Happy new bill!

Not only did the new year begin Jan. 1, but several bills passed by the Legislature in 2011 took effect that day.

Most legislation approved last year did not kick in Jan. 1: The default effective date is 90 days after the end of a session – but the Legislature can set a different date.

Of the nine bills passed in the November-December special session, only one took effect Jan. 1: A money-saving measure that postpones from Jan. 1, 2012 to July 1, 2015 the application of a 2010 law expanding the criteria for the involuntary commitment of dangerous mentally ill persons.

To read this story in Spanish, click here.

Governor calls on legislators to approve marriage equality

Governor Chris Gregoire made a historic call for marriage equality this morning in Olympia. Joined by Reps. Jamie Pedersen, Marko Liias, and Laurie Jinkins, Gregoire called on the legislature to deliver her a bill legalizing same-sex marriage by the conclusion of the regular legislative session.

“Today, I’m announcing my support for a law that gives same-sex couples in our state the right to receive a marriage license in Washington- the same right given to heterosexual couples,” said Gregoire.

In the past few years alone, House Democrats have taken significant steps to ensure equal protection under the law for gay and lesbians across Washington.  Just two years ago, the legislature passed and voters OK’ed Referendum 71, which expanded rights for same-sex couples but fell short of marriage equality.

Following the governor’s announcement, House Speaker Frank Chopp said “Our caucus has a proud history of supporting equality for all people in Washington. Every family should have the same rights and responsibilities under the law, and I appreciate Governor Gregoire’s support of marriage equality.”

“It’s good for families, it’s good for the state, and it’s the right thing to do,” added Speaker Chopp. 

If signed into law, Washington would be the seventh state in the country to expand full marriage rights to same-sex couples.

You can find the full text of the governor’s speech here, as well as the video here.

To read this story in Spanish, click here.

49th Legislative District Town Hall

Your 49th Legislative District lawmakers - Rep. Jim Moeller, Sen. Craig Pridemore, and Rep. Sharon Wylie - cordially invite you to a town hall meeting on:

Saturday, January 7, 2012
10 a.m. to noon.
Public Service Center 6th floor Hearing Room
1300 Franklin Street, Vancouver

Keep your lawmakers informed on the issues that are important to you and your community so they can better represent you in Olympia, and if you have questions, be sure to bring them along.

Get briefed on the actions taken during the December Special Session to close the budget gap and learn about the bills your lawmakers will be working on when the regular Legislative Session convenes on Jan. 9.

Let’s kick-off the New Year with the best foot forward by getting the conversation started!

To read this story in Spanish, click here.

Chris Reykdal wants you...

Rep. Chris Reykdal (D-Olympia)

…to participate in tonight’s telephone town hall, that is.

Rep. Chris Reykdal will be spending the evening discussing the upcoming legislative session and last month’s special session, as well as taking questions directly from constituents.

If you are a resident of the 22nd Legislative District and have a burning question for Rep. Reykdal, or would simply like to hear what he has to say, be sure to pick up the phone when he calls you at 6 p.m. tonight.

If you do not receive a call, you can call toll-free 1-877-229-8493 between 6 p.m. to  7 p.m. to connect to the live event.

This is the first telephone town hall for Rep. Reykdal, who hosted an in-person town hall last spring at Garfield Elementary School in Olympia.

Tonight’s event will serve as a way for Rep. Reykdal to hear from constituents as we move into the legislative session, as well as another avenue for citizens to access their representatives in the legislature.

To read this story in Spanish, click here.

Who represents you?

Commission redraws our state’s political map

Every ten years, the political lines get redrawn after the census. It’s a complicated process, but necessary to make sure your vote counts the same as anyone else’s vote.

You can see the new Congressional and legislative district maps here, at the Redistricting Commission’s website.

Traditionally, lawmakers redrew their own boundaries. That still happens in other states, and there have been problems with that sort of system. Sometimes, political parties in power tried to draw new districts that hurt the party out of power.

Here in Washington state, the process is more open and fair. A commission of five citizens is appointed, with the House suggesting two names (one from the Democrats and one from the Republican), the Senate suggesting two and the governor picking a non-partisan, non-voting chair.

If a state is holding steady in population, this job isn’t too hard. You adjust the lines a little. But if a state is growing – or shrinking – a lot, you’ve got to rewrite the map and possibly add (or subtract) Congressional districts.

Our state grew enough that we gained a seat in Congress, with that new 10th District centered on Olympia.

