March 29, 2013 - What's New In This Issue:

Dear Carin ,

During the 2013 Washington Sate Legislative Session we will be sending out weekly emails to inform you of important bills.

If you have a bill that you think should be shared with everyone please email it to Eli Waite with a short description and what action if any you would like our fellow members to take.

UPDATED: WASHINGTON STATE DREAM ACT

HB 1817 - Diane Jones

Senate Higher Education Committee held a hearing on March 28, 2013.

What is HB 1817?

Provides a more affordable and attainable route to college for individuals granted deferred action for childhood arrival status and for students who qualify under the definition for "resident student" found in RCW 28B.15.012(2) (e).

 Share your thoughts on HB 1817  click here

EXPANSION OF DEATH PENALTY

SB 5015 - Deborah Pedersen

Oppose SB 5015:

Proposed legislation to end the death penalty in Washington State failed to make it out of committee earlier in this session.  Our state legislators are now considering a misguided bill that would expand its use. SB 5015 (a bill with a single sponsor) would increase the number of crimes that are eligible for the death penalty.  "Expands the definition of aggravated first degree murder by including, as an aggravating circumstance, that the victim was fourteen years of age or younger."  This is a step in the wrong direction.

On the Senate floor, it was passed with 39 votes, include Senator Hargrove's.   A hearing before the House Committee on  is scheduled for 8:00 am, Wednesday, March 27.  Contact Committee Chair Jamie Pedersen,  jamie.pedersen@leg.wa.gov, and comment on 5015 to our delegation.

What is SB 5015?

Expands the definition of aggravated first degree murder by including, as an aggravating circumstance, that the victim was fourteen years of age or younger.

Share your thoughts on SB 5015  Click Here

GRANT SCHOOL PRINCIPALS MORE CONTROL OVER PERSONNEL

SB 5242 - Diane Jones

To grant principals more control over personnel is in the Education Committee and gets a hearing on the 29th.

What is SB 5242?

Requires each school district board of directors to adopt a policy on assignment of certificated instructional staff.

Share your thoughts on SB 5242  Click Here

RESTRICT LOCAL GOVERNMENTS' SICK LEAVE REQUIREMENTS 

ESB 5726  - Diane Jones

Anti-labor bills that passed out of the Senate and now in the House Labor and Workforce Development committee. Has yet to get a hearing in this committee and hopefully won't.

What is ESB 5726?

Prohibits a local government from requiring an employer to provide paid sick leave or paid safe leave to an employee unless certain conditions are met.

  Share your thoughts on ESB 5726  Click Here

UNDERPAYING EMPLOYEES

SB 5158 - Diane Jones

Anti-labor bills that passed out of the Senate and now in the House Labor and Workforce Development committee. Has yet to get a hearing in this committee and hopefully won't.

What is SB 5158?

Creates a good faith defense for certain minimum wage and overtime compensation complaints.

Share your thoughts on SB 5158  Click Here

CHANGES TO CONSTRUCTION PREVAILING WAGES

SB 5107 - Diane Jones

Anti-labor bills that passed out of the Senate and now in the House Labor and Workforce Development committee. Has yet to get a hearing in this committee and hopefully won't.

What is SB 5107?

Requires distinct prevailing wage rates to be calculated and paid to workers employed in residential construction.

Share your thoughts on SB 5107  Click Here

ADMINISTRATIVE BURDEN FOR L&I

SB 5686 - Diane Jones

Anti-labor bills that passed out of the Senate and now in the House Labor and Workforce Development committee. Has yet to get a hearing in this committee and hopefully won't.

What is SB 5686?

Requires the department of labor and industries to provide any current prevailing wage survey to each contractor renewing a contractor registration or renewing an electrical contractor license.

Prohibits a contractor from bidding on any public works subject to prevailing wage requirements unless the contractor has submitted any applicable prevailing wage survey to the department of labor and industries.

Share your thoughts on SB 5686  Click Here

EXEMPTIONS TO PREVAILING WAGES ON PUBLIC WORKS

SB 5684 - Diane Jones

Anti-labor bills that passed out of the Senate and now in the House Labor and Workforce Development committee. Has yet to get a hearing in this committee and hopefully won't.

What is SB 5684?

Exempts from prevailing wage requirements, workers or other persons who only deliver and unload standard materials, supplies, or equipment to a staging or stockpiling area without installing, fabricating, incorporating, or consuming the materials or supplies on or at the job site, or using the equipment to perform work on or at the public work site. 

Share your thoughts on SB 5684  Click Here

A - F GRADING SYSTEM FOR SCHOOLS

SB 5328 - Diane Jones

In the house Education committee and have had hearings but have not passed out of committee.

What is SB 5328?

 Requires the state board of education to implement a school-grading program to:

(1) Enhance the learning gains of all students;

(2) Provide feedback to schools and school districts;

(3) Supply parents and community members with understandable information about their schools; and

(4) Provide information regarding school accountability and recognition.

Specifies that the school-grading program is a pilot program during the 2013-2014 school year.

