The House takes its first cut at early cuts

This morning, House members passed the "early action savings" bill, the first budget bill of the session and the first small step to bridging a $2.6 billion shortfall.

It comes only twelve days into the 2010 session and allows legislators to capture some early savings without waiting to vote on the full supplemental budget, a budget that won't be approved until the final days of session.

The bill makes $46.7 million in savings and extends numerous cost-saving measures approved by the Legislature last session.

The savings include:

• $18.6 million in administrative savings such as not hiring for vacant positions and reducing contract, travel and equipment spending.
• $9.4 million in efficiency savings such as consolidating printing functions in DSHS and expediting nursing home discharges.
• $10 million in service reductions to programs such as the Passport foster care program or Special Commitment Center services.
• $8.7 million in underexpenditures/federal funds including money unspent in the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The measure now heads to the Senate.

Legislature honors the state's men and women in uniform

Major General Timothy J. Lowenberg addressed Democratic members of the House of Representatives today after lawmakers passed a package of bills to honor and help the state's soldiers, veterans and military families. Lowenberg is the commander of the Washington Army and Air National Guard.

Today's hot list

8:00 HHR A Education
Work Session: Gangs in Schools.
Public Hearing:
HB 2834 - Regarding gang and hate group activity at schools and school activities.
HB 2835 - Increasing school safety.
HB 2801 - Regarding antiharassment strategies in public schools.

9:00 HHR E Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness
Possible executive session: HB 2115 – Allowing booking photographs and electronic images at jails to be open to the public.

10:00 Floor Action - National Guard Day and vote on "Early Savings Bill"

1:30 HHR D State Government & Tribal Affairs
Public Hearing: HB 2603 – Requiring agencies to give small businesses an opportunity to comply with a state law or agency rule before imposing a penalty.

1:30 HHR A Finance Jt. w/ Health Care & Wellness
Public Hearing: HB 2388 – Concerning public health financing (candy tax)

Security Lifeline bill offers hope and opportunity for neighbors in need

Today, a bill that will reform Washington’s general assistance program (GAU) for people who are temporarily unemployable due to disabilities, came before the House Human Services Committee. Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson’s (D-Seattle) Security Lifeline bill, House Bill 2782, creates a reform program called “Disability Lifeline,” which would emphasize access to mental and physical health care, housing assistance in lieu of full cash grants, and quicker transitions from state to federal assistance for those who qualify for SSI benefits.

As Dickerson pointed out, “The Security Lifeline bill is an effort between philanthropy, community organizations, colleges and the state to offer hope and opportunity to some of our neediest neighbors during this time of economic crisis.”

A vital resource for more than 20,000 people with disabilities in Washington, GAU addresses one of the most critical needs of the mental health population. Witnesses told the committee that the Disability Lifeline helps communities by helping citizens struggling with poverty or temporary disabilities to avoid homelessness, or emergency rooms or jails. “This bill is actually a form of crime prevention,” Assistant Seattle Police Chief Nick Metz told the committee.

Moeller hosting forum to discuss Gov proposals about Vancouver's school for blind and deaf

“Hey, not so fast there, Governor.”

That’s the message southwestern Washington lawmakers are broadcasting about a plan to change who has the ultimate say-so at the Schools for the Blind and the Deaf in Vancouver.

State Rep. Jim Moeller from Vancouver testified in a Senate committee hearing yesterday morning against the proposal in Senate Bill 6491. He said later that the ideas in the bill have received “neither the appropriate level of fiscal scrutiny nor the appropriate level of public involvement.”

Moeller has arranged a public forum to discuss the legislation this Saturday, Jan. 23, at 10 a.m. The forum will be held in hearing room A on the first floor of the John L. O’Brien Building on the Capitol Campus in Olympia. Citizens can call or e-mail Moeller for driving directions. His Olympia phone number is 360-786-7872, his local Clark County phone number is 693-0804, and his e-mail address is moeller.jim@leg.wa.gov.

State Rep. Jim Jacks, another Vancouver and 49th Legislative District Democrat, as well as fellow Vancouver Democratic state Reps. Deb Wallace and Tim Probst, who both represent the 17th Legislative District, share Moeller’s concerns about the proposal. The legislation would transfer governance of the Washington State School for the Blind and the Washington State Center for Childhood Deafness and Hearing Loss to the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The legislation was requested by the governor. It directs that the state Superintendent of Public Instruction would make all appointments that are now made by the governor for the two facilities. Currently, the State School for the Blind is under the direction of the school’s superintendent, who works with a board of trustees. The governor appoints the school’s superintendent and the trustees. The governor also appoints the director of the Washington State Center for Childhood Deafness and Hearing Loss, as well as the center’s board of trustees.

