Why the Majority in the Legislature is Important!

Why the Majority in the Legislature is Important!

by | Feb 8, 2021 | Olympia News & Views 2021

by | Feb 1, 2021

I’m a Second Amendment supporter and this morning I saw a question posed to those of us are 2A supporters. Why are we always on defense when it comes to protecting our rights?!? (warning: long post, but if you want the important stuff, please read the last three paragraphs)

The 2A page I was on is a non-partisan page, and all we talk about is 2A rights. It’s a way to keep an eye on Olympia and communicate what is happening to those rights. We need a coordinated effort to stop bad bills from being passed. This is important stuff.

One person answered the question above with the idea that we need to work with sympathetic legislatures, and that is spot on. But we have to be doing that now. We have to be working to get sympathetic legislators elected in 2022 right now. The Democrats work to get out the vote non-stop. Literally non-stop. They have college kids combing the campuses right now to get people signed up to vote – they are training them about the evils of firearms. On the other side, we are very busy with families and jobs. Politics takes a back seat to what is important. I get that. I have 4 kids and 9 grandkids. I homeschooled my kids, so my involvement from politics didn’t really happen until I was in my 40s. I will raise my hand as a person who put politics in the backseat of life. But meantime, the state became bluer and bluer – now we have a yearly battle on our hands.However, I also want to explain something about the Legislature that I hope will help you in the future as you try to persuade others in the election process and for you to think about in your own choices during an election.

Party matters. I had someone mention yesterday that all of this political stuff is just voting for the party. I objected, but as I thought about it, he was right. It’s all about party. Why? Do you remember the legislative years of 2013 – about 2018? Do you remember that while people talked about bad bills, we didn’t have to do much fighting to keep them from being passed? I know it’s hard to remember back, but we had 5 years of a Legislature that stopped every bad gun bill from passing. Do you know why? Republicans had a 1 vote majority in the Senate. Were all those Republicans staunch 2A people? Not really. We probably had a handful that were more center than right. In fact, I know we did.

But here is the key point (if you take nothing away from this – please remember this one thing). The majority – even those with only a 1 vote majority – appoints Chairs to committees. Those Chairs have total power over what bills come out of committee. Because we had a 1-vote majority, Senator Padden was appointed Chair of Law & Justice. Every bill that was introduced that was harmful to the 2A was killed in his committee. All of them. Even if they passed the House, they went to his committee, and he flat-out just didn’t allow them out. So even though we had some Republican members who were less conservative and who I disagreed with often, having them there allowed the right ones to be in places of power to stop bad bills.

Even when there is a majority, if it is close, it’s still a struggle – we can stop bad bills, but only if we get one or two Democrats to vote with us (note here – Senator Sheldon (D) always votes with us on 2A bills). If we had a House and Senate that were close in numbers, we wouldn’t have the bad bills racing through the Legislature this year. But we don’t have close numbers this year. They can lose several members and still pass the bills. The next two sessions are going to be very, very hard. Whether it’s 2A, gas taxes, income tax, low carbon fuel standards, critical race theory, tying the hands of the police – you name it. Their large majority means they decide which bills come before the floor for a vote, and they have the votes to pass those bills.

What to do? You need to keep the pressure on them – they respond to the possibility of losing votes. But that also means we need to persuade others to add their voice. It is far more powerful for 6 people to write than it is for 1 person to write 6 times. You also need to start looking at who is running for office and get behind them. Start working to get people elected who will put a Senator Padden back in charge of the Law & Justice Committee. We need Senator Wilson or Senator Braun in charge of the Ways & Means Committee, Senator Hawkins in charge in K12, etc. That is what is going to make a difference down the road.

_____

Ruth Peterson works for State Senate Republican Caucus leader John Braun.  She is a PCO and State Committeewoman for Lewis County.  You can follow her writings on the Lewis County Republican website.

Weigh in on bills in Olympia

Weigh in on bills in Olympia

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

Here are a number of bills that require attention.  Information about how to contact your representatives and get involved are included:

In support of our police:

One of the worst ones is HB 1310. It mainly concerns permissible use of force by law enforcement. It also seeks to remove the “good faith” rules and qualified immunity for officers. I briefly read through parts of the bill, and it would essentially deter officers from even responding to calls where a use of force would be likely. And if necessary force is used, it would open officers to legal and civil litigation, regardless of justification. 