We have 49 legislative districts, according to the state constitution. That number doesn’t grow or shrink according to the population. The districts do grow or shrink, depending on their population. What redistricting does is make sure every legislative district has roughly the same number of citizens, so your vote counts the same as any other voter in the state.

The process just finished this year, with all five commissioners working together to travel the state, listen to citizens and redraw the maps.

All the commissioners voted for the final plan.

Here’s the joint statement from two of the Democratic commissioners:

January 1, 2012
For Immediate Release: Joint Statement    
Redistricting Commissioners Dean Foster and Tim Ceis

Redistricting Commission reaches historic agreement
For the third time, the Washington State redistricting process has worked.

This is a bi-partisan process and it is always a challenge dealing with competing objectives.  But we have reached a fair and equitable resolution that will serve the citizens of Washington well. 

There were many historic changes in the adopted plan, including the addition of a 10th congressional district to Washington as well as a majority minority 9th Congressional District.  The Commission also agreed to the first majority Latino district in our state and brings the total number of minority majority legislative districts to four.  The 15th Legislative District, which is now comprised of over 54.5 percent Latino population, reflects the growing diversity of central Washington and the state as a whole.

The adopted Legislative and Congressional plans strive to equalize population, minimize unnecessary city and county splits, and keep communities of interest intact.  The amount of public comment we heard throughout the process was instrumental in helping us make this determination and we thank the public for their participation.

The redistricting process included unprecedented public participation including 18 public hearings around the state, interactive web-based comments, and incorporation of comments from county auditors.  The process has been successfully completed and it is now submitted to the legislature.

Details of the agreement can be found on the Redistricting website.

Contact:  Amy Ruble 360-786-7222



New legislative district boundaries as approved by the Washington State Redistricting Commission on January 1, 2012.

To read this story in Spanish, click here.

Give me your yen, your peso, your euro, yearning to be spent freely

More than 140,000 Washingtonians had a job to go to last year thanks in large measure to the tourists who pumped more than $15 billion into the Evergreen State economy.

And actually, everyone else here also benefited because these visitors kicked in $1 billion for state and local taxes. Check these reports from the state Department of Commerce, as well as information from the Washington State Tourism industry.

Things are looking up, way up, for tourism all across the land. In fact, a recent Los Angeles Times story, "Spending by foreign tourists at record level," discusses very encouraging new details in a recent report from the U.S. Office of Travel and Tourism Industries. Folks from around the globe are on their way to spending more in the United States than foreign visitors have ever spent here before.

Spending from international tourism, according to predictions from the travel and tourism office, might very well top $152 billion in 2011. Such a mark would eclipse the previous top standard of $141 billion rung up in 2008.

Take this past October, for instance. The federal agency noted that foreign visitors plunked down $3.1 billion that month to travel to the United States -- and then spent upward of $10 billion buying things and doing stuff after they got here. That October 2011 figure was a 13-percent increase over the same month a year ago.

It's also estimated that Canada (31 percent), Mexico (13 percent), China (10 percent), and Brazil (7 percent) will make up two-thirds of the expected climb in international visitation to the United States the next five years.

Photo: Washington State Department of Transportation.
The Washington Ferry System, a very popular tourist attraction, is the
largest ferry system in the world carrying nearly 23 million riders per year. 

To read this story in Spanish, click here.

Disparity: Mainstream Washington women mainly treading water in wages

Call it the Evergreen Ceiling. Maybe that’s an appropriate and awfully unfortunate new Washington sobriquet -- what with our ranking 41st nationally in the wage disparity between women and men.

So reports the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, according to this recent "Disparity in wages puts Washington at No. 41" article in the Spokesman-Review newspaper.  Here’s the specific, state-by-state table on the bureau’s website.

That's right. By a good many measures, the Evergreen State justly prides itself on the accomplishments of citizens who make up more than half of its population:

• Women U.S. senators? Check.

• Woman governor? Check.

• Woman Chief Justice of state Supreme Court? Check.

• Woman majority leader in state Senate? Check.

• Women significant percentages in both state legislative chambers? Check.

But when it comes to wages for average working women, that's another story. Consider that in 2010 women totaled 938,000 and men 1,255,000 of the state's workforce of 2,193,000.

Washington women working full time earned $748 a week in 2010, which is 76.5 percent of the $978 that the men here took home every week. On average, U.S. women earned $669 a week, which is 81.2 percent of the median weekly wage of $824 for men.

To read this story in Spanish, click here.