| Before I get started on the update on my previous list of bills, there are a few new bills I’ve added to the list along with a new heading Usurping Parental Authority. There is time to stop some of these bills. You can find more info about how to influence Olympia here – Lewis County Republicans. I am only touching on some of the bills. There are really too many to keep up with. I don’t want to overwhelm you, but you need to know what they are trying to push through this session. HB 2240 – Banning hi cap magazines – HB 2240 may be heard as early as tomorrow afternoon. The House goes to the floor at noon on Sunday, the 16th. SB 6455 – Passed the Senate and is headed to the House for a committee hearing – This is the epitome of the Nanny State. This bill forces all restaurants serving kids to only allow water, milk, or low-cal milk alternative as a drink. Because sugar is bad for kids, you know. Party line vote. Republicans tried to add amendments to at least add 100% juice, but no. The state says no sugar. You can still order it separately, but it can’t be offered with the kid’s meal. When my kids were little, going out to eat was a big-time treat. I always let them have pop, because I didn’t have it in the home. Well, parents, the Democrats in Oly don’t think you are smart enough to figure it out. It was just one bill later they passed the apple license plate after they lectured the Republicans that apple juice (while yummy) has too much sugar for our kids. This should outrage ever parent (along with a bazillion other bills that they are passing this year.) HB 1551 – Passed the House and is headed to the Senate for a committee hearing. Parents, please look at this bill. It is touted as a bill that removes stigma from people with HIV/AIDS, but read the small print. It will remove the criminal charges for knowingly infecting and unaware person with HIV/AIDS. But it’s worse than that. It also takes away parental authority after the age of 14. Here it is from the bill report –> “Allows a minor of 14 years of age or older to give consent to get treatment to avoid HIV infection without a parent or guardian’s consent.” This would be great news for anyone who wishes to groom our children. SB 6313 – Passed the Senate and is headed to the House for a committee hearing – Allowing 17 year olds to vote in the Primary and requiring colleges to have voting centers to make it easy for them, if the students desire. ESB 5294 – Here is one business-owners will love. It requires you to grant a leave of absence without loss of job status or seniority to an employee who is a member of the state Legislature. If you hire someone and they become a Rep or Senator, you have to give them from Jan – March or April every year. And if they go into extended session? And what about the sub-committees they are on throughout the year? Seems to me that if you are going to run for the legislature, either quit your other job, or find one that is compatible with the legislative schedule. But no. The businesses have to bear the brunt of this one. It passed off the floor of the Senate and is headed for the House. Remember! NO bill is truly dead until the last gavel goes down on sine die – March 12. Even though bills that did not make cutoff are not likely to pass, I’ve seen dead bills come back alive in the wee hours of the morning on the last days of session. For instance, I’ve had people tell me the Senate doesn’t have the votes to pass Low Carbon Fuel Standards. Well, they probably only have to pressure one to change their mind – I’d keep the pressure on. I didn’t move it to the dead list because it is still absolutely alive until the next cutoff. Next cutoff is Wednesday. Every bill must have been voted on and passed off the floor in the chamber where it was introduced. True for every bill except NTIB (Necessary To Implement the Budget) Firearms – SB 6077 and HB 2240 – High capacity magazines – See my note at the top of the post. HB 1010 – Allowing the WSP to destroy firearms that have been confiscated. Still alive – it has been passed off the floor of the House (party line vote) and is now in the Senate Law & Justice Committee. It had a hearing on Wed. the 12th and is scheduled for an executive session on the 20th. HB 1315 & SB 5174 –Concealed Carry training requirements – 5174 didn’t make it out of committee, but it’s companion, HB 1315 is alive and well – still going through the process. It is in the rules committee which is one step from going to the House floor for a vote. If this bill passes, there will be around 100,000 people that need to take classes every year. We do not have the capacity for that number to be trained. SB 6686 and HB 2925 – Banning weapons on the Capitol grounds in Olympia. These appear to be dead, but I’m not removing it from the list, because the Democrats would love to see this bill pass, and they have ways of passing bills even after cutoff. Transportation – SB 6586 – Pay per mile tax. If you didn’t read about this bill in last week’s post, you need to go back and read about what this bill does. In the Rules Committee which means next stop is a floor vote. HB 1110 – Low Carbon Fuel Standards has passed the House and is in the Senate, waiting for a hearing. I have this under Transportation because it will increase our cost to move ourselves and goods around the state. This could raise gas prices more than 40 cents per gallon. The worse part about this is that if it were a gas tax, at least the money would go towards roads (it’s constitutionally required for gas tax to go to transportation). But this legislation would just increase the costs to manufacture the fuel, so not a dime will go to our roads. Get ready to pay more at the pump and pay more for all our goods delivered by truck. (Hint – it’s pretty much everything you see in your local store). Other – SB 5323– state-wide ban on plastic bags – Still very much alive. SB 5323 has been voted off the floor of the Senate and is now in the House awaiting a public hearing. SB 5339 – Abolishing the Death Penalty. Very much alive. Passed on the Senate Floor on Friday and is awaiting a hearing in the House. Any landlords out there? HB 2520 – Alive and ready to go to the House floor for a vote. This makes it extremely difficult to keep a deposit to cover damage done by a tenant. Requires meticulous documentation of every “fixture” in the rental including the age of the item. A government agency will decide when a fixture has outlived its usefulness and the landlord cannot use the damage deposit if the item is deemed to have outlived its usefulness. They have a couple of executive sessions scheduled, so it could either be moved out of committee on the 5th or the 7th. There are other landlord bills of concern, but this one was eye-popping. SB 6228 Alive and ready to go to the floor for a vote. It would restore voting rights to felons the second they walk out of prison, before their parole and financial restitution. ESSB 5395 – Sex Education – this bill was passed off the floor of the Senate and is now in the house Education Committee. This is a push to teach gender fluidity as early as kindergarten. It has had a hearing in the House. Be sure to also watch out for the companion bill HB 1407 (you can click on the companion bill info from the 5395 page. Usurping Parental Authority HB 1551 – Passed the House and is headed to the Senate for a committee hearing. – removes crimes related to knowingly infecting someone with HIV/AIDS and allowing children to get treatment to avoid HIV infection as young as 14 without parental consent. SB 6455 – Passed the Senate and is headed to the House for a committee hearing – see first section of this post. Forcing restaurants to offer only water, milk, or low-sugar milk alternative on kids menus. Signed into law. It’s a done deal. SB 6492 – Increase of B&O tax on the service industry. See last week’s newsletter for details Likely Dead – HB 2184 – Sex Ed bill HB 1068 & SB 5062 – both ban “high capacity” magazines. HB 2241 – another high cap magazine bill. HB 2688 – Expanding Transportation policy goals –It removes mobility as one of the goals of transportation. Add climate change to the goals. There is a long list – none of which will help you to get to work faster. HB 2515 – Ban on gas powered vehicles by 2030. But be assured, it will be back next year. We need to make sure there aren’t enough votes to pass it. HB 2529 & SB 6503 – Outlawing Initiatives and Referendums in odd numbered years. SB 6516 – reducing the work week to 32 hours. |
