & Views 2021

Update on capital gains income tax and gun control bills.

Feb. 17, 2021 – Monday’s deadline for passing bills out of policy committees in their originating chamber has now left 463 non-fiscal measures eligible for further consideration during this year’s legislative session. House committees passed 216 bills, while Senate committees passed 247 bills.

In a separate process, House and Senate fiscal and transportation committees have until this coming Monday, February 22nd, to pass bills in their originating house—currently some 210 measures. In general, legislation considered necessary to implement the state budget is not subject to any cut-off deadlines.

All of the bills to reform emergency powers and re-open the economy died in Monday’s committee cut-off. The bills would have put checks and balances on the governor’s go-it-alone emergency proclamations that he has issued since March of last year.

Although a comprehensive bill to limit the governor’s emergency powers, HB 1029, received a public hearing on February 8th, none of the measures made it out of committee for a possible debate and floor vote in either chamber and are likely dead for the year.

Still alive after the cutoff are proposed gun-control bills to limit 2nd Amendment rights by banning high capacity magazines (SB 5078) and to prohibit open-carry of firearms near public demonstrations at the state Capitol (SB 5038). Both of these bills are currently in the Senate Rules Committee, ready to be placed on the calendar for floor action by the full Senate. Another bill, HB 1238, to make open-carry or display of a weapon in an intimidating manner a crime, may also be added to a future House floor action calendar.

Notably, a ban on so-called “assault weapons” (HB 1229 and SB 5217) did not survive the cut-off on Monday. These companion measures would have banned the manufacture, sale, and possession of some 90 firearms, listed by specific make and model in the bill. The general term “assault weapon” has no precise or legal definition.

Lawmakers are now shifting their attention to various tax and spending bills before the legislature. On Tuesday, the Senate Ways and Means Committee passed SB 5096, a capital gains income tax that would impose a 7% tax on the sale of capital assets, like investments or retirement accounts. The bill passed along partisan lines as a substitute bill which changed some of the provisions of the original bill. The changes would:

• Lower the tax rate from 9% to 7 %;

• Increase the threshold for exclusion to $250,000;

• Exempt all sales or exchanges of real estate;

• Deposit the first $350 million in revenues collected each year into the Education Legacy Trust Account and deposit the remainder into a new Taxpayer Relief Account.

Public testimony on this bill, and the House version of a capital gains income tax proposal, HB 1496, revealed that any capital gains tax would be an unequal state income tax, which is prohibited by Washington’s state constitution.

Also this week, House Republicans unveiled their proposal for a 2021-23 state operating budget framework during a news conference on Tuesday. The top Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Drew Stokesbary (R-Auburn), said it is not necessary for state lawmakers to raise taxes or to cut any vital services as they craft a two-year operating budget this legislative session. He said, “This isn’t a budget that will grow government or serve special interests, it’s a proposal that will help people – working families, growing students, vulnerable people, small businesses, and all Washingtonians.”

WashingtonVotes News will cover House and Senate budget proposals, as specific bills move through the legislative process.

WashingtonVotes.org is a free service provided by Washington Policy Center and is the go-to tracking tool to keep up with all the action in Olympia, especially during this mostly virtual session. Please check in often and follow us on Facebook and Twitter at #waleg.

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To learn how to contact your legislators and voice your point of view, go to Our Government/Follow Bills.

Are You Ready for an Income Tax?

by Sue | Feb 16, 2021 | 2021 Olympia Bills to Watch, Olympia News & Views 2021

by Ruth Peterson

It looks like we will likely have an income tax this year. Whether it makes it through a court challenge or not remains to be seen. But SB 5096 is scheduled to have an executive session on Tuesday in Ways & Means, a hearing that will start at 1:30 pm. Here is a link to the bill –> https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5096&Year=2021&Initiative=false.

Every bill that is introduced is heard in a Committee in a public hearing. That is when the legislators listen to testimony. After that step is complete, the next step is to pass the bill out of committee in an executive session. There is no testimony allowed when that happens, but by voting a bill out of committee, the majority signals that the bill will likely go forward. That is bad news for all of us.

This bill will put an income tax on long term capital assets. They call it a Capital Gains Excise Tax, but it’s the first step in creating an income tax that will affect everyone. The Democrats have freely spoken about what their goal is. The most underhanded thing about this bill is that they have an emergency clause on it. In the Constitution, the people are always allowed to have recourse to get signatures for a Referendum to be put on the ballot that will repeal a law. But not if it has an emergency clause. Of course, it’s obvious that this is not an emergency, because the tax doesn’t get implemented until next year, but we will have no recourse. The emergency clause takes away our right of referendum. (if you click on the link for the original bill and go to the very end, you will see the emergency clause there). This is the Democrats’ way of thumbing their nose at the people of this state.

They have set this up to make a new tax very tempting for people to support. It goes to free college. What a great way to get more college students signed up to vote Democrat. I know there is another bill in the house that will tax everyone more to provide free child care. College is wonderful and so is childcare and both of those are hard things sometimes. But the end goal here is free college for all and free childcare for all. The desire for more money by a Democrat-led government is never ending. They start out with free college and free childcare for those at the poverty level, but again, they’ve been very clear about wanting free college for all, free childcare for all – and there’s even yet another bill that raises taxes on health care to start paying for free healthcare for all. I have often heard that we should have an income tax instead of the high property taxes and the sales tax, because it’s a fairer way to tax. The problem is that they don’t want to do away with other taxes – or even lower them permanently – the government is a never-ending black hole tied directly to your wallet.

One other note about this tax. You will read that we need it to fill a gap in our state budget. That is a false statement – pure political spin. The truth is that this tax is needed to fill a gap that would occur only if the Democrats get their budget passed – a budget that increases our state expenditures dramatically. However, the Republicans put their own budget out this week that keeps spending within our means – without raising taxes! I know I promised a newsletter on the budget, and I will get to it. I promise. But this seemed a bit more critical, since it’s a vote that will be taken on Tuesday, Feb. 16th.

Please consider letting your legislators know that you do not want an income tax. And then get ready to work like crazy to get some seats flipped next year. We have a very progressive Legislature, and the only way they will be stopped is to take away their majority!

Bills to limit the governor’s emergency powers, to speed up business re-openings, and to re-open schools are likely dead for this year

by Sue | Feb 12, 2021 | 2021 Olympia Bills to Watch, Olympia News & Views 2021