Moeller points out that “I simply haven’t heard any concrete reasoning, either financial or otherwise, for making such a dramatic change in the way these two long-standing, very successful institutions are governed. There is no specific information about how such a reorganization would save money or improve services provided to these unique populations. It seems to me that proponents of this idea haven’t done enough to involve the most obvious stakeholders. Students, parents and advocates for children who attend these facilities must certainly be involved in the process.

“I understand that our state is facing a huge budget and revenue crisis,” Moeller added. “I know that we have to make some very big changes in the way we do things. But let’s not make changes just for the sake of making changes – especially not if the proposed changes are not even going to save money, anyway, and certainly not if the proposed changes are going to foul up a perfectly sound system of governance at these two schools.”

All interested parties are certainly invited and encouraged to attend the forum. Staff from the governor’s office will be there, and interpreters and Braille copies of the legislation will be provided.

Parents, families rally at state Capital for autism insurance coverage

Families touched by Autism from around the state filled the Capitol Rotunda yesterday to support legislation that would cover the diagnosis and treatment of the developmental disorder that has risen dramatically in prevalence in recent decades.

The bill’s prime sponsor, Rep. Brendan Williamsknows all too well the toll the disability can take on a family, with a nephew of his own diagnosed with Autism. That experience has made him a leader in the state Legislature on the issue, pushing for better services for those afflicted, as well as better research into the growing epidemic.

It’s a need that’s currently going unmet, says citizen-advocate Arzu Forough, the founder of Washington Autism Advocacy (WAA), the group that helped organize the rally. “It’s very troubling that every single zip code in the state is now represented as reporting lacking in essential basic resources such as appropriate healthcare and research based education and family stability .”

Arzu, the parent of two children with autism, founded the WAA to help other parents navigate a health care system and agency bureaucracies that still have few answers and little support for families.

It’s why they came to Olympia – to put a human face on autism, and show their support for a bill they know will assist those families struggling to meet the special needs of those with autism.

Brendan introduced HB 1210 during the 2009 legislative session, which would require equal coverage by health insurers for autism conditions, along the same lines as a law passed in 2005, which provided health coverage to those suffering from mental illness. The bill has broad and bi-partisan support from his legislative colleagues, yet failed to pass last year. Despite the setback, and despite a state budget crunch that’s reining in any new spending, he isn’t giving up, believing this to be not only a health care issue, but a civil rights issue as well.

Brendan also serves on the state Autism Task Force tasked with studying, and making recommendations to the Legislature regarding the growing incidence of autism and ways to improve the delivery and coordination of autism services in the state.

For his commitment to helping families with autism, Brendan received the Autism Society of Washington’s 2009 legislator of the year award.

For more information about the WAA, visit: http://www.washingtonautismadvocacy.org

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To use, or not use, credit scores for insurance rates

At the request of State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, State Rep. Sharon Nelson sponsored HB 2513 to ban the usage of credit scores by insurance companies to calculate policy rates in our state.

It’s a very hot issue, so hot, in fact, that it was the only bill in the Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee agenda for last night’s hearing, which drew a large crowd and lasted almost four hours. It’s also an old issue. Rep. Steve Kirby, chairman of the committee, has sponsored the same bill year after year.

“This method of rating has disproportionally impacted communities of color, and even those with good credit histories may be just one financial crisis or one late payment away from a significant change in their credit score, which could considerably increase their insurance rates even if they’ve never filed a claim or had a driving infraction. Instead of this unfair process, insurers should set rates based on factors that have a proven correlation to insurance risk – factors like driving record, age and the condition of a property,” said Nelson in her opening remarks.

“The insurance industry’s reliance on credit scoring is unfair,” said Kreidler in his testimony, stressing that it’s even more so in this bad economy when so many people are out of a job. He also held that the practice has a negative effect on many Washington residents. “Thousands of consumers have contacted my office over the last ten years; upset because they don’t understand what their credit has to do with how they drive their car or treat their property. Many have contacted their insurance companies and can’t get a straight answer on what they can do to get a better rate.”

