A bill to repeal the death penalty in Washington succumbed Friday to the Legislature’s first key cutoff deadline. But a measure to strengthen regulations on trains carrying crude oil continues to gain momentum.
While lawmakers are in the midst of negotiating proposals to solve the state’s biggest problem — funding the state’s public schools — they are also championing their own personal priorities in Olympia.
More than 2,000 measures were proposed in the House and Senate this session. Friday’s cutoff for policy bills reduces the volume of measures lawmakers are considering.
Here’s a look at some of the local priorities the Southwest delegation has been working on recently:
• Dueling bridge bills: Two different measures aimed at easing congestion over the Interstate 5 bridge are still alive. The majority of the local delegation signed on to Senate Bill 5806, to declare replacing the I-5 bridge a project of statewide significance, with the goal of expediting the permitting and construction process. But House Republicans Liz Pike of Camas and Vicki Kraft of Vancouver are pushing House Bill 1222. That bill would create a work group to look at new corridors and bridges, and ensure the focus isn’t only on replacing the Interstate 5 Bridge. Pike has been a proponent of building a third bridge elsewhere in the county. Friday’s cutoff doesn’t affect these two measures because bills in Transportation and the Senate Ways and Means committees have a longer deadline.
• Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, fulfilled a dream of Bigfoot fanatics everywhere this week when she introduced a measure to declare the creature the state’s official cryptid, meaning an animal that’s not been proven to exist. The measure won’t become law this year, but Rivers and the Sasquatch bill will be back next session. Meanwhile, Rivers’ measure to strengthen laws and penalties on distracted drivers, Senate Bill 5289, remains alive in the Transportation Committee. She’s also promoting Senate Bill 5557, a measure to ensure nonprofit gun clubs continue to enjoy a clay target tax exemption, and Senate Bill 5034 to simplify reporting requirements for some special purpose districts, such as a diking district. The goal of this measure is to encourage more people to stay engaged on local, smaller boards.
• Rep. Paul Harris, R-Vancouver, is the first to say his measure to raise the smoking age from 18 to 21 will be an uphill battle this session. But it made it past Friday’s deadline and Harris said he’s committed to keep lobbying for House Bill 1054.
• Pike has a measure aimed at reviving inmate workforce programs. House Bill 1227 would require the Department of Corrections to pay the insurance premiums on inmates working in the work-release programs. It would reverse a 2016 rule change in which the department put the responsibility on cities to pay for the industrial insurance premiums.
• Republican Sen. Lynda Wilson’s first Senate bill sailed out of the chamber this week. Senate Bill 5230 would require the attorney general to collaborate with state agencies to review rules and laws with the aim of making it more understandable what rights small-business owners have when they are being audited. The measure would also require the attorney general’s office to generate a report to the Legislature showing how to improve the process of alerting small-business owners to their rights.
• A measure Rep. Monica Stonier, D-Vancouver, is pushing, dubbed the “student bill of rights,” remains alive. House Bill 1440 establishes an ombudsman to help students navigate the student loan process. It also creates standards for how loan servicing agencies should communicate with students and what level of transparency is required.
• Rep. Sharon Wylie, D-Vancouver, is getting closer to passing House Bill 1039, which would allow wine shops to sell wine in refillable growlers. The sale of beer in growlers is already legal.
• Democratic Sen. Annette Cleveland’s bill requiring landlords to give tenants an extra 10 days’ written notice before eviction, going from 20 to 30 days, is still making its way through the legislative process.