Sanctity of Human Life (Oppose)

HB 1009– D –   https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1019&Initiative=false&Year=2021 This bill adds abortion coverage to student health plans.

Call and email your House Representative and tell them to Vote NO on HB 1009. We do not need to subject more people or force people to be a party to the violence and devastation of abortion.  

HB 1141–  See above list.   Increasing access to the Death with Dignity act & increasing state-sanctioned suicide.

Currently in the House Rules Committee and can move to the House floor for a vote at any time.

Call and email your House members and tell them to Not Expand State-Sanctioned Suicide.

Sanctity of Human Life (Support)

HB 1031– D –     https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1031&Initiative=false&Year=2021  Provides a certificate of birth and death after a stillbirth and recognizes that there was a live human being. Currently in the House Rules Committee and can move to the House floor for a vote at any time. Call and email your House members and tell them to Vote YES.

HB 1074– D –      https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1074&Initiative=false&Year=2021 Review suicide and overdose deaths to find ways of preventing them. 

Currently in the House Rules Committee and can move to the House floor for a vote at any time.

Call and email your House members and tell them to Vote YES.

Religious Freedom (Support)

HB 1042 – D –      https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1042&Initiative=false&Year=2021 Protecting families from facing the death penalty in foreign countries due to their religion or other factors. The House voted to pass this bill to the Senate. This bill is currently in the Senate Law & Justice Committee and is awaiting a hearing. Call and email the Senate Committee members and ask for a hearing.

SB 5009– R –      https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5009&Initiative=false&Year=2021 Protects freedom of all speech, expression, and assembly. The Senate Law & Justice Committee will vote on whether to move it forward on 2/4/21 @ 10:30 AM. Call and email the Committee and tell them to move it forward. Call and email your Senatorand tell them to vote Yes.

Parental Rights (Support)

HB 1215 – R –        https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1215&Initiative=false&Year=2021  Providing parents and their children with more choices for a quality education through the K-12 education scholarship program. Call and email your House membersand the Chair and Co-Chair of the House Education Committee and ASK FOR A HEARING.

SB 5053 – R –        https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5053&Initiative=false&Year=2021   Notification of the parents or guardians of a minor in cases of abortion (will notify parents if their young daughter has an abortion). Call and email your Senator and the Chair and Co-Chair of the Senate Law & Justice Committee and ASK FOR A HEARING.

SB 5233 – R –         https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5233&Initiative=false&Year=2021 Expanding the pool of qualified persons to conduct home studies and pre-adoption studies for foster care and adoptions to people trained by, but not employed by the state or court. This would increase adoptions. Call and email your Senator and the Chair and Co-Chair of the Senate Human Services, Reentry & Rehabilitation Committee and ASK FOR A HEARING.

 

Parental Rights (Oppose)

SB 5030– D –       https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5030&Initiative=false&Year=2021  Creating a comprehensive School Counseling program. SB 5030 is currently in the Senate Rules Committee. It could be voted on at any time. Call and email your Senator and ask them to Vote NO on SB 5030.

Christian Social Justice (Oppose)

ESSB 5044 –        See above – Concerning Professional learning, equity, cultural competency and dismantling institutional racism in the K-12 public schools. ESSB was voted on by the Senate and was passed by a 30 – 19 vote.

It is now in the House Education Committee. Call and email your House members and the House Committee members and ask them to Vote No.

SB 5227 –  See above  –  Requiring diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism training and assessments at institutions of higher education. Currently scheduled to be voted on by the Senate Committee on Higher Education and Workforce Development on 2/4/21 @ 1:30 PM. Call and email your Senator and the Senate Committee members and ask them to vote NO.

Talking points for ESSB 5044 and SB 5227:

  • Forcing students & teachers to focus on outside appearances rather than inward character will only increase division and hatred.
  • Assuming that every person with a certain color of skin is either inherently racist or inherently oppressed will only lead to resentment between people – not unity.

SB 5229 – D –        https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5229&Initiative=false&Year=2021  Concerning health equity continuing education for health care professionals. Requires the same type of CRT training for health care workers.  This bill may force health care workers to be a part of dangerous transgender therapies and surgeries against their will. The public hearing was on 1/29/21.

Currently not scheduled for a Senate Committee vote. Call your Senator and the members of the Senate Health & Long Term Care Committee and tell them to vote NO.