As an example of just how unfair the process is, Kirby shared a personal story. “I bought a car but after about a year I decided it didn’t suit my needs, so I traded it in for another one and, in the same year, my dishwasher broke, so I got a new one and put it on one of those six months no interest contracts. Then I got an adverse action notice from my insurer saying that those personal financial transactions had caused my rates to go up. And they went up substantially. Obviously it’s more likely that my house is going to burn down or that I’m going to crash my car into something as a result of those financial transactions, don’t you agree?” Kirby’s sarcasm drew laughter from the crowd.

When insurance industry representatives got their chance to make their case, they told the committee that multiple studies maintain that credit scores do predict insurance risks since they show that there is a significant correlation between a person’s credit history and the likelihood that he or she will file a claim.They also said that credit reports do not include information on a person’s race, age, gender, education and income, so it’s impossible for the practice to be discriminatory.

But testimony to the contrary was overwhelming. Consumer advocates raised questions about the fairness of the use of credit scores and the disparate impact of this practice on low-income and minority groups. Among those who showed up in support of Nelson’s bill were representatives from Neighborhood House, Statewide Poverty Action Network, Hispanic Legislative Day, Columbia Legal Services, Jewish Federation, Poverty Action Network, Washington State Association for Justice, National Organization for Women and Children’s Alliance.

Not-quite-unanimous 520 bridge recommendations presented to Transpo Committee

The House Transportation Committee yesterday evening heard a workgroup’s recommendation for how to rebuild and finance the the 520 Bridge in Seattle. Legislation last session established the 520 Legislative Workgroup, comprised of 16 lawmakers and transportation officials, to review and recommend a bridge design and project-financing strategy. The active group met nine times over the legislative interim—many more than the three meetings originally planned.

The group’s recommendation, by a vote of 11-2, was for a six-lane corridor design, with a similar Montlake interchange and a new, second drawbridge over the Montlake Cut. The group figures this configuration can fit within the $4.65 billion cost limit established by the Legislature. Roughly $2 billion already is funded, and the remainder would be financed with tolls and additional state or federal funding, the group recommended.

The recommendation wasn’t unanimous, however. Workgroup members Speaker Frank Chopp and Rep. Jamie Pedersen think the recommended design does not adequately support transit and will bring adverse effects to the neighborhood that could result in litigation and project delays. They also question the financing assumptions, such as whether additional state or federal funding will actually materialize. The two members hope to continue working to find a way to address these issues.

Next up: Rep. Judy Clibborn, the committee chair, indicated on Wednesday that 520 legislation may appear before the committee next week.

To read more about the workgroup, including its final report and public comments, click here. Information about other ongoing aspects of the project can be found on WSDOT’s project page.

Today's hot list

8:00 Senate HR 4 Finance Jt. with Senate Ways & Means
Work Session: Overview on tax preferences (live on TVW)

8:00 HHR D State Government & Tribal Affairs
Public Hearing: HB 2617 – Eliminating certain boards and commissions

10:00 HHR D Human Services
Public Hearing: HB 2782 – Reorganizing delivery of services to recipients of public assistance (Security Lifeline Act: Renames GAU as Disability Lifeline, seeks to expedite transitions from GAU to SSI, streamlines and coordinates applications for and access to basic needs services and employment and training services.)

1:30 HHR C General Government Appropriations
Work Session: Impact of Department of Corrections facility closures.

3:30 HHR C Capital Budget
Work Session:

• Joint Legislative Task Force on School Construction Funding Recommendations
• School District Capital Construction Reimbursement Claim Process Report
• Analysis of the School Construction Assistance Program Allocations Report
• Qualified School Construction Bonds, Qualified Zone Academy Bonds, and Build America Bonds

Enviro Health Committee hears testimony on bill to reduce mercury in the environment

After eight years of bringing forth mercury legislation, Rep. Sam Hunt takes another step in reducing the amount of mercury released into the environment.

“The one sticking issue has been what do we do with fluorescent lights,” Hunt said at today’s House Environmental Health Committee hearing. “We encourage more and more use of fluorescent lights because it saves us energy. However, it also brings us more mercury and more mercury that can potentially leak into the environment.”

Hunt’s House Bill 2914 establishes a producer-designed product stewardship program for the collection, recycle, and disposal of mercury-containing lights.

House passes first bill this session, the Jobs Act of 2010

The first vote cast by the House of Representatives in this young 2010 session represented the top prioirity of their constituents back home: jobs!

By a 57-41 vote, legislators approved the JOBS Act of 2010, a measure designed to create 38,000 construction jobs all over the state while repairing public schools and universities and making them more energy-efficient.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Hans Dunshee of Snohomish, said that it not only creates jobs, but saves taxpayers $190 million a year in energy costs and gives the state's children safer, healthier schools.

