The following is a recap of how Kirkland legislators from the 45th and 48th Districts recently voted on several bills and resolutions (according to washingtonvotes.org):
Expanding the use of electronic means to remit and report taxes
EHB 1357, which passed the Senate by a vote of 34 to 13, would require all taxpayers to make payment of taxes to the state through electronic methods. The bill also authorizes the Department of Revenue (DOR) to waive the mandatory electronic filing and payment requirement for annual filers, as well as extends an existing 10 percent penalty for willfully disregarding specific written instructions provided by the state.
EHB 1357 does allow DOR to provide additional exemptions from the electronic filing requirements for reasons of hardship. This bills intent is to help DOR achieve operational efficiencies through the expanded use of electronic payment of taxes. EHB 1367 has been delivered to the Governor for her signature.
Yes: Sen. Andy Hill, R-Redmond, Sen. Rodney Tom, D-Medina.
Limits use of phosphorus in turf fertilizers
ESHB 1489, which passed the Senate 32 to 16, would ban the sale of turf fertilizers with phosphorus beginning January 1, 2013. Retailers, however, may still sell fertilizer with phosphorus if the product labeling clearly lists the allowable uses of the product.
The Senate also amended ESHB 1489 to allow the sale of phosphorus fertilizers already in stock by January 1, 2012. The amendment also removes provisions in the bill that would have allowed local governments to implement additional prohibitions on the use or sale of phosphorus fertilizers.
Under ESHB 1489 there are acceptable uses and application of turf fertilizers containing phosphorus allowed, including; for use on new lawns, repairing unhealthy existing lawns, to correct deficient soils and for vegetable gardens. ESHB 1489 will now be returned to the House, where it first passed 58 to 39, for consideration of the Senate amendments.
No: Hill; Yes: Tom
Immunization exemption for children
ESB 5005, which previously passed the Senate by a vote of 35 to 11, makes changes to the form used to exempt a child from immunizations. ESB 5005 would require the exemption form to include a statement, and signature from a health care practitioner, that information on the benefits and risks of immunization has been provided to the parent or legal guardian.
ESB 5005 passed the House by a vote of 66 to 29 and will be returned to the Senate for further consideration.
Yes: Rep. Roger Goodman, D-Kirkland; Rep. Larry Springer, D-Kirkland; Deborah Eddy, D-Kirkland; Rep. Ross Hunter, D-Medina
Requiring elections by mail
ESSB 5124, which passed the House by a vote of 52 to 43, requires every county in Washington state to conduct elections entirely by mail ballot. This bill would require any county auditor currently utilizing poll site voting to notify each registered poll voter that all future primary, general, and special elections will be conducted by mail.
In addition ESSB 5124 directs county auditors to open a voting center in the county auditor’s office that must be open during business hours for a period which would begin 18 days prior to an election and end at 8 p.m. on the day of the election. ESSB 5124 will now be delivered to the Governor for her signature.
Yes: Goodman, Springer, Eddy, Hunter
2011-13 House Transportation budget
EHB 1175, which passed the House by a vote of 89 to 6, establishes the 2011-13 Transportation Budget. The proposed budget spends a nearly $9 billion on transportation operation and capital needs.
Funding includes approximately $3.9 billion on Nickel fund projects, $1.1 billion on maintaining highway infrastructure, as well as investments in passenger rail, freight mobility, transit and a variety of other programs. The House Transportation Budget will likely be introduced in the Senate for further consideration.
Yes: Goodman, Springer, Eddy, Hunter
Imposing an additional registration fee on electric vehicles
ESSB 5251, which passed the Senate by a vote of 30 to 16, imposes a $100 annual fee on electric vehicles in order to mitigate the impacts of the diminishing motor vehicle fuel tax. This new fee would apply to all new electric vehicle registrations, as well as to all renewal registrations as of March 1, 2012.
ESSB 5251 is now before the House Transportation Committee for further consideration.
No: Hill, Tom
Homeowner foreclosure protections
E2SHB 1362, which creates the Foreclosure Fairness Act, passed the Senate by a vote of 36 to 11. The bill establishes a variety of programs intended to protect and assist homeowners in foreclosure procedures. E2SHB 1362 addresses foreclosure mediation programs, and establishes standards for providing adequate notice to borrowers before a lending agency may file an official foreclosure notice.
The bill also requires lenders pay a $250 fee to the state on every property for which the lender starts foreclosure proceedings. E2SHB 1362 will now be delivered to the Governor.
Yes: Hill, Tom, Goodman, Springer, Eddy, Hunter
Domestic partnerships rights
HB 1649, which previously passed in the House by a vote of 58 to 39, would require Washington State to recognize same-sex marriages formed legally in other states. Under current state law, a legal union of two persons of the same sex that was validly formed in another jurisdiction, except for marriage, is already recognized.