SB 5313 – D –       https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5313&Initiative=false&Year=2021 Concerning health insurance discrimination. This bill would not allow health care insurers to deny coverage for gender mutilation surgeries. The public hearing for this bill is 2/3/21 @ 8:00 AM

Sign-in to the Senate Health and Long Term Care Committee hearing here and state your OPPOSITION to this bill. You can choose to testify, submit your written testimony, or simply state whether you are PRO or CON.  Follow these simple instructions or watch this video for assistance.

SSB 5052 – See above –  Health Equity Zones (will force racial segregation within our health care system). Currently in the Senate Ways & Means Committee. Call and email the Committee members and your Senator and tell them to Vote NO; health should not be forced to be racially segregated.

SHB 1019–  D – https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1019&Initiative=false&Year=2021     Allowing residential marijuana growing. The House Committee passed this bill to the House Appropriations Committee. Call and email your House members and the House Committee Members and tell them to Vote NO on HB 1019.

While there are several bills written by Republican legislators to rein in the power of the governor, meanwhile, the Democrat majority voted party line for extended powers:

2021 Senate Concurrent Resolution 8402: Extending certain gubernatorial orders issued in response to the COVID-19 state of emergency
See who voted for this:  https://www.washingtonvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=816328

Here’s what the Senate Republican Caucus leader, John Braun had to say about this: https://src.wastateleg.org/blog/surprise-majority-looks-abdicate-basic-role-legislative-branch/

It’s easy to let your legislators know what you think about a bill.

Simply call the Legislative HOTLINE and give your information.

CALL THE HOTLINE AT 800-562-6000.

The simplest method about finding / tracking and learning more about a particular bill is through Washington Votes.org.  

The list below was developed by the Legislative Information Center. It includes resources that can help you navigate the Washington State Legislature’s remote 2021 Legislative Session.

 

Understanding the process

New to how the Legislature operates? Start here!

Watching and participating

See all the action and have your voice heard!

 

Track Legislation

Know where your bills are so you can watch and take part effectively.

Contacting Your Legislator

Start a Dialogue With Your Elected Officials.

State House passes bill to spend $2.2 billion in federal COVID relief. Unemployment tax relief measure first bill to head to governor’s desk for signing

State House passes bill to spend $2.2 billion in federal COVID relief. Unemployment tax relief measure first bill to head to governor’s desk for signing

by | Feb 5, 2021 | Olympia News & Views 2021

State lawmakers hit a milestone this week, as the first bill to pass both houses in this year’s legislative session heads to the governor’s desk for his signature. The measure, SB 5061, would prevent $1.7 billion in automatic unemployment insurance tax increases from taking effect from 2021 to 2025 The bill easily passed the House by an 89-8 vote late Friday, after passing the Senate by a 42-7 vote earlier.

The 105-day session is in its 24th day, with the first deadline for legislative action coming in less than two weeks, on February 15th. That is the last day committees must pass bills from their originating chamber for consideration by the whole House or Senate. This first “cut-off” day generally reduces by half the number of bills still under consideration. To date in 2021, more than 900 measures have been introduced, and introductions are likely to continue at a brisk pace until the cut-off date. Typically, more than 2,000 bills are introduced during a 105-day regular session, with around 400 making it through final passage to become law. (more…)

State House passes bill to spend $2.2 billion in federal COVID relief. Unemployment tax relief measure first bill to head to governor’s desk for signing

Bill Watch from Olympia, Jan. 31, 2021

by | Feb 1, 2021 | 2021 Olympia Bills to Watch, Olympia News & Views 2021

Update from Olympia 1-31
by Ruth Peterson
There are over 800 bills that have been introduced this year. Many of them are terrible bills that will fundamentally change things in this state – our economy, our business atmosphere, where we can build a house, what our kids are being taught in school, tax policies, and your mode and cost of transportation. These are big things. All of them. You may be a 2A person. You may have a passion for legislation regarding tax policy. Or, you may wish to make sure our law enforcement organizations are not dismantled. The thing is, you can’t just compartmentalize. Many of these things are intertwined. 