Requires the office of the superintendent of public instruction to:

(1) Conduct the pilot program in five geographically diverse school districts;

(2) Annually report each school district's grade to the governor and the legislature;

(3) Adapt the model school performance report and the agency web site to include each school district's grade and each school's grade; and

(4) Contract with an organization in the state to conduct an independent evaluation of the school-grading pilot program.

Share your thoughts on SB 5328  Click Here

TAKEOVER OF LOW PERFORMING SCHOOLS

SB 5329 - Diane Jones

In the house Education committee and have had hearings but have not passed out of committee.

What is SB 5329?

Implements the second phase of an accountability system that was created for public schools in 2010 to assist persistently lowest-achieving schools to become more accountable.

Makes an appropriation.

Share your thoughts on SB 5329  Click Here

REQUIRED 3RD GRADE READING ASSESSMENTS

SB 5237 - Diane Jones

In the house Education committee and have had hearings but have not passed out of committee.

What is SB 5237?

Increases access to the high quality early childhood education and assistance program for young learners by increasing funding to allow more children to participate.

Requires the department of early learning to expand the early childhood education and assistance program to serve more children in the 2013-2015 fiscal biennium.

Requires the office of the superintendent of public instruction to create partnerships to develop and deliver professional development learning opportunities in reading instruction for K-3 teachers.

Requires a school district to place special emphasis on addressing the needs of K-3 students who are deficient in reading or reading readiness skills.

Allows for an automatic enrollment in an intensive summer school program for certain students.

Share your thoughts on SB 5237  Click Here

CHANGES TO STUDENT ASSESSMENT SYSTEM

SB 5587 - Diane Jones

In the house Education committee and have had hearings but have not passed out of committee.

What is SB 5587?

Makes changes to the student assessment system in order to use multistate consortia-developed assessments for high school graduation and to meet the federal accountability requirements.

Share your thoughts on SB 5587  Click Here

AMEND US CONSTITUTION ALLOWING STATES TO REGULATE CAMPAIGN FINANCE

HJM 4001 - Diane Jones

It passed through the house and will have a hearing March 26 in the senate Committee on Government Operations. It's companion SJM 8002 had a hearing in this committee a few weeks ago but didn't make it out of committee.

What is HJM 4001?

Requests an amendment to the United States Constitution to return the authority to regulate election campaign contributions to congress and state legislatures.

Share your thoughts on HJM 4001 Click Here

CHANGE THE NAME OF "RIOT"

SB 5021 - Diane Jones

Passed out of the senate and passed out of a house committee and now awaits further action.

What is SB 5021?

Changes the name of the crime "riot" to "criminal mischief."

  Share your thoughts on SB 5021 Click Here  

PRESERVING HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR VOLUNTARY TERMINATION OF A PREGNANCY

EHB 1044 - Diane Jones

Preserving health insurance coverage for voluntary termination of pregnancy - made it through the house and now gets a hearing April 1 in the senate Health Care committee. Prospects are dim.

What is EHB 1044?

Requires certain health plans, that provide coverage for maternity care or services, to provide a covered person with substantially equivalent coverage to permit the voluntary termination of a pregnancy.

 Share your thoughts on EHB 1044 Click Here

GREEN HOUSE GAS REDUCTIONS

SB 5802 - Diane Jones

SB 5802  creates a task force to evaluate approaches to reducing green house gas emissions and recommend actions and policies. Passed 37 to 12 with bipartisan support. Inslee wanted this bill. There were 12 holdouts including 2 democrats - Hatfield and Sheldon. This bill should have no trouble getting through the rest of the bill to law process. 

What is SB 5802?

Creates the climate legislative and executive work group to recommend a state program of actions and policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that if implemented would assure achievement of the state's emissions targets.

Requires the office of financial management to contract with an independent and objective consultant or consultants, as selected by the climate legislative and executive work group, to prepare a credible evaluation of approaches to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Share your thoughts on SB 5802  Click Here

COMMUNITY SERVICE AS A HIGH SCHOOL REQUIREMENT

HB 1412 - Deborah Pedersen

HB 1412 requires students to complete community service as a state high school graduation requirement.  Service learning will allow students to add structure and learning components to their community service project.  The community service can used as basis for a college application or resume. We have a tradition of community service in the 24th district.  This program would be a good fit.

What is HB 1412?

Includes a student's completion of community service in high school graduation requirements.

Share your thoughts on HB 1412  Click Here

TEEN SUICIDE PREVENTION

HB 1336 - Deborah Pedersen

Another important bill, HB 1336 will save lives by giving school personnel the tools and training they need to identify and respond to early warning signs of troubled youth. Teen suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15-24 year-olds.

What is HB 1336?

Increases the capacity for school districts to recognize and respond to youth in need, including emotional and behavioral distress in students and indicators of possible substance abuse, violence, and suicide, through additional training, more comprehensive planning, and emphasis on partnerships between schools and communities.

Share your thoughts on HB 1336  Click Here

DROP OUT PREVENTION

HB 1302 - Deborah Pedersen

HB 1302 continues ongoing efforts by the legislature to improve the outcomes of youth in foster care.  Far too many of our foster children experience homelessness, incarceration, poverty, and mental-health issues in adulthood. This measure expands the eligibility criteria for extended foster-care services, giving more foster youth the opportunity to remain in care beyond their 18th birthday if they are involved in post-high school education or job training

What is HB 1302?