HB 1649 passed the Senate 28 to 19 and will now be delivered to the Governor for her signature.
Yes: Hill, Tom
Liquor pilot program for spirits sampling in liquor stores
ESHB 1202, which passed the Senate by a vote of 31 to 17, would require the Liquor Control Board to establish a pilot project to allow spirits sampling in state liquor stores and contract stores.
ESHB 1202 will be reconsidered by the House for concurrence with the Senate amendments.
Yes: Hill, Tom
Establishing the Puget Sound Corps
SHB 1294, which previously passed the House by a vote of 67 to 30, establishes the Puget Sound Corps as part of the Washington Conservation Corps program. In establishing the Puget Sound Corps, the bill directs the Corps to focus on and complete tasks related to restoring and protecting the Puget Sound, as directed by the Puget Sound Partnership’s Action Agenda.
SHB 1294 passed the Senate by a vote of 38 to 9 and will be delivered to the Governor.
Yes: Hill, Tom
Canceling the 2012 Presidential Primary
SB 5119, which passed the Senate by a vote of 34 to 15, would cancel the Presidential Primary scheduled to be held on the fourth Tuesday of May in 2012. Canceling the Presidential Primary would save the state an estimated cost of about $10 million. This would not be the first time the state canceled a Presidential Primary, in 2004 it was also canceled. This provision expires January 1, 2013. SB 5119 is now in the House Ways & Means Committee for further consideration.
No: Hill; Yes: Tom
Providing long-term oversight of vulnerable adults
SHB 1277, which passed the House by a vote of 57 to 40, would expand licensing requirements for long-term adult care homes to better protect vulnerable adults. The bill also requires the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) to adopt new rules to investigative long-term care complaints, and to develop a statewide quality accountability program for residential care services.
SHB 1277 is now before the House Ways & Means Committee for consideration.
Yes: Goodman, Springer, Eddy, Hunter
Creates the Complete Street Grants Program
ESHB 1071 would require the Department of Transportation to create a grant program to encourage and assist local governments in retrofitting local street systems. In order to be eligible for grant funding, cities must adopt city-wide street ordinances to provide better street access with all users in mind.
ESHB 1071 has been returned to the House for consideration of the Senate’s amendments.
Yes: Hill, Tom
Encouraging the instruction in the history of civil rights
SB 5174, which previously passed the Senate by a vote of 47 to 0, encourages school districts to include a civil rights curriculum. Districts are encouraged to present the curriculum at least once a year to commemorate the history of civil rights in our nation.
SB 5174 passed the House by a vote of 72 to 23 and has been delivered to the Governor.
Yes: Goodman, Springer, Eddy, Hunter
Addressing unlicensed child care
ESSB 5504 establishes the Colby Thompson act, named after a victim of Shaken Baby Syndrome, allegedly committed by an unlicensed baby sitter. The bill provides that when the Department of Early Learning suspects that a person is providing child care without a license, it shall send notice to that person within 10 days.
ESSB 5504 allows the Department to issue a penalty to a family home day care up to $150 per day and child day care center to $250 per day they continue to operate. The House passed ESSB 5504 by a vote of 57 to 39. The bill will now be returned to the Senate for consideration of the House amendments.
Yes: Goodman, Springer, Eddy, Hunter
Making 2009-2011 Operating Budget appropriations
ESHB 1087, which passed the House by a vote of 53 to 43, sets appropriations for the 2011-13 biennium at $32.4 billion. The total budget, including dedicated and federal funds, is $62.2 billion.
ESHB 1087 also reduces the 2009-11 budget appropriation by $93 million and assumes $300 million in one-time revenues from the leasing of the state’s liquor distribution center. The Operating Budget funds various operations of state government, agencies and institutions, as well as for K-12 public schools. ESHB 1087 is now before the Senate for further consideration.
Yes: Goodman, Springer, Eddy, Hunter
Approving tolls on I-405
EHB 1382, which passed the Senate by a vote of 36 to 13, directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to develop and operate express toll lanes on Interstate 405. The tolls would be between the city of Bellevue at Sixth Street on the south end, and the intersection of I-405 and Interstate 5 on the North end.
The measure would allow for the state Transportation Commission to set the rates for the tolls and stipulates that revenues may be appropriated for operation, maintenance, repair, construction, and expansion of express toll lanes in the eastside corridor.
