Charli Sorenson

ACTION ALERT – WEEK 2

From LWVWA 1/16/22 Newsletter

Bills needing your action this week

Be involved. Legislators need to hear from you!

The first cutoff date is February 3. By that date, only three weeks away, bills have to have had a public hearing in the committee of origin and be voted out to the next step or they will die. The next step might be assignment to a fiscal committee or on to Rules, for a decision about whether or not the bill will move to the floor for a vote.

ELECTION LEGISLATION

HB 1876 Fiscal Impact of Ballot Measures.

This bill would require any ballot measures that repeal, levy, or modify any tax or fee must submit a fiscal impact statement that shows that adoption of the measure would cause a net change in state revenue. Bill is scheduled for a hearing in the House State Government and Tribal Relations Committee on Wednesday January 19th at 8AM. The LWV supports passage of this bill. Please sign in to comment here.

SHB 1156 /SB 5584 Increasing Representation & Voter Participation Local Options Bill.

This bill would give local jurisdictions up to County Level the option to use Ranked Choice Voting if they choose. Secretary of State ensures that implementation is uniform statewide. SB5584 is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Committee on State Government & Elections on January 19th at 8:00AM. The LWV supports passage of this bill. Please sign in to comment here.

SB 5182 Repeal Advisory Votes.

Advisory Votes have no impact on legislation passed, and add significantly to the cost of statewide elections. Required by law to be first on the ballot, they often have the unwanted effect of being confusing and discouraging to voters. Alternate explanation of impact of tax measures provided in this bill. The LWV supports passage of this bill. It has been referred to the Senate Rules Committee for a second reading. Please urge a floor vote here.

HB 1919 Concerning recommendations by the public disclosure commission.

This bill makes changes recommended by the Public Disclosure Commission. It updates campaign reporting deadlines to ensure voters have weekly access to campaign financing information to match the longer period ballots are available for voting. Clarifies for the voter by requiring disclosure when political ads are endorsing a candidate who is running in a different election or a race other than the current one, and other misleading ads that encourage votes for a person who is not a candidate as of the date the ad is run. It is scheduled for a hearing before the House State Government and Tribal Relations Committee on Wednesday, January 19th at 8am. The LWV supports passage of this bill. Please sign in to support here.

SB 5560 Redistricting.

SB 5560 fixes the most egregious errors that happened at the end of the Redistricting Commission’s process last year. However, it does not go far enough. Please let the Senate Committee know that you care about redistricting and push for additional redistricting reform to include 1) modernizing the public input process, 2) insuring access by non-English speakers, and 3) transparency in the deliberation process. This bill is scheduled before the State Government & Election Committee Wednesday, January 19th at 8am. The LWV supports passage of this bill. Comment before the committee by signing up here. Or, Leave written comment here.

EDUCATION LEGISLATION

HB 1630 Establishing restrictions on possession of weapons in certain locations.

This bill makes it unlawful to carry a firearm onto facilities being used for official meetings of a school district board of directors. This would also apply to city, town, county and other municipality buildings being used for public meetings. Public meetings need to be safe for elected officials, community members and students. The bill was heard in the House Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee on last week and an Executive Session is scheduled for January 21st at 8am. The LWV supports passage of this bill. Please sign in to comment on this bill here.

HB 1664 Concerning prototypical school formulas for physical, social, and emotional support in schools.

This bill adds additional nurses to the prototypical school funding model. This will help somewhat with students’ mental and emotional needs. The bill was heard by the House Education Committee on last week and an Executive Session is scheduled for Thursday, January 20th at 1:30pm. The LWV supports passage of this bill. Please sign in to comment on this bill here.

SB 5568 Concerning preemption of municipal laws restricting the open carry of weapons.

This bill provides that cities, towns, counties, and other municipalities may enact laws and ordinances restricting the open carry of firearms or other weapons at any public meeting; any building or facility owned or operated by a city, town, county, or other municipality; or any permitted demonstration within their respective jurisdictions. This allows jurisdictions to prohibit open carry rather than outlaws them across the state as does HB 1630, but this may be the compromise that can pass both houses. It is scheduled to be heard by the Senate Law & Justice Committee on Monday, January 17th at 9:30am. The LWV supports passage of this bill. Give your opinion here.

CLIMATE CHANGE LEGISLATION

Lots happening in the upcoming week. Read all about it in the LWV state newsletter here.

You, too, can get the Washington State LWV Legislative newsletter, delivered weekly to your inbox while the Legislature is in session, by signing up here.