For more information, please see our earlier post on the JOBS Act of 2010.

Shaping the new commerce department

Big changes are coming for what was once known as the Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development. It’s now known as the Department of Commerce, thanks to legislation from Rep. Phyllis Gutierrez Kenney last session.

Kenney is the prime sponsor of this year’s legislation, and she also chairs the House Community and Economic Development and Trade Committee, where the bill to restructure the department had a hearing this morning.

This “begins the process of shaping the new department,” Kenney said. Kenney laid out that this bill will be a conversation to help the department as they evaluate which programs should stay, and which should be moved into other agencies.Department of Commerce Director Rogers Weed testified and boiled it all down to “focus.” Weed laid out the unemployment and economic problems facing the state and described the department’s role in helping the state recover.

The department currently holds many programs, not just economic development. One of the areas they work on is housing. Nick Federici, on behalf of the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, testified that the process to evaluate what programs should be in the Department of Commerce has been great. Their request is that housing programs “stay together, wherever that is.”

Today's hot list

8:00 HHR A Judiciary
Public Hearing:
HB 1908 - Modifying the manufactured/mobile home landlord-tenant act.
HB 2662 - Conforming certain manufactured/mobile home dispute resolution program definitions with certain manufactured/mobile home landlord-tenant act definitions.

8:00 HHR B Community & Economic Development & Trade
Public Hearing:
HB 2632 – Expanding the number of households living in the middle-income bracket
HB 2658 - Refocusing the department of commerce, including transferring programs (DOC re-org).

1:30 HHR B Commerce & Labor
Public Hearing: HB 2642 – Establishing a pilot project to allow wine tasting at farmers market.

3:30 HHR B Transportation
Work Session: 2009 State Route 520 Legislative Work Group Report

6:00 HHR D Financial Institutions & Insurance
Public Hearing: HB 2513 – Banning the use of credit scoring by insurance companies for insurance purposes.

6:00 HHR A Education Appropriations
Work Session: Levy equalization.

No more tanning for minors?

What’s wrong with this picture? Washington has the seventh highest rate of deaths caused by melanoma—but we are one of only 11 states that has no regulations or age restrictions on tanning salons.

Rep. Jeannie Darneille wants to change that with House Bill 2652, which would regulate tanning salons and ban their use by persons under age-18 unless they have a doctor’s prescription.

“The bill before you is about melanoma prevention and it’s about saving lives,” Rep. Darneille told the Health Care & Wellness Committee on Tuesday.

Dr. Marc Antezana, President of the Washington State Dermatology Association, strongly supported the bill, saying it’s strange that Washington regulates nail salons and beauty salons but not tanning salons—which is where melanoma “too often starts.”

Darneille’s bill regulates tanning equipment, training and advertisements and requires a disclosure of health risks to customers. Most importantly, the bill bars minors under age 18 from using tanning salons unless they have doctor’s prescription.

The committee heard emotional testimony in support of Darneille’s bill from Michelle Neary, a melanoma victim, and from Peter Rasmussen, who lost a daughter to melanoma.

Several tanning-salon operators attended the hearing in opposition to the bill. But Antezana said Darneille’s bill has the “support of thousands of physicians all across the state who care for patients with melanoma. “

Family of slain officers plea to lawmakers: Make a difference

"Make a difference." That was the message from family members of the four slain Lakewood police officers, as they testified before lawmakers in support of reforms to fix loopholes and flaws in our criminal justice system.

Two family members wore yellow t-shirts with those words, in the handwriting of Lakewood police officer Ronald Owens, and brought the yellow legal pad that he'd written them on to the night-time hearing of the Public Safety Committee.

His sister, Rhonda LeFrancois, found the legal pad with the note after Owens and his three fellow officers were gunned down in a Lakewood coffee shop Nov. 29 by convicted felon Maurice Clemmons, who was given a life sentence in Arkansas but paroled by Gov. Mike Huckabee.

The chair of the Public Safety Committee, Rep. Christopher Hurst, said the point of the investigative hearing was to hear from family members, prosecutors, police officers and others, so lawmakers could hear -- first-hand -- what reforms would make a difference.

"All killings of law enforcement officers are horrific and terrible to us," said Hurst, who served as an undercover detective and commander of a homicide task force. "The reason we're focusing on the Clemmons case is because I'm starting from one single premise, that Maurice Clemmons should not have been out of custody and had an opportunity to do this." Six police officers in Washington state were gunned down in 2009.

