Alphabet soup to nuts

“Jay-lark:” Is it a hybrid variety of bird life, an avian equivalent of the cockapoo? Or maybe a description of a good-times ramble by a beloved, bald, former power-hitting outfielder for the Mariners now hawking trucks on the radio?

Nope, it’s neither one of those things. Jay-lark is just the way state-government types pronounce JLARC, the acronym for the Joint Legislative Audit & Review Committee. And that committee stays busy all summer long; in fact, it meets monthly pretty much whenever the Legislature isn’t actually in session. The June meeting is coming up on Wednesday the 20^th.

JLARC “works to make state government operations more effective, efficient and accountable,” the committee web site says. It pursues that mission by conducting performance audits, program evaluations and other reviews as directed by the Legislature. It regularly issues reports on its work.

Much of what the committee recommends concerns improving data collection and performance measurements to guide state agencies in boosting efficiency. But it can also call for more concrete actions, such as the suggestion that the Department of Natural Resources could trim its fleet of firefighting helicopters without compromising its role in fighting forest fires – a money-saving proposal that was put into effect.

As a joint committee, JLARC includes senators and representatives, Democrats and Republicans. Current members of the House Democratic Caucus on the committee are Kathy Haigh of Shelton, Troy Kelley of Tacoma and Mark Miloscia of Federal Way.

To learn more about JLARC, visit its web site by clicking here.

To read this story in Spanish, please click here.

Rep. Kelley: Jet lag for JAG

During the interim, like a lot of legislators, Rep. Troy Kelley is traveling out of district – in his case, far out of district.

He’s spending two weeks in Korea performing reserve military service. A major and judge advocate general who is transferring from the Army Reserve to the National Guard, Kelley is focusing on administrative law issues on this trip, his fifth to Korea in 18 years. On previous trips to Korea, he has worked on international law and provided legal assistance to soldiers, helping them with tax and family law issues and other legal matters.

Kelley, whose 28^th District in Pierce County includes part of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, is stationed at Army Garrison Yongsan in Seoul while in Korea. He flew to the Far East Oct. 23 on a military plane, stopping en route on northern Honshu Island in Japan – where, he said, signs of the March tsunami were still evident.  He’s due to return Nov. 5.

Rep. Troy Kelley cracks down on illegal Internet lending fraud

Rep. Troy Kelley introduced a measure to protect consumers statewide by helping prevent out-of-state Internet payday lenders from doing business illegally in Washington.

“We have made great strides to protect Washington consumers throughout the past several years,” Kelley said. “If out-of-state Internet payday lenders want to do business here, they must abide by our rules.”

Today, unlicensed Internet payday lending is deemed a gross misdemeanor and a violation of the Consumer Protection Act. However, prosecutors rarely take up misdemeanor cases that cross state lines. Kelley’s House Bill 1805 cracks down on those illegal out-of-state lenders by making unlicensed payday lending an unranked class B felony and raising the bar on enforcement. Licensed payday lenders are not impacted by the new measure so it means business as usual for payday lenders who choose to abide by the current law.

“This is a new tool to better enforce our current laws,” Kelley said. “A few of these illegal lenders are out of the country, and I think they are beyond our reach. However, others are just beyond our borders, and we must do what we can to stop them.”

Click here to read more about Kelley’s House Bill 1805 and other efforts to protect consumers.

The Honored Guard

It’s National Guard Day at the state capital today, an opportunity for Legislators, visitors, and staff to honor the service and sacrifice the men and women of the Guard give to our state every day. Led by Major General Timothy Lowenberg, the citizen soldiers and airmen of The Washington National Guard are dedicated to the mission of safeguarding lives and property in Washington State.

With more than 100 uniformed men and women in attendance, the House passed a resolution in their honor. It was sponsored by Rep.Troy Kelley of Lakewood, who represents Joint Base Lewis McChord and Camp Murray. Rep. Kelley served for seventeen years in the U.S. Army Reserve, and he is currently a member of the Washington National Guard.

We also approved a measure, prime-sponsored by Rep. Chris Hurst, that will allow active service members deployed overseas to receive and return their ballots via fax and e-mail.

Rep. Troy Kelley continues efforts to keep communities safe

Last year, Rep. Troy Kelley sponsored legislation to improve the way bail is administered in Washington. Today, he testified on behalf of his House Bill 1194 to continue limiting the number of dangerous offenders roaming our streets.

“We’ve taken a clear step forward in protecting our families and law enforcement officers,” Kelley said. “Let’s continue those efforts.”

