February 25, 2011
Dear Neighbor,
The second major cutoff for this legislative session is today when all fiscal bills have to be voted out of their respective committees or else be considered “dead” for the session. The exceptions to that rule are bills that are necessary to implement the final 2011 supplemental budget and the 2011-13 biennial budget. I and my House colleagues will be on the floor pretty much non-stop starting this weekend for the next ten days approving bills and sending them to the Senate for the next step in the legislative process.
You can keep track of what bills we are voting on each day by checking the House Floor Calendar.
After days of rapidly alternating rain, snow, sleet and sunshine (and sometimes combinations thereof), our state’s Capital is covered in a blanket of snow. It’s beautiful, but quite chilly! I hope you are keeping safe and warm in this unpredictable weather.
I was thrilled to hear the news yesterday that Boeing was awarded the $35 billion contract to build aerial refueling tankers. This contract will bring thousands of new jobs to our state and strengthen Boeing’s decades-long position as a world-class aircraft manufacturer. This is great news for our region and our entire state! We should all feel proud and happy for this well-deserved and long-awaited victory.
Lawmakers in the House of Representatives often disagree on issues and legislation, but every one of our differences fell aside last week when we united to honor the life and legacy of Jayme Biendl. I’m sure you remember that Jayme was the corrections officer who was murdered, allegedly by an inmate, at the Monroe Correctional Complex January 29. That tragedy shocked our state, and was yet another sad reminder of the dangers that many of Washington’s public employees face on a daily basis. Last Wednesday, with many of Jayme’s fellow corrections officers looking on from the galleries, the House unanimously approved House Resolution No. 2011-4624 in tribute to Jayme.
It is ironic that Jayme’s murder happened during a legislative session featuring an unusually large number of bills designed to make life safer for Washington citizens, law-enforcement personnel, and corrections officers. These bills were not rushed into existence as a result of Jayme’s death; legislators from both parties began filing bills back in December, and it is simply a painful coincidence that many of them would likely have been welcomed by her. Among them are bills that would:
· Prevent inmates from using public-disclosure requests to learn the home addresses of corrections officers
· Increase sanctions against inmates who assault corrections officers
· Make it a felony to harass corrections officers, officers of the court, law-enforcement professionals, parole officers and anyone else defined as a “criminal-justice participant”
One of my primary goals as your representative is to develop and champion laws that protect Washington families, making all of us more secure in our homes and communities. An important part of our larger “family” is the public workforce we count on to help us carry out that goal.
The 2010 census numbers are all in and Washington is officially the 13th-largest state in the nation now. According to the official count, there are 830,000 more people living in our state now than there were a decade ago. Because of that, we have earned an additional seat in the U.S. Congress.
Following every census, the Washington Redistricting Commission resets our legislative and congressional boundaries to keep population counts consistent between each district. That work is underway right now, and the Census just released its data from the 2010 count, along with this interactive map:
You can read more about this and interact with the map on the HDC Advance: Census Map – Where we’re growing
Military higher education bill advances
Many members of our state’s National Guard, or other military reservists, are currently in the process of trying to complete higher education programs. Getting called to active duty or training interrupts their education while they serve our country both at home and abroad.
State law already provides certain protections for reservists who get called up for periods of over 30 days and must leave school to do so. Upon return, these reservists can continue and complete their coursework without penalty, or withdraw from school without penalty or fees, and return to their studies at a later date.
But the current law overlooks the fact that most of our National Guard members are called to respond to domestic natural disasters like floods, wildfires and earthquakes, and these duty periods are often under 30 days in length. These reservists should be given the same protections as those who serve for longer periods, and that’s the purpose of House Bill 1221, which passed the House unanimously and is now under consideration over in the state Senate.
Sincerely,
In This Issue
Remembering Jayme Biendl
Military higher education bill advances
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