Read the full story here.
Photo: Family members of the four slain Lakewood police officers -- Mark Renninger, Ronald Owens, Tina Griswold and Greg Richards -- testify in favor of reforms to close loopholes in the criminal justice system.

The collective slapping of our country’s founding foreheads

Michelle Dupler at the Tri-City Herald provides further proof that the Republican agenda for Washington is not job creation as they claimed, but an agenda adopted from the right-wing Tea Party platform that would harm our economic recovery and sever ties with the U.S. government.

Sen. Val Stevens is pushing legislation this session that would amend the Constitution of the United States, doing away with the 17th Amendment, which guarantees the election of our U.S. senators by a vote of the people.

That amendment was adopted specifically because the people believed the state legislatures, which at the time had the power to elect the state’s U.S. senators, had become a self-serving “millionaire’s club” unresponsive to the needs of the people, only to special interests.

It’s akin to a corporate board that elects their golfing buddy to serve as CEO, in a quid pro quo that leaves the shareholders – in this case, the citizens of the Washington – out in the cold.

Sen. Stevens declares in her bill that a senator’s “general responsibility is to represent state government and the State Legislature.”

That sound you heard was the collective slapping of our country’s founding foreheads.

A senator’s paramount responsibility should be the people… as guaranteed in the 17th Amendment.

What’s more, Sen. Stevens’ memorial proclaims each senator should be chosen by a plurality vote, not a majority. This means the minority party (the Republicans) would have a better shot at electing a candidate they support. This explains the only rationale for this bill: Because they disagree with our current representation in the other Washington, they want to change the rules, even if it means taking the power FROM the people in this Washington and adding it to their own.

“Transportation projects mean jobs”

Last week you might have read a story by the Associated Press claiming that stimulus-funded transportation projects weren’t making an impact on the economy. The AP’s analysis was widely reported in national and local media.

When legislative transportation leaders read it, they immediately noticed problems with the AP’s conclusions and were shocked it overlooked many key impacts of the stimulus.

Rep. Judy Clibborn and Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, the House and Senate Transportation Committees’ chairs, respectively, drafted a response to the AP story that you can read right now on the News Tribune’s Web site.

A key point they raise about the roughly $500 million federal investment in Washington transportation projects:

“So make no mistake: Transportation projects mean jobs. If you want a simple way to look at it, imagine all the projects funded by the stimulus spending and all the people who are working on them, and then eliminate them. That’s how many more people would be out of work, how much money wouldn’t be spent in our communities, and how much more we’d be paying out in unemployment payments for the unfortunate people who lost their jobs.”

Read more here.

Today's hot list

Full list is below but the super hot list includes the slate of bills related to the Maurice Clemmons case at 10, bills that would incorporate early learning as part of basic education today at 1:30, and the early savings bill at 3:30 that takes a swipe at some early budget cuts.

8:00 HHR C General Government Appropriations
Work Session: Fee supported programs within select agencies for which the revenue from the fee does not fully cover the costs of the program.

• Department of Ecology
• Department of Natural Resources
• Department of Fish & Wildlife
• Office of the Secretary of State
• Washington State Patrol

8:00 HHR D Financial Institutions & Insurance
Public Hearing: HB 2622 – Protecting consumers from unfair practices by establishing criteria for the dissemination of credit and court record information contained in a consumer’s tenant screening report.

8:00 HHR A Education Appropriations
Public Hearing: HB 2670 – Restoring the school district levy base.

10:00 HHR C Ecology & Parks
Public Hearing: HB 2562 – Concerning lease rates for industrial users of state-owned aquatic lands (Would re-calculate lease rates using the market rate).

10:00 HHR E Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness
Public Hearing (bills related to Maurice Clemmons case):
HB 1203 – Modifying the definition of relative for purposes of the crime of rendering criminal assistance.
HB 2625 – Addressing bail for felony offenses.
HB 2626 – Modifying violation provisions for offenders.
HJR 4213 – Adopting the Lakewood Law Enforcement Memorial Act to amend the state Constitution to exempt certain persons charged with a most serious crime from being bailable if proof is evident that the individual is potentially dangerous to other people in the community.
HJR 4214 - Adopting the Lakewood Law Enforcement Memorial Act to amend the state Constitution to exempt certain persons charged with a most serious crime from being bailable if proof is evident that the individual is potentially dangerous to other people in the community.
HB 2781 – Imposing a sanction for offenders who violate sentence conditions by committing an assault against a law enforcement officer, employee of a law enforcement agency, or department of corrections employee.