The Senate amended EHB 1382, directing DOT to proceed with capacity improvements to allow implementation of the express toll lanes, but also limited DOT’s ability to enter into any contract term that includes purchasing tolling equipment on I-405 until specific appropriation authority has been provided in 2012. The House, which previously passed EHB 1382 by a vote of 52 to 46, must now reconsider the Senate’s amendments.
Yes: Hill, Tom
Expands the Health Insurance Partnership
ESHB 1560, which passed the Senate by a vote of 31 to 18, would expand the Health Insurance Partnership (HIP) by eliminating provisions that limited the eligibility of certain small businesses ability to enroll in the program.
The House, which previously passed the bill 56 to 41, must now consider the Senate amendments.
Yes: Hill, Tom
Providing for assessment in full-day kindergarten
E2SSB 5427, which previously passed the Senate by a vote of 31 to 15, would have mandated the use of a kindergarten assessment program for students in state-funded full-day kindergarten classrooms.
The program would work to identify the skills, knowledge, and characteristics of kindergarten students at the beginning of the school year in order to determine kindergarten readiness. The assessment would also be used to inform teacher and district instruction to meet the needs of individual students.
E2SSB 5427 directs the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to consult with the Department of Early Learning and the University of Washington to in creating the assessment standards. The House passed E2SSB 5427 by a vote of 57 to 39, amending the bill to remove the requirement to coordinate with the University of Washington and require the use of the The Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills process instead of the kindergarten process approved by the Senate.
E2SSB 5427 will now be before the Senate for further consideration of the House amendments.
Yes: Goodman, Springer, Eddy, Hunter
Rights and obligations of domestic partners and the use of paid surrogacy
E2SHB 1267, which passed the Senate by a vote of 27 to 21, would amends the state’s Uniform Parentage Act by expanding the rights and obligations of registered domestic partners.
The Senate amended the bill to clarify the time under which a person can challenge or rescind parentage rights and removed provisions that would have allowed paid surrogacy in Washington. The Senate amendments also established new rules for surrogacy contracts, requiring them to include certain requirements that must be met when entering into a contract.
Under current state law, surrogacy is allowed, but not for compensation. The House, which previously passed E2SHB 1267, would have allowed for the use of paid surrogacy. The House did not agree with the Senate amendments and has requested a Conference Committee to work on a compromise.
Yes: Hill, Tom
Concerning the medical use of cannabis
E2SSB 5073, which previously passed the Senate by a vote of 29 to 20, would amend state law regarding the use of medical cannabis (marijuana). The bill seeks to clarify that qualified patients and designated providers who comply with the law will not be subject to arrest or prosecution, other criminal sanctions, or civil consequences based solely on their medical use of cannabis.
E2SSB 5073 seeks to ensure that patients will have access to an adequate, safe, consistent, and secure source of medical quality marijuana. In addition, this bill would require licensed dispensers to be nonprofit medical organizations and to receive approval by a local government before selling cannabis. The House, which approved E2SSB 5073 by a vote of 54 to 43, amended the bill in part to require several studies on the impacts of medical marijuana.
The bill is now before the Senate for further consideration of the House amendments.
Yes: Goodman, Springer, Eddy, Hunter
Modifying the use of teacher evaluations
E2SHB 1443 was amended by the Senate to require schools districts conducting layoffs to lay off teachers who receive the lowest evaluation ratings first, instead of laying off the youngest teachers first.
The bill also stipulates that seniority-based layoffs imposed by collective bargaining rules are prohibited, and districts must change their contracts to make them consistent with this amendment. E2SHB 1443 also directs the technical working group revamping the teacher compensation model to include the use of performance bonuses to encourage and reward great teachers and requires collective bargaining agreements to allow school principals of struggling schools, the lowest tier of the state board of education’s accountability index, to decide which teachers will work at their schools.
The Senate passed E2SHB 1443 by a vote of 30 to 17. The House will now consider the Senate amendments.
Yes: Hill, Tom
Creating an industrial insurance rainy day account
ESHB 2026 passed the House by a vote of 50 to 47. The bill would create an industrial insurance rainy day account and require the state Investment Board to invest and reinvest moneys from that account.
ESHB 2026 would also require the State Treasurer to transfer any surplus balance from the accident fund or the medical aid fund to the industrial insurance rainy day account, as opposed to providing a rate holiday or the returning of excess funds to employers.
In addition, the bill requires the State Treasurer to transfer any monies resulting from rate increases for the accident fund or medical aid fund to the rainy day account and provides that the transfer decisions are not “agency action” or “rules” and are not reviewable by any court or tribunal, but must be announced as part of premium rate rulemaking.
ESHB 2026 has been referred to the Senate Ways & Means Committee for additional consideration.
Yes: Goodman, Springer, Eddy, Hunter