As an example, I’ve added a bill that will be heard this week. SB 5340 will change the law for someone running for school board. It will change the qualification requirement from U.S. Citizen to allowing those who are not citizens but are legal permanent residents to run for that office. You may not have kids. You may think that it might be a good idea – that legal permanent resident is fully invested in the community. Why not? I have several friends and loved ones who are immigrants. It does take a lot of time and effort to become a citizen. I loved them before they were citizens and I love them after. But are we going to go down the road where people who are not citizens can run for office? The next step is that “well, if we have non-citizens run for office, we should have those upstanding people able to vote, as well.” After all, if they are invested enough to run for office, what’s the difference between that and voting. Do you see how that bill – that mindset – would fundamentally change how we elect our representatives? Again, I know many who are legal residents and those who have become citizens. This is not a statement against them in any way – it is against the idea that we should allow people who are not citizens of the U.S. to hold office. Bear in mind, this move would ultimately affect every single thing I mentioned in the first paragraph.

I didn’t add many bills to the list this week, because I made some other changes and I wanted to get you used to the new format. I wanted to keep things fairly short, so I have the bills in two sections – good and bad. I fixed the two errors I made last week. The Capital Gains bill is in the Bad list and I corrected the bill number for the increase in the gas tax. But here’s how to use my chart.

1. Bill number – I have added a link to the bill report to the bill number, so all you have to do is click on it to get the bill explained in layman’s terms. The Bill Report gives you background, it defines terms, and it gives details about what the bill will actually do. Sometimes that’s tough to figure out just by reading the bill.

2. Then I added a short explanation.

3. Finally, I give you where the bill is. If you click on the link in that column, it will take you to a page that lists all of the members of the committee where the bill currently resides. There is one bill that doesn’t have the link. It’s one that has already gone through the whole process in the Senate and has been voted off the floor. It will now go through the process in the House. (It’s a bill requiring Critical Race Theory to be taught in K12. This bill is on a fast track to be signed into law shortly. Any bill that has made it to Rules or has passed the floor is moving fast – you need to take action quickly on these!)

4. Here is a short summary of what process a bill must go through to pass.
a. It starts in a committee in the “House of Origin” (Senate committee for senate bills and House committee for House bills).
b. The bill must pass out of committee where it goes to rules. If you see a bill in Rules, you know that it is very close to going to the floor for a vote, especially if it’s a Democrat bill and has been voted out of committee this quickly.
c. From Rules, the bill goes to the floor.
d. If the bill is voted off the floor, it then goes to the “Opposite House” and goes through the same process. 
 
Good bills –>

SB 5207 Freshman senator,  Jeff Wilson, introduced this bill.  It would streamline environmental permitting. Senate Ag, Water, & Natural Resouces
SB 5037 Sen. Braun introduced a bill requiring schools to offer face to face classes depending on COVID metrics. While we believe in local control, there needs to be some incentive for school districts to be required to meet face to face. Our kids have been out of school for a year. Some are thriving, but a huge number are going to suffer in their educational future forever because of this!
 		 Senate Early Learning & K12 
SB 5114 Sen. Braun introduced another big one. This would move all of the state into Phase 2 of the Governor’s “COVID plan,” allowing restaurants and other industries to open back up safely. We are killing our small businesses and the hospitality industry is suffering mightily. There were over 1600 people who signed up to testify. The vast majority were for the bill. This past week, the Republicans attempted two procedural procedures that would have allowed a vote on this bill, but they were over-ruled each time. The Chair of the Committee that this bill is in – Senator Sam Hunt – refuses to let it come to a vote in committee. One wonders if he doesn’t want to go on record as voting no against all our businesses!
 		 Senate State Government
SB 5243 Senator Lynda Wilson introduced this bill that will streamline the approval of engineered plans. A little in the weeds, but honestly, trying to build anything in some counties is an absolutely nightmare – streamlining anything would be a blessing.
 		 Senate Housing & local Govt
SB 5245 Sen. Brown – Requiring written notification of crime victims before release of prisoners for certain crimes.
 		 Senate Human Services
SB 5316  Sen. Wilson, L. – This is also in the weeds, but this is big. The state has gotten millions of dollars from the federal government to help with COVID expenses. It is the Legislature’s job to appropriate funds and decide where the money is spent. The Governor has taken that job over because of yet another loophole in the law. Senator Wilson’s bill requires that a committee, made up of legislators approve or reject a request for expenditure by the Governor. Senate Ways & Means (budget)
 