1:30 HHR D State Government & Tribal Affairs
Work Session: Background on HB 2617 – Eliminating boards and commissions.
Public Hearing: HB 2583 - Prior to filing court action alleging a violation of the public records act, the requester and agency may first confer in person or by telephone.

1:30 HHR A Health Care & Wellness
Public Hearing: HB 2652 – Regulating tanning facilities.

1:30 HHR B Agriculture & Natural Resources
Public Hearing: HB 2696 - Regarding a proposal for a new permit-only salmonid fishery for the Columbia river.

1:30 HHR C Finance
Public Hearing on local options bills:
HB 2650 – Providing local flexibility with existing revenues during severe economic downturns.
HB 2749 - Concerning local government taxation.
HB 2773 - Concerning local excise tax authorities for counties and cities.

1:30 HHR E Early Learning & Children’s Services
Public Hearing (all three early learning proposals):
HB 2431 - Establishing within basic education a program of early learning for at-risk children.
HB 2731 - Creating an early learning program for educationally at-risk children.
HB 2867 - Promoting early learning.

3:30 HHR A Ways & Means
Public Hearing: HB 2921 – Early savings bill

Race to the Top spurs big changes in education policy

Last summer, President Barack Obama announced a $4 billion education initiative aimed at boosting student achievement nationwide. States essentially compete for grant money with points awarded for innovation and reforms.

The deadline for applications is today and Washington is among the states that has thrown its hat in the ring. Just yesterday Governor Gregoire unveiled a package of legislation aimed at making Washington a competitive player. Despite many of the historically contentious issues addressed in her proposal, Gregoire is keeping detractors at bay, at least for now.

Though K-12 education was the most protected pot of money in last year's budget balancing act, legislators cut about $795 million from non-basic education. And with more cuts likely, money is a particularly enticing carrot for making bold changes such as new teacher and principal evaluation programs and strategies for dealing with failing schools. Washington could be eligible for as much as $250 million.

Rep. Reuven Carlyle is a particularly dogged supporter of Race to the Top. He gives a nice breakdown of how he thinks Washington will fare in the race.

Race to the Top is not something all states are gunning for. NPR featured a story today that touches on why some states are choosing not to participate.

Winners will be announced in April. States who aren't awarded funding in this first round can enter into a second round of grants to be awarded in September.

Hear me out: Legislators, stakeholders make their case for cell phone restrictions

Following testimony from a collection of advocates overwhelmingly in support of the bill, the much-anticipated public hearing on HB 2635—aka the “cell phone bill”—just concluded in the House Transportation Committee. Bill sponsor Rep. Reuven Carlyle acknowledged his initial hesitancy about the hand of government possibly reaching too far, but ultimately he was swayed by the “cold, hard reality of the statistics” and the compelling case they make for legislative action.

Co-sponsor Rep. Tina Orwall spoke to how the legislation would impact young drivers by setting a good tone during their formative years of learning how to operate a vehicle safely.

The Washington State Patrol also voiced its support of the bill, noting how much progress the state has made in recent years to enhance driver safety. This bill would be another step in the right direction toward the department’s goal of “Target Zero”—that is, no traffic fatalities.

Although no one seemed to voice outright opposition to the bill, several people posed other scenarios and ideas: Rep. Brad Klippert cited WSDOT stats showing other behaviors (eating, reading, etc.) that also play a role in distracted driving, so why single out cell phones? Rep. Dean Takko said whether a phone is held up to one’s ear or is used with a hands-free device, the cognitive impairment is similar—a point also emphasized by a Western Washington University cognitive researcher who testified.

General support for the bill seemed to be present, but the scope and approach of the bill will surely be debated back and forth as the session continues.

Rep. Scott White's Virtual Town Hall

We're liveblogging in conjunction with Rep. White's tele-town hall tonight at 6:30pm. Take part, listen in, ask questions, pose comments, and learn up on the good member from the 46th LD, and what he has to say about the 2010 state budget and legislative session.

Phone card scams are WAC, knows Zack Hudgins

Update: For the Spanish-speakers in the audience, Zack explains his bill en espanol.


Not all state policy is bequeathed to us via legislative approval. Sometimes, state agencies, which oversee certain services and commodities, have the authority to institute rules and policies with guidance from the Legislature and the general public. It’s the difference between Statute – the laws passed by the Legislature and Governor into the Revised Code of Washington (the RCWs) – and Rules; the policies of each agency found in the Washington Administrative Code (that’s WAC).

