January 21, 2011
2011 Legislative Session begins
Dear Neighbor,
The 2011 Legislative Session began last week, and as I took the oath of office on the floor of the House I was filled with gratitude for the privilege of representing you here in Olympia. Thank you for that honor!
I will be sending these e-memos regularly to help you stay up-to-the minute on the issues and actions being considered in the Legislature. I hope you find them informative. If you have questions or comments, do not hesitate to contact my office.
First order of business: the supplemental budget
As you have undoubtedly heard, Washington continues to face a budget shortfall. Although the “experts” have declared the Great Recession over, we’re still a long way from a full recovery. Washington is a sales-tax dependent state and consumers are still nervous, frankly, about buying non-essentials. At the same time, more Washington families, hit hard by the economy, are looking for a bit of help.
We have two budget challenges to work out – the $1.6 billion shortfall in the current budget year ending June 30, and the $4.6 billion shortfall for the upcoming 2011-13 budget. Unlike the federal government, the state does not run a deficit, so our first task this year is to make additional cuts in spending. We held a one-day special session in December that cut $588 million from the current budget, but we still have a lot of work to do.
Governor Gregoire sent her supplemental budget proposal to the legislature last month. The supplemental budget is how we’ll balance the budget for the current year. Her budget proposal includes eliminating our state’s Basic Health Plan for 66,000 low-income workers, funding to reduce class sizes in grades K-4, and subsidies that help seniors pay for their Medicare Part D co-payments.
The House Ways and Means committee passed a supplemental budget on Wednesday, and we will be considering it on the House floor Monday, January 24th. This is the earliest the House has acted on a budget bill that anyone here can remember, and illustrates just how serious we are about solving the current fiscal problems.
The decisions about what to cut and what to save are every bit as painful as I thought they’d be. Everything in the budget has its supporters, and we’re hearing from many of them every single day. However, we recognize that our state is facing a real problem and it’s our responsibility to tackle it as early in the session as we can.
Here is more information about the House proposal. Further changes will likely be made next week, and then the budget will be on its way to the Senate.
January 27 is Homeless Awareness Day in Washington
Gov. Chris Gregoire is proclaiming January 27, 2011, to be Homeless Awareness Day in Washington. This is the day that caring volunteers in communities across our state will fan out to conduct the annual Point in Time Count of the Homeless in Washington. To help raise awareness of homelessness and how we can help, the House Community Development & Housing Committee will hold a special work session at 10 A.M. on The Realities of Homelessness in Washington. The event will feature state and national experts and people who’ve experienced the realities of homelessness, and will be broadcast and webcast live on TVW.
I hope you’ll take time on January 27th, and other days, to give thought to the homeless men, women and children in our state, and to consider their struggles with compassion; for these are our fellow Washingtonians.
I would like to take a moment to update you on some of the issues and proposed legislation that I am working on this year.
More options for those facing foreclosure
I have continued to work tirelessly to help families facing foreclosure. Unfortunately, we have seen this issue rise to prominence nationally and in our state. Between 2009 and 2012, 2,104,655 homes will experience a foreclosure-related decline in value totaling $19.5 billion in lost home equity—that’s $9,259 per home in the state. Foreclosures are negatively affecting Washington’s families and communities.
My bill, HB 1362, would make a number of changes to the foreclosure process in Washington. The measure places an emphasis on bringing homeowners in direct conversation with their lenders to discuss options that are beneficial to both parties. We know from other states, jurisdictions and just common sense – if people have the opportunity to sit down and talk, more often than not a solution can be reached and, in many cases, this solution avoids foreclosure. For most families, their home is their most important asset and we want to ensure a fair process for all in order to keep families in their homes whenever possible. My bill would:
· Make a more robust “meet and confer” requirement. In 2009, the Legislature passed a bill that required a meeting between lender and homeowner, before residential foreclosure could proceed. The 2011 bill will strengthen that requirement—the meeting must be in person, must assess the homeowner’s ability to pay the existing or a modified mortgage, and now applies to all residential mortgages, not just certain years.
· Create a foreclosure mediation requirement. If the lender and homeowner cannot reach agreement during “meet and confer,” the homeowner can request a foreclosure mediation to see if he/she is eligible for a loan modification. Foreclosure mediation with a neutral person in the room has been shown in other states to drastically reduce the number of foreclosures.
· Fund more housing counselors. Research has shown that trained housing counselors working with homeowners have reduced the number of foreclosures.
· Provides a consumer protection act remedy for failing to comply with the foreclosure process.
The bill is scheduled for a public hearing before the House Judiciary Committee next Wednesday, January 26, in House Hearing Room A at 8:00 AM.
Should those wrongfully convicted be compensated?
You may have heard on the news recently about individuals who have been exonerated for crimes they did not commit. Unfortunately, individuals are wrongly convicted of crimes and robbed of their freedom, often for years. The average time an exoneree spends incarcerated is 12.5 years. This is a substantial loss for families and individuals, creating barriers to successful transition back into society when they are released. These include years of lost freedom, inability to engage with their families, lost wages, and significant time out of the workforce.
I have been working with the Northwest Clinic Innocence Project at the University Of Washington School Of Law to create a bill, HB 1435, that would provide much needed resources for those wrongly incarcerated to help begin rebuilding their lives, careers and families. Additionally, I have had the pleasure of meeting with three of the exonerees from our state to find out what they really need from a compensation package. This legislation would provide:
· Restorative compensation for exonerees in the form of inclusion in the state employee healthcare and dental plan for up to ten years.
Higher education tuition waivers to state institutions for individuals and their children
Inclusion of exonerees in state programs providing reentry services, such as: life skills training, job skills development, mental health and substance abuse treatment.
Monetary compensation to assist individuals and their families obtain other needed resources in the amount of $50,000 per year spent in prison and an extra $50,000 per year spent on death row. This money would not be available until 2014.
Public recognition of the innocence of the exonerated individual.
As you know, government must compensate property owners fairly when imminent domain procedures take place and that makes sense. Doesn’t it make just as much—or even more—sense for the state to provide fair compensation when freedom, which is more important than any real estate, has been incorrectly taken away from an individual?
Click here to see a video clip about the wrongful conviction bill.
Simplifying tenant screening procedures
I worked with landlords, tenant advocate organizations, and legal firms to write a bill aimed at decreasing barriers prospective tenants face during the stressful time of looking for a place to call home. As most who have rented know, fees for credit and consumer reports can be expensive and are often paid numerous times before deciding where to live. I would like to see landlords and tenants go through this process more smoothly and with less confusion. My proposed bill would:
· Limit the number of times applicants would pay for a credit or consumer report in a 30-day period.
· Provide tenants with screening criteria up front to reduce unnecessary screening.
· Require a clear explanation to tenants of the reason for denial, if there is one.
· Prohibit tenant screening companies from including domestic violence protection orders on a victim’s screening report. Unfortunately, victims are sometimes denied housing because of their status as a victim of domestic violence if a protection order is available to landlords.
I recognize the stress that families face when it comes to housing, and I am working to make this process as easy and fair as possible. If you have been affected by any of these issues I would very much like to hear your story.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me with questions or concerns about these bills or anything else that is affecting our communities.
Sincerely,
In This Issue
Contact
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Olympia, WA 98504-0600
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