Modifies provisions relating to extended foster care services.

Share your thoughts on HB 1302  Click Here

CHILD CARE REFORM

HB 1671 - Deborah Pedersen

HB 1671 improves the Working Connections Childcare Program that helps low-income families pay for child care while they work or look for work, and streamlines eligibility for this critical service. 

What is HB 1671?

Establishes an early achievers program that improves the quality of early learning programs and supports and rewards providers for participation.

Requires the department of early learning to convene a parent and provider oversight board.

Establishes a legislative task force on child care improvements for the future.

Allows all licensed and certified child care programs to enroll in the early achievers program.

Share your thoughts on HB 1671  Click Here

EARLY LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

HB 1723 - Deborah Pedersen

HB 1723 aims to create integrated, high-quality early learning opportunities for children from birth to age five, addressing home visits to parents of newborns, increasing subsidies for high quality child care, and expanding preschool education.

What is HB 1723?

Creates a legislative task force on early learning to review existing funding sources, program goals, and restrictions associated with different funding streams for early learning programs and services as identified by the technical working group.

Requires the department of early learning to: 

(1) Annually review rates for childcare compared to market rates;

(2) Conduct an annual survey of staff compensation in certain programs using data generated by the managed education and registry information tool and the early achievers program;

(3) Increase the base slot rate for the Washington state preschool program to align with the average head start federal funding rate per child with the head start program slot rate;

(4) Increase the base rate for all childcare providers by ten percent;

(5) Provide tiered subsidy rate enhancements to child care providers if the provider meets certain requirements;

(6) Require exempt providers to participate in continuing education; and

(7) Provide a ten percent increase in the working connections child care subsidy rate to those providers who accept children eligible for the subsidy.

Requires the legislature to: 

(1) Appropriate funding for the specific purpose of home visiting and parent and caregiver support; and

(2) Fund the expansion in the early childhood education and assistance program.

  Share your thoughts on HB 1723  Click Here

UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECK FOR GUN SALES

HB 1588 - Sue Marett

Washington state can lead the country when it comes to fighting gun violence by implementing universal background check for all firearm sales in the Sate. 

What is HB 1588?

Broadens the requirement for a background check to apply to all firearms sales in the state.

Share your thoughts on HB 1588 Click Here

PAYDAY LENDERS

HB 1658 - Sue Marett

Another bill moving in the House, HB 1658 will also allow payday lenders to make more loans to consumers per year.

What is HB 1658?

Changes the number of loans, from eight to twelve, that a borrower is allowed to receive. 

Share your thoughts on HB 1658 Click Here

EARLY LEARNING

HB 1369 - Lynn Pierle

Voice your support of HB 1369 which supports the Family Connection component of  WaKIDS, the state's kindergarten transition process.

What is HB 1369?

It makes improvements to the implementation of WaKIDS (the Washington Kindergarten Inventory of  schools participating in WaKIDS will have up to five days at the start of the school year for kindergarten teachers to meet with their students' parents and families. These five days would not include instructional hours but still count towards the state's requirement for a 180-day school year.

Share your thoughts on HB 1369 Click Here

RESOURCES FOR BILL TRACKING

  There are many ways to track a bill and many newsletters you can subscribe to. Here are a few ideas:

• The Washington Poverty Action Network has a great bill tracker with several bills that deserve our attention. You can sign up for their newsletter here.
• You can track bills in your area of interest(s) through GovDelivery. This service will send you daily or weekly (your choice) emails containing information on bills related to your interest. You may sign up for this service at GovDelivery's website.
• The League of Women Voters of Washington sends out a weekly Legislative Newsletter containing information on a wide range of important bills. You can sign up for the Legislative Newsletter here. If you would rather not receive the emails but still want to see what they have to say you can visit their website.
• Of course you can always visit the Washington State Legislative website and do your own research. The Legislative website will provide you with the full text of the bills, reports on the bill, what committees the bill has been in and where it is heading next, along with who has sponsored the bill.  

COMMENT ON A BILL

There are many ways to let our State Senators and Representatives know if we support or oppose a bill and our reasons why.

1.  You can call them. The 24th LD Representatives direct phone numbers are listed at the bottom of the email or you may call the Legislative Hotline, 1-800-562-6000.
2. Send a letter or email. If you visit the Find Your Legislator page you can find the contact information for every State Representative.
3. You may enter your comments through the Legislative Website for a specific bill.

Here is a tutorial on how to enter comments via the Legislative Website:

1. On their home page click on "Bill Search"

2. Enter the bill number. For example, enter "1369" for HB 1369 - Early Learning and then click on "Search".

3. You will now be present with the information page for the bill. Near the title of the bill you will see a button that say, "Comment on this bill", which you will click on.

   4. On this page you enter your comments. Be sure to indicate your position (oppose, neutral 

or support). When you are ready click on "Submit Comment". Note the first time you do this you will be asked to create an account with your email address and email address.

STAY CONNECTED