Dear Neighbors,

Believe it or not, we are already one month into the 2013 legislative session.  Only 11 more weeks to go!  The session follows a cut-off calendar, which determines the deadlines for public hearings and executive action on bills, as well as floor action in both the House and Senate. We are coming up on our first cut-off, February 22, which is the last day a policy bill can be considered in committee in its house of origin.  Fiscal bills get an extra week beyond that. 

 

Update on my bills

 

Justice for those wrongly convicted

What happens if a person is wrongly convicted and spends years behind bars before his or her innocence is proven? Not much.  In fact, nothing. That’s right, under current law, that person is out of luck because there is absolutely no compensation.

My bill (HB 1341) would allow persons wrongly convicted and incarcerated to bring a civil suit against the state for compensation.  This measure attempts to bring justice by providing Washington’s wrongly convicted with the financial support, education, and health care services they deserve and need to start over.  It can include $50,000 per year of actual confinement and monetary compensation for child support, court fees, attorney fees, and other costs.  Some may qualify for a tuition and fees waiver for state higher education institutions.

We heard compelling testimony on the bill in yesterday’s House Judiciary Committee meeting, including the stories of three exonerees. You can watch the hearing on TVW here.

King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg said, while testifying in support of the bill, “We think when the government makes a mistake, we should say we’re sorry.”  I agree, we should.

To learn more about HB 1341 and the Innocence Project, click on the image below to watch this KOMO news story:

You can also read this Seattle Weekly post.

 

Protecting Washington’s distressed youth

My bill addressing troubled youth (HB 1336) was heard in the Education Committee yesterday.  Several survivors of suicide offered very moving testimony, and experts in the field gave valuable insight on why we need to strengthen our suicide prevention efforts.  You can also watch that hearing on TVW here.

I will keep you updated on the bill’s progress.

 

 

Getting rid of GET?

 

There’s been a lot of talk about closing the state’s Guaranteed Education Tuition program (GET), which was created by the Legislature in 1998 as a way for families to save for college.  Parents, grandparents and others can buy GET “units” at a fixed price today that can be applied towards college tuition later.

Some lawmakers are pushing to close the GET program. Recent reports show a projected unfunded liability of $631 million several years down the road. That’s a concern to be taken seriously, though ending the program completely could be far more devastating.  If we end the program, it could cost the state anywhere from $649 million to $1.6 billion.  It would also end a program that has helped over 27,000 students achieve the dream of a college education who might not have otherwise been able to afford it.

Thankfully, we have options to get the GET reserves back to healthy levels. This report from the State Actuary illustrates how holding the line on tuition increases for the next two years and increasing state support for instructional costs will quickly lead to a healthy GET reserve.

 

 

Toxic-free kids and families

 

Would you expose your child – or yourself – to a toxic chemical in the name of fire safety?  What if it turned out the toxic chemical didn’t provide a fire safety benefit after all?

This week the House Environment committee held a public hearing on House Bill 1294, which would ban two cancer-causing flame-retardants from children’s products and residential furniture.  The bill also prevents manufacturers from substituting equally toxic chemicals in their place. Support continues to build for the measure, especially since an investigative report last year exposed deceptive tactics that the chemical industry has been using to try to defeat bills like this across the country.  It turns out that these toxic chemicals don’t provide much, if any, fire safety benefit at all.  In fact, they make fires more deadly by producing toxic fumes that our first responders are repeatedly exposed to in their line of work. 

 

 

February is American Heart Month

 

Heart disease is still the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. In fact, one out of every four deaths is due to heart disease and about 715,000 Americans will have a heart attack this year alone.

The good news is that heart disease is highly preventable. The Center for Disease Control is offering some easy tips for improving your heart’s health.

• Eat a healthy diet… Be sure to eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables- adults should have at least five servings each day.
• Maintain a healthy weight. Being overweight or obese can increase your risk for disease.
• Exercise regularly… The Surgeon General recommends that adults should engage in moderate-intensity exercise for at least 30 minutes on most days of the week.
• Monitor your blood pressure. High blood pressure often has no symptoms, so be sure to have it checked on a regular basis.

For more information on heart health, visit the CDC’s page on American Heart Month.

 

 

Have your say!

 

Want to share your thoughts and suggestions on pending legislation?  There’s a new online comment tool for bills under consideration in the House and Senate, it’s called Granicus. Read about it and how it works here.

Sincerely,