Kelley’s HB 1194 permanently ends the practice of booking bail, which allowed the shooter in the tragic November 2009 Lakewood officer shootings to post bail on the weekend without seeing a judge. Under current state law, the use of booking bail is suspended until Aug. 1, 2011. Kelley’s bill removes that expiration date and requires that bail continue to be determined by a judge.

Prior to the suspension, approximately seven counties used booking bail and released felons according to a formula, without seeing a judge at all.

“We’re not talking about clogging up courts, we’re talking about saving lives,” Kelley said.

Please click here to watch public testimony on HB 1194 in today’s House Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee hearing.

Changes in bail practices to be discussed today

Following the police officer shootings in Lakewood last year, Rep. Troy Kelley, passed legislation to end the practice of booking bail (which allowed Maurice Clemmons, the man who killed the Lakewood officers, to post bail without ever seeing a judge). Kelley also passed an amendment to our state constitution intended to provide judges more flexibility in denying bail. In November, voters will have the opportunity to vote on the amendment which allows judges the right to deny bail to suspects who are charged with a crime punishable by the possibility of life in prison.

A new Bail Practices Work Group will oversee some of these changes in how bail is set. The work group is meeting for the first time this morning in SeaTac.

Calling all reform and accountability wonks

Yesterday, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee, chaired by Rep. Troy Kelley, met in Olympia. This is the bi-partisan group that meets regularly to discuss performance audits, program evaluations, and other studies geared to making our government more efficient, effective and accountable. Reps. Kathy Haigh, Sharon Nelson and Deb Wallace also serve on the committee.

Yesterday's meeting included a recap of JLARC-related news from the 2010 legislative session, including four new performance audit assignments: new stormwater permit requirements passed in the transportation budget, Medicaid cost-containment strategies, cost and use of helicopters in suppressing wildfires, and a review of the new lottery marketing strategy (as passed in this year's SB 6409).

The group also looked at two reports presented by JLARC staff: a preliminary report on Information-Sharing and Medicaid Reinstatement for Individuals Released from Confinement and the proposed final report on the Analysis of the Costs and Benefits of Accepting Bankcards at WSDOT.

These meetings are not for the casual observer, but if you really want to get into the nitty-gritty of how our state government is trying to make things work better, have at it! You can watch the meeting here. JLARC's next meeting is May 19.

Kelley bill provides tuition help for families of fallen law enforcement officers and firefighters

Rep. Troy Kelley says he’s “deeply concerned” for the families and community members impacted by recent tragedies in the law enforcement community.

As a 28th District legislator, Kelley’s district includes the southwest part of Pierce County, not far from where four Lakewood law enforcement officers were slain in November.

“My community is still reeling from the deaths of four officers just within the last couple of months, and some families are never going to be able to fully recover from that,” Kelley said while testifying on his House Bill 2479 at a House Higher Education committee hearing on Tuesday. “I think this bill goes a long way in helping them recover. It’s the least we can do.”

Gov. Chris Gregoire echoed a similar stance on the issue during her annual State of the State address. “Let’s get to work for our fallen officers, their families and our entire law enforcement community,” said Gregoire. “…and for their children, it is our duty to make available a college education.”

Kelley’s HB 2479 makes it mandatory for state institutions of higher education to waive tuition and fees for children of any law enforcement officer or firefighter who lost his or her life or became totally disabled in the line of duty.

In 2007, Washington recognized its first mandatory tuition waiver, which required institutions to waive all undergraduate tuition and fees for the children and spouses of veterans or National Guard members who died or became totally disabled as a result of serving or who are missing in action or prisoners of war. HB 2479 adds a second mandatory tuition waiver for a significantly smaller group of eligible recipients.

Kelley’s seatmate, Rep. Tami Green, is also sponsoring legislation to support the law enforcement community and firefighters by introducing HB 2519. Green’s bill includes a mandatory tuition waiver for children, as well as spouses of law enforcement officers and firefighters who lost his or her life or became totally disabled in the line of duty.

Here's Kelley's testimony to the Higher Education Committee

28th District Live Blog tomorrow

Reps. Tami Green, D-Lakewood, and Troy Kelley, D-Tacoma, will host a live blog discussion tomorrow, Friday, March 13 at 3 p.m. They believe the live blog is the first of its kind in the House.

Both will also be attending a town hall meeting the following day, March 14 at 1 p.m. at Pierce College Ft. Steilacoom.

Both Kelley and Green are eager to hear from neighbors in their district, the 28th, about issues they’ve been hearing about or experiencing first-hand.

People can join tomorrow’s 3 p.m. live blog event by going to: http://housedemocrats.wa.gov/members/kelley/liveblog.asp