| House policy committees did not meet last week, but legislators were busy hearing bills in the House fiscal committees. The deadline for bills to pass out of these committees (Appropriations, Transportation and Capital Budget) if they are to remain in play this year was March 1 – unless the bills are necessary to implement the budget.
This week, we are on the floor of the House voting on legislation every day, potentially including Saturday and Sunday. It’s the only way we can get as much done as possible within the short time frame to act on House bills.
Save the Date – Town Hall
The 22nd Legislative District Town Hall will be Sat., March 16th from 10 am – Noon on the Capitol Campus. The meeting will be in the John L. O’Brien Building, Hearing Room A. Click on these links for a campus map and parking information. Parking is free on the weekend, and you can use the lots behind the Cherberg Building and between the Legislative Building and the O’Brien Building, as well as on the diagonal streets leading from Capitol Way to the campus. Please do not park in the South Capitol Neighborhood residential area.
Sen. Fraser, Rep. Reykdal and I hope you can join us!
State Supreme Court issues I-1053 ruling
On February 28, the state Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision on the constitutionality of I-1053, the initiative requiring a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to either raise taxes or close tax loopholes. The court ruled that this “supermajority requirement” is unconstitutional.
The court case began a couple of years ago, borne out of the inability of a simple majority of House legislators to close an outdated tax loophole in our state that only benefitted large, out-of-state banks. They wanted to close this loophole in order to fund classroom size reductions in our public schools instead. But because of the supermajority requirement, a minority of legislators was able defeat the bill in the House, and Wall Street banks triumphed over Washington’s schoolchildren.
The Supreme Court made it clear last week that this is not the way our government is supposed to function. Our state constitution says that a simple majority is required to pass any legislation, and an initiative cannot override the constitution. This ruling clarifies our responsibilities as legislators and protects the people from what the court called “the tyranny of the minority.” To me the language in the Constitution is very clear:
“SECTION 22 PASSAGE OF BILLS. No bill shall become a law unless on its final passage the vote be taken by yeas and nays, the names of the members voting for and against the same be entered on the journal of each house, and a majority of the members elected to each house be recorded thereon as voting in its favor.”
Representative Reykdal and I were both plaintiffs in the lawsuit which was originated by Representative Reykdal and his fellow Class of 2010 House freshmen. The decision will not lead to immediate tax increases, but it does reinforce what the drafters of the state Constitution had in mind when they drafted the document.
Yes, I realize that the voters repeatedly voted to support the 2/3 majority rule, but that does not make it constitutional. Just as southern states repeatedly enacted legislation to support segregation, that did not make it legal or constitutional. The Washington State Constitution is the supreme law of the state, and the court ruled that the 2/3 vote requirement is unconstitutional.
Sequestration hits home
Senator Patty Murray recently paid a visit to the House Democratic caucus here in Olympia, and she didn’t try to sugarcoat the news about the looming sequester and its impact. Sequestration is automatic cuts to the federal budget that were triggered when Congress did not reach a budget by March 1. At the time, Senator Murray expressed her frustration at the lack of progress towards a deal, and was not hopeful that one would be reached before the deadline.
Unfortunately, her fears were correct and the deadline has passed. Our state now faces cuts that threaten jobs and family security and hurt some of our most vulnerable citizens. For example:
- 160 teacher and aide jobs are at risk as we lose $11.6 million in funding for primary and secondary education
- 440 low income students in our state won’t receive aid to help them finance the costs of college
- Approximately 29,000 civilian Department of Defense employees throughout our state face furloughs, resulting in millions of dollars in reduced pay for working families
- Approximately 1,000 low income children will lose access to critical early childhood education
Our state, and our country, deserves better than this. Congress must act quickly to undo these damaging cuts before they
Protecting kids, reuniting families
The Legislature sent Governor Inslee a bill that helps runaway youth stay safe until they can be reunited with their families. It was signed into law this week, the first bill signing of the 2013 session.
The bill concerns the amount of time that shelters and organizations that aid runaways have before they must legally notify either the child’s parents or the state Department of Social and Health Services. It increases that amount of time from eight hours to 72 hours.
This longer notification period has been shown to work better by keeping kids safely off the street while allowing time for parents and children to work out their differences. Eight hours was too short of a window for staff to be able to contact parents and adequately help families in crisis. Passage of this legislation makes it much less likely that runaways will be turned away from the places that are supposed to help them and keep them safe.
Leading the fight against human trafficking
Human trafficking is a serious and widespread problem, and our state has been a leader in the fight to crack down on it and protect victims. In fact, Washington passed 28 laws from 2002 to 2012 to fight human trafficking, modern-day slavery and sexual exploitation of children. This includes laws prohibiting sex tourism, improving services for human trafficking victims, and creating a task force devoted to human trafficking. You can read more about all 28 laws here.
But we’re not done. There are another two bills we’ve been working on in the House, one of which passed nearly unanimously. They are:
· House Bill 1291, which directs fees from impounded vehicles involved in prostitution-related offenses to local governments, which will use them to reduce the commercial sale of sex through more enforcement and rehab services for victims.
· House Bill 1292, which allows victims of trafficking forced into prostitution to clear their records of related convictions. This bill has already passed the House.
Coach Carroll pays lawmakers a visit
Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll was at the State Capitol last week, and the House presented him with a resolution congratulating his team on their highly successful season.
He later paid a visit to our House Democratic caucus, but not to talk about football. Instead, he shared information about his team’s commitment to community outreach programs that help prevent youth violence and keep communities and neighborhoods safer. He spoke with great enthusiasm about keeping youth engaged in positive ways so they’re less likely to turn to gangs or violence.
Photos from Coach Carroll’s visit can be seen on our House Democrats Facebook page.
Have you heard our new podcast?
There’s a new podcast in the House Democrats audio lineup, and it’s called the House Majority Report. It’s a weekly, three-to-five minute conversation with a member of the House Democrats’ leadership team about current legislative issues. New podcasts are released every Friday on our website, or you can subscribe to it on iTunes (just search for Washington State House Majority Report).
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