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.

Committee Assembly week kicks off with...

...a couple of committee hearings! Who woulda thunk it?

Right now, the House Committee on Health & Human Services is taking a close look at the impact of the current budget on health and human services programs in Washington. Agencies are having to manage billion of dollars in recent cuts.

The meeting agenda includes a review of the following:

• The Department of Social & Health Services (DSHS)
  
• Administration/PaymentsMedical Assistance (DSHS)
• Health Care Authority
• Department of Health Economic Services Administration
• Aging and Disability Services Administration (Developmental Disabilities and Long-Term Care)

Then, today at 1:30, two world-renowned experts on quality management will be in Olympia today to headline the first meeting of a new House committee that aims to improve the performance and oversight of Washington state government.

Deborah Hopen and Dr. David Spong will share their expertise on creating high-quality, high-performance systems at today’s 1:30 to 4:30 PM opening meeting of the House of Representatives' new Audit, Review and Oversight Committee.

Hopen is the editor of American Society for Quality's Journal for Quality and
Participation. She has more than 30 years of experience in the field, including service as a senior executive with both Fortune and Inc. 500 companies, plus service as a president and chairman of the American Society for Quality, and as president of the Washington State Quality Award Program and the International Standards Initiative.

Dr. David Spong, who recently retired as president of Aerospace Support for Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, is President-Elect of the American Society of Quality. He's also a past chair and current Board member of the Baldrige Foundation. Under Spong's leadership, the Being Division earned the 2003 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for service.

Committee Chair Mark Miloscia is also an expert on effective auditing practices and managing for quality. Earlier this year, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Program selected Miloscia for the 2009 volunteer Board of Examiners.

Can't make these meetings live? Don't worry, you can catch them live on TVW.

"Katie's Law" mom urges passage of Miloscia DNA bill to save lives

Some House members wept openly as Jayann Sepich described the brutal murder of her daughter and how "Katie's Law" could spare other mothers the agony she has suffered. Sepich came from New Mexico to tell the House Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness Committee that legislation proposed by Rep. Mark Miloscia (D-Federal Way) would save lives, prevent rapes and other brutal crimes, and exonerate the innocent.

"You have the opportunity to recommend legislation that has the power not only to solve crimes, but to prevent crimes and save lives," Sepich testified.

Miloscia's legislation (House Bill 1382) seeks to expand the state DNA database by taking DNA samples from persons arrested for felonies and other serious crimes.

As an example of how Miloscia's proposed law would save lives, Sepich showed that if the bill had been enacted in 2005 it would have prevented Anthony Dias from committing at least 8 brutal rapes in Washington state--including rapes of two sisters, ages 13 and 15, as their mother, bound and gagged, was helpless to protect her daughters.

"DNA helps us to protect the innocent and catch the bad guy," Miloscia said.

Read the full story here.