Officer's widow testifies in favor of "Brian Walsh Act"

Today's Labor and Workforce Development committee meeting included moving testimony from the widow of a Federal Way police officer who died last year of a heart attack while securing a crime scene.

Vanessa Walsh spoke in favor of House Bill 1445, also known as the "Brian Walsh Act," in honor of her husband.

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Kevin Van De Wege, who sees it as a way to help the Walsh family and protect other families from going through what Vanessa Walsh has experienced in the aftermath of her husband's death.

Although the federal government found that Officer Walsh - who was a 34-year-old, healthy non-smoker - died a duty-related death, the state of Washington didn't see it that way. As a result, his family (which includes three children) was not eligible for survivor benefits normally available to the families of officers and firefighters who die in the line of duty.

"Duty-related heart attacks and strokes need to be covered," Van De Wege said. "This bill establishes a clear nexus between the onset of the stroke or heart attack, and the duty that a firefighter or officer was performing for his or her job."

The EBB: Power(Points) to the People

Whether you’re tracking a certain bill, or like to follow your favorite legislative committee, a great resource is the Electronic Bill Book. Also referred to as Committee Meeting Documents, it’s where committee staff store most documents used during work sessions, bill hearings, and executive sessions.

Experts on issues, agency staff working to implement programs, and others present on everything from an overview of the Department of Corrections, to the Quality Education Council’s 2011 Legislative Report.

For another example, a lot of people are interested in Gov. Gregoire’s big education proposal. Rep. Larry Seaquist held a work session today on higher education governance, and their first guest was one of the governor’s staff to explain the proposal. You can view their presentation by going to today’s meeting documents (here’s a shortcut for that too).

Jinkins: Health insurance rate hikes should be reviewed

By Rep. Laurie Jinkins

The national Affordable Care Act is a big step toward making health care more affordable and accessible, but it’s going to take time to implement. Our health care system is large and complex, so full reform can’t happen overnight. At the same time, I’m not very patient when I see people losing access to health care daily.

One thing we can do, right now, is let the state Office of the Insurance Commissioner continue to have the authority to review the rate changes proposed by insurers in Washington. Health insurance rates have skyrocketed over the past decade. Double-digit annual increases are not unheard of. The Insurance Commissioner currently has the right to review rate changes for individual plans, but that authority is set to expire at the end of this year.

Letting that happen is unacceptable—access and affordability will surely suffer. At a time when families are losing coverage at work because of the layoffs spawned by this recession, and when budget cuts are slashing many public-health programs, the need for affordable, accessible care has never been greater.

That’s why I’m sponsoring House Bill 1303, which would renew the Insurance Commissioner’s authority. This morning my bill was heard in the House Health Care & Wellness Committee.

To learn more about health insurance in Washington or how the national health care reform law might affect you, please click here to visit the Insurance Commissioner’s informative website.

Kirby wants tougher penalties for DUIs

Most of us know how painful it is to lose someone we care for to drunken driving – or maybe we know someone who has been either injured or involved in a DUI accident or arrest.

State Rep. Steve Kirby commented on this recent story about his friends, Frank and Carol Blair, who lost their daughter last year to a drunken driver. “I’ve talked with the Blairs about their loss. I can’t imagine going through their sorrow. No one should ever have to experience that kind of grief.”

The Tacoma lawmaker is sponsoring three bills to stiffen the punishment for drunken drivers. He said these criminals have been getting off too easily. Kirby’s legislative package goes after first-time offenders, as well as repeat DUIs.

The bills:

HB 1555 sets sentencing ranges for DUI homicide from 6.5 years to 8.5 years for a first offense.

HB 1556 increases minimum penalties for first-time DUI offenders from:

* One day in jail for an offender with a BAC of less than .15 – to three days in jail.

* Two days in jail for an offender with a BAC of .15 or more – to seven days in jail.

* And the offender would be charged the daily bed rate in all cases.

HB 1557 would make a third DUI in 10 years a class C felony.

(NOTE: “DUI” stands for “driving under the influence of alcohol and/or other drugs.” “BAC” stands for “blood alcohol content.”)

Kirby, who is a member of the House Judiciary Committee, hopes the bills will soon receive a public hearing.

Go to Death Clock to see the running total of people killed due to drunken-driving so far this year.

Read Kirby’s full press release here.

Counting the homeless and making the homeless count

Caring volunteers will fan out across Washington tomorrow for the annual "point in time" count of the homeless. Gov. Gregoire has proclaimed Jan. 27 to be Homeless Awareness Day, and the House has adopted a resolution by Rep. Phyllis Gutiérrez Kenney to recognize the occasion.
The Community Development & Housing Committee, which is led by Rep. Kenney, will hold a special work session on "The Realities of Homelessness in Washington," at 10 a.m. in House Hearing Room C tomorrow, with special guests including nationally renowned expert Norm Suchar, a leader with the National Alliance to End Homelessness. Everyone can take part by tuning in to a live telecast and web cast of the Homeless Awareness Day event on TVW!

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.

WA Whiteboard: Liias on tax exemptions

Rep. Marko Liias breaks down how Initiative 1053 will play out in the 2011 legislative session.