Keeping up with the minutiae of a legislative session can be difficult, with the ins and outs of lawmaking requiring rapt attention. Therefore, with the Legislature having adjourned on Thursday following the typical flurry of last-minute action, we bring to you an all-legislative edition of Cheers & Jeers:
Cheers: To finishing on time. Lawmakers wrapped up the planned 60-day session on schedule, marking the first time since 2014 — and the second time this decade — that a special session has not been necessary. Thanks in part to a robust economy, they were able to pass a $776 million increase in net spending without creating new taxes.
The bulk of that spending will go toward fully funding teachers’ salaries, which appears to be the final step in meeting the state Supreme Court’s mandate in the McCleary ruling. But the budget also allocates additional money for mental health, health care and higher education. Lawmakers also approved a plan to provide property-tax relief in 2019, dropping the state rate by 30 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.
Jeers: To a last-minute scramble. While we applaud lawmakers for wrapping up the session in 60 days, as dictated by the state constitution, we offer jeers for a rush toward completion. As Jim Camden of The (Spokane) Spokesman-Review wrote: “Lawmakers’ last day was filled with complaints about ‘process’ as bills traveled back and forth from one chamber to the other. A major adjustment to the state’s public school system … almost foundered on complaints by Senate Republicans that they hadn’t even had time to read the changes.”
Getting bills right is more important than finishing on time, and foregoing thoughtful debate is no way to run a Legislature. Leaders in both chambers should adjust the process for introducing and considering bills in order to ensure that legislation works for the benefit of the public.
Cheers: To holding law enforcement accountable. Lawmakers, police groups and advocates reached an agreement to update a law that made it uniquely difficult to hold officers accountable for negligent or reckless shootings. Washington’s law was considered the most stringent in the nation when it comes to prosecuting officers, forcing prosecutors to prove malice — a standard that no other state had.
The new law deletes “malice” and defines “good faith” as whether a reasonable officer would have used deadly force under the same circumstances. The law also orders new training for officers with the goal of reducing the use of deadly force.
Jeers: To shortsighted gun control. Lawmakers passed a ban on bump stocks, which allow semi-automatic weapons to act as automatic weapons, but that is the low-hanging fruit in the gun-control debate. They failed to raise the minimum age for purchasing semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21, with the bill passing a Senate committee but never being brought to the floor.
With Congress appearing unlikely to take serious action regarding this nation’s abhorrent gun violence, it is up to states to lead the way. We favor a ban on assault rifles and believe Washington should take the lead in moving the nation in that direction.
Cheers: To net neutrality. Washington did take the lead in pushing back against federal action regarding net neutrality. Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill preventing internet providers from blocking content or impairing traffic on the web.
“We know that when D.C. fails to act, Washington state has to do so,” Inslee said. When the Federal Communications Commission reversed net neutrality in December, it prohibited states from passing laws to contradict the decision. We welcome the inevitable court battle, agreeing with the governor when he says, “the states have a full right to protect their citizens.”