In that sense, representatives don’t always need to pass a law to protect consumers and get things done. Sometimes you can use the rule-making process that is set up in law to get input from the community. This is the path State Rep. Zack Hudgins used last December, before the legislature was in session.

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), consumers who believe they’re purchasing a calling card often find the amount of minutes can be dramatically less than advertised, sometimes up to 60% less. That’s largely the result of “hidden fees” charged by the card company.

After reading about these unfair advertising practices, Zack decided to do a little digging into our own state’s rules covering these pre-paid cards, and found our consumer protections lacking as well. So he contacted our state’s version of the FTC, the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC), which has the ability to adopt and revise rules governing the pre-paid cards.

Zack wants prepaid calling card providers and distributors to clearly and accurately present the number of available domestic and international minutes on each card; the rate the card charges; and disclose any hidden fees. In addition, he wants this information translated into several different languages for those who are calling foreign countries.

Hudgins knows these consumer protections could potentially save families in his community, and across the state, millions.

“In our school district alone, there are over a hundred different languages spoken. Immigrant communities have contributed so much to the 11th Legislative District, and made it the vibrant place it is to work and raise a family. With so many challenges already facing non-native English speakers, disreputable businesses shouldn’t be allowed to prey on them by short-changing them."

The WUTC agrees with Rep. Hudgins, and will soon begin the process of revising the WACs, taking input from the public and drafting language to put protections into Rule prohibiting these calling-card scams from occurring in our state.

In the meantime, the FTC lists some guidelines consumers should follow before purchasing a pre-paid calling card:

• Ask any retailer if they will stand behind the card if it doesn’t deliver the number of minutes advertised.
• Check the card’s package or in-store advertising for domestic and international rates. If you can’t find the rate, consider buying a different card.
• Look for disclosures about surcharges, “maintenance” fees, and fees for making calls from a pay phone, to a cell phone, or using a toll-free access number.
• Compare rates. Very low rates, particularly for international calls, may be a warning sign that the card won’t deliver the number of advertised minutes.
• Look for expiration dates.
• Look for a toll-free customer service number. If the customer service number isn’t toll-free or displayed, it may be difficult to contact the company if you have a problem with the card.
• Make sure you can understand the instructions on the card.
• Make sure the card comes in a sealed envelope or that the PIN is not visible. Otherwise, anyone can copy the PIN and use the phone time you’re paying for.

If your pre-paid phone card doesn’t work — even after you’ve called the customer service number — contact:

• The Federal Trade Commission (ftc.gov or 1-877-FTC-HELP)
• The state Attorney General (http://www.atg.wa.gov/fileacomplaint.aspx or 1.800.551.4636)
• Your local Better Business Bureau to file a complaint or get a report based on customer experience.

This week's hot list

Monday 1/18
1:30 HHR A Judiciary
Public Hearing: HB 2793 - Clarifying and expanding the rights and obligations of state registered domestic partners and other couples related to parentage (i.e., surrogacy contracts).

1:30 HHR D Human Services
Public Hearing:
HB 2624 – Suspending the interstate compact for adult offender supervision (related to Maurice Clemmons case).
HB 2747 – Limiting the use of restraints on pregnant women or youth.

3:30 HHR B Transportation
Public Hearing: HB 2635 – Addressing the use of wireless communications devices while driving (Makes texting and handheld cell phone use a primary offense for drivers. For young drivers, all wireless communication, including hands free devices, is banned except for certain emergency situations.)

6:00 HHR A Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness
Work Session: Overview of the Lakewood Police Department and Maurice Clemmons Case.


Tuesday 1/19
8:00 HHR C General Government Appropriations
Work Session: Fee supported programs within select agencies for which the revenue from the fee does not fully cover the costs of the program.

• Department of Ecology
• Department of Natural Resources
• Department of Fish & Wildlife
• Office of the Secretary of State
• Washington State Patrol

8:00 HHR D Financial Institutions & Insurance
Public Hearing: HB 2622 – Protecting consumers from unfair practices by establishing criteria for the dissemination of credit and court record information contained in a consumer’s tenant screening report.

8:00 HHR A Education Appropriations
Public Hearing: HB 2670 – Restoring the school district levy base.

10:00 HHR C Ecology & Parks
Public Hearing: HB 2562 – Concerning lease rates for industrial users of state-owned aquatic lands (Would re-calculate lease rates using the market rate).

