WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

A message from Rep. Mike Sells on Friday night Senate Floor actions

March 5, 2012
Message from Rep. Mike Sells

Late Friday afternoon, three Democrats decided to side with the Republicans to give them an effective majority in the State Senate; it took less than five minutes for them to show what a Republican majority really means.

Their first order of business was to use a parliamentary maneuver to pull a budget to the floor – a budget that had received no public hearing and therefore had no opportunity for amendments to make it better.

It was strong-armed government at its worst.

Every attempt to bring sunshine into the process was beaten down. Every attempt to bring more thoughtful deliberation to the budget was rejected. The processes of government are supposed to make government more open and accessible to its citizens. That’s what democracy is all about.  To see these very processes used to cut the public out, to smother opposition and to win a purely partisan victory is as shocking as it is sad.

Picture yourself as a senator suddenly presented with a 235-page budget and told you must vote on it without knowing its content.

Imagine that you represent over 100,000 people and are told you should support a budget when you have no idea how it will affect your communities and the citizens you serve.

Imagine that this budget could potentially leave thousands of your citizens out on the street, without the medical care they desperately need, or without a way to put food on their table for their family.

The last thing we need is to bring the dysfunctional and poisonous atmosphere of the US Congress here, to our Washington.

This kind of poison doesn’t just have an effect for a day, a week, or a legislative session. This sets the tone for how the business of the people could be handled for years to come.

It breaks down the trust, the mutual respect and the willingness to listen to one another, which is a hallmark of democracy when it’s working at its best.

What I hear from you, the people I represent, is that you want more bipartisanship, you want your lawmakers to work together to solve problems and improve living and working conditions in our district and the state. You want partnership and collaboration, not partisanship.

Friday’s actions in the Senate were anything but collaborative. How could this happen? It happened because three “democrats” made secret backroom deals with no transparency and no real public involvement.

One of the first effects of these backroom maneuvers was that important government reform bills, as well as other bills that could have helped many Washingtonians, were killed, for example:

  • 1753 – Clarifies that a non-nurse school administrator cannot direct the clinical practice of a nurse in a school setting.
  • 2228 – Redistribution of medications to help people who can’t afford their prescription drugs.
  • 2240 – Public improvement contracts for transit facilities funded in whole or in part by federal transportation funds are added to contracts exempted from retainage requirement. This bill resolves the conflict between state and federal law for transit agencies.
  • 2256 – Regulates the licensing of escrow agents. This bill fixes a regulatory problem.
  • 2272 Wholesale containers of engine coolant and antifreeze of 55 gallons or more must contain an aversive agent to render the antifreeze or engine coolant unpalatable.
  • 2339 – Fixes an uncommon problem to make sure that an employer who hires a previously unemployed individual on a part-time basis isn’t hammered with a high UI rate. (A bill I prime sponsored.)
  • 2401 – Makes cost savings and efficiencies changes in mailing notices of possible license suspension for noncompliance with child support orders.
  • 2421 – Provides immunity for all foreclosure mediators in the Foreclosure Fairness Act to improve the foreclosure process.
  • 2491 – Specifying when predecessor-successor relationships do not exist for purposes of unemployment experience rating. This is so businesses do not get hit unfairly with a high rate.
  • 2503 – Early registration in higher education institutions for eligible veterans and National Guard members.
  • 2510 – Limits government liability during preshelter care investigations of child abuse or neglect. This bill tips the balance on the side of erring on behalf of the child’s safety in conducting an investigation within the first 72 hours before the shelter care hearing.
  • 2512 – Pharmacists licensed in Washington State are added to the Legend Drug Act.
  • 2590 Extends expiration dates of certain program fees and taxes, and lowers the taxes from 0.5 to 0.3 percent. These programs help small businesses obtain insurance and provide insurance coverage that otherwise would not exist or would be very expensive on the open market.
  • 2717 – Encourages public four-year institutions of higher education to work together to design innovative approaches to greatly increase the number of resident students working toward and gaining baccalaureate degrees
  • 2735 – Raises the minor works project threshold for higher education institutions to allow schools to get more repair work done on the campuses.

These and other bills were blocked from becoming laws thanks to the Senate Republicans’ actions on Friday night.

This isn’t bipartisanship, this is a hostage situation. And it’s not just legislation being held hostage, but the entire state of Washington; our children’s future, economic development, and our seniors’ well-being.

A great Republican once said that our country represents a government that is of the people by the people and for the people.

What we saw on Friday night was a government above the people, to the people and against the people, and against the very principles that made America great.