Bad bills –>

HB 1099 Do you ever want to own a house? Develop property. Do you care what happens to your community? This bill would require the goal of “climate change mitigation” to the goals of Growth Management. This will even require local governments to track your travel. Listen to Rep. Peter Abbarno discuss it here 
 		 House Appropriations
HB 1091 Low Carbon Fuel Standards will definitely increase gas prices further. This obviously hurts everyone, but especially those in the rural areas. Article discussing this bill – https://www.washingtonpolicy.org/publications/detail/will-lcfs-raise-gas-prices-california-oregon-and-wa-budget-agency-say-yes
 		 House Appropriations
HB 1135 Increase gas prices – Isn’t this one of the best ideas? Right when most of WA state has been out of work for the past year? This will be an 18 cent increase (on top of increases by low carbon fuel standards.) The bill report on this one doesn’t say much, so I didn’t link it. It’s part of an entire transportation package that includes tons of new spending, as well. Wonder how much goes for the light rail boondoggle?
 		 House  Transportation
HB 1141 Expanding assisted suicide
 		 House Rules
HB 1225 Creating school-based health centers in our schools. Basically removes the parent from the health decisions of their children. This one is fast-tracked, as well. Scheduled to be passed out of committee before the end of the week.
 		 House Appropriations
SB 5038 Prohibits open carry at demonstrations at the Capitol. Another Second Amendment issue
 		 Rules
SB 5044 Imposing Critical Race Theory on our children in public school. This one is fast tracked, folks. May be on the floor this week, passed and sent to the House for a quick pass and then, boom, into law before the end of February. You need to organize and work to get this defeated.
 		 Passed the Senate vote 30-19
SB 5052 Concerning the creation of health equity zones. This is the year of racial equity & social justice. These bills are fast tracked and will likely be passed. There are a bunch of them. I’m only hitting on a few. These are racists bills. If you have to check a person’s color or gender to be able to choose what action to take, you are doing it wrong!
 		 Senate Ways & Means (budget)
SB 5078 Hi Cap Magazine ban Bill   Rules
SB 5096  Capital Gains Income Tax – make no mistake. This is a push for an income tax. Senate Ways & Means (budget)
SB 5188 The WA State Bank. Terrible idea, but they are definitely pushing it. We have great credit ratings in this state, thanks to Treasurer Duane Davidson. They want to destroy that good rating by creating our own state bank. Not the place of government to do that!
 		 Senate Business & Finance
SB 5340 Changes the qualification for running for School Board from requiring citizenship to just being a permenant legal resident. The next step after this is allowing permenant legal residents to vote without requiring citizenship. Scheduled for a hearing on Feb 1 at 1:30 pm  Senate Early Learning & K12 

It’s easy to let your legislators know what you think about a bill.

Simply call the Legislative HOTLINE and give your information.

CALL THE HOTLINE AT 800-562-6000.
The simplest method about finding / tracking and learning more about a particular bill is through Washington Votes.org.

Weigh in on bills in Olympia

State legislature starts passing bills, including SB 5044, forcing public schools to teach “systemic racism”

by | Jan 31, 2021 | 2021 Olympia Bills to Watch, Education, Olympia News & Views 2021

WashingtonVotes NEWS: Friday, January 29, 2021

State lawmakers debate and take first full votes on passing bills online in mostly empty House and Senate chambers

The House and Senate went into full floor sessions this past week to debate and vote on a dozen bills that had cleared the first steps toward legislative passage. Their respective chambers, however, were essentially empty except for the presiding officers and their staff and a few members spread among the House and Senate desks. Most members participated remotely using online connections. (more…)

Bills being considered in Olympia. The good, the bad, & the very, very ugly.

Bills being considered in Olympia. The good, the bad, & the very, very ugly.

by | Jan 25, 2021 | 2021 Olympia Bills to Watch, Olympia News & Views 2021

Bills are making their way through the legislature in Olympia at high speed.  Ruth Peterson of Lewis County (PCO, State Committeewoman, who works at the Capitol in the State Senate), shares a few of the ones that need attention.  The following is from her email alert:

Heard last week, but you can definitely still weigh in with your legislators:

SB 5096 – Capital Gains Income Tax – make no mistake. This is a push for an income tax.

SB 5037 – Sen. Braun – requiring schools to offer face to face classes depending on COVID metrics. While we believe in local control, there needs to be some incentive for school districts to be required to meet face to face. Our kids have been out of school for a year. Some are thriving, but a huge number are going to suffer in their educational future forever because of this! (more…)