10:00 HHR E Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness
Public Hearing (bills related to Maurice Clemmons case):
HB 1203 – Modifying the definition of relative for purposes of the crime of rendering criminal assistance.
HB 2625 – Addressing bail for felony offenses.
HB 2626 – Modifying violation provisions for offenders.
HJR 4213 – Adopting the Lakewood Law Enforcement Memorial Act to amend the state Constitution to exempt certain persons charged with a most serious crime from being bailable if proof is evident that the individual is potentially dangerous to other people in the community.
HJR 4214 - Adopting the Lakewood Law Enforcement Memorial Act to amend the state Constitution to exempt certain persons charged with a most serious crime from being bailable if proof is evident that the individual is potentially dangerous to other people in the community.
HB 2781 – Imposing a sanction for offenders who violate sentence conditions by committing an assault against a law enforcement officer, employee of a law enforcement agency, or department of corrections employee.

1:30 HHR D State Government & Tribal Affairs
Work Session: Background on HB 2617 – Eliminating boards and commissions.
Public Hearing: HB 2583 - Prior to filing court action alleging a violation of the public records act, the requester and agency may first confer in person or by telephone.

1:30 HHR A Health Care & Wellness
Public Hearing: HB 2652 – Regulating tanning facilities.

1:30 HHR B Agriculture & Natural Resources
Public Hearing: HB 2696 - Regarding a proposal for a new permit-only salmonid fishery for the Columbia river.

1:30 HHR C Finance
Public Hearing: HB 2650 – Providing local flexibility with existing revenues during severe economic downturns.

1:30 HHR E Early Learning & Children’s Services
Public Hearing (all three early learning proposals):
HB 2431 - Establishing within basic education a program of early learning for at-risk children.
HB 2731 - Creating an early learning program for educationally at-risk children.
HB 2867 - Promoting early learning.

3:30 HHR A Ways & Means
Public Hearing: HB 2921 – Early savings bill


Wednesday 1/20
8:00 HHR D Human Services
Public Hearing: HB 2782 – Reorganizing delivery of services to recipients of public assistance (Security Lifeline Act: Renames GAU as Disability Lifeline, seeks to expedite transitions from GAU to SSI, streamlines and coordinates applications for and access to basic needs services and employment and training services.)

8:00 HHR A Judiciary
Public Hearing:
HB 1908 - Modifying the manufactured/mobile home landlord-tenant act.
HB 2662 - Conforming certain manufactured/mobile home dispute resolution program definitions with certain manufactured/mobile home landlord-tenant act definitions.

8:00 HHR B Community & Economic Development & Trade
Public Hearing:
HB 2632 – Expanding the number of households living in the middle-income bracket
HB 2658 - Refocusing the department of commerce, including transferring programs (DOC re-org).

1:30 HHR B Commerce & Labor
Public Hearing: HB 2642 – Establishing a pilot project to allow wine tasting at farmers market.

3:300 HHR B Transportation
Work Session: 2009 State Route 520 Legislative Work Group Report

3:30 HHR C Capital Budget
Work Session:

• Joint Legislative Task Force on School Construction Funding Recommendations
• School District Capital Construction Reimbursement Claim Process Report
• Analysis of the School Construction Assistance Program Allocations Report
• Qualified School Construction Bonds, Qualified Zone Academy Bonds, and Build America Bonds
  

6:00 HHR D Financial Institutions & Insurance
Public Hearing: HB 2513 – Banning the use of credit scoring by insurance companies for insurance purposes.

6:00 HHR A Education Appropriations
Work Session: Levy equalization.


Thursday 1/21
8:00 HHR D State Government & Tribal Affairs
Public Hearing: HB 2617 – Eliminating certain boards and commissions

1:30 HHR C General Government Appropriations
Work Session: Impact of Department of Corrections facility closures.


Friday 1/22
8:00 HHR A Education
Work Session: Gangs in Schools.
Public Hearing:
HB 2834 - Regarding gang and hate group activity at schools and school activities.
HB 2835 - Increasing school safety.
HB 2801 - Regarding antiharassment strategies in public schools.

9:00 HHR E Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness
Possible executive session: HB 2115 – Allowing booking photographs and electronic images at jails to be open to the public.

1:30 HHR D State Government & Tribal Affairs
Public Hearing: HB 2603 – Requiring agencies to give small businesses an opportunity to comply with a state law or agency rule before imposing a penalty.

1:30 HHR A Finance Jt. w/ Health Care & Wellness
Public Hearing: HB 2388 – Concerning public health financing (candy tax)