Monday is the day - House budget proposal to be released

The Ways & Means committee will hear the House budget proposal on Monday, April 4 at 3:30.

Rep. Ross Hunter, chair of Ways & Means and the lead House budget-writer, will meet with reporters earlier in the day at 12:15. We'll post documents as soon as they're available.

Help is on the way for families facing foreclosure

In just two years, more than 77,000 families lost their homes to foreclosures, which now ranks Washington at 10th in the nation in foreclosures, up from 25th.

Some people think they’re not affected by foreclosures because they’re still in their homes, but the reality of this crisis is that foreclosures are affecting all of us. State Rep. Tina Orwall says the new faces of foreclosure are our neighbors, co-workers, friends and family members.

Orwall announced early in the session that she and Sen. Adam Kline were working on a new system to help struggling homeowners stay in their homes.

And today, her bill, the Foreclosure Fairness Act of 2011, was sent to the governor who has five days to sign it into law.

Orwall’s measure will bring lenders and borrowers to the table to work on finding alternatives to foreclosure with the help of an independent third party, a mediator. The bill is modeled after a Nevada legislation passed a couple of years ago that is returning very good results, as reported by the Associated Press in January.

“Approximately 45,000 families will receive notices of foreclosure this year, but we are providing new hope for many of them with a fair process and resources to help them explore every option available and keep their homes whenever possible,” said Orwall.

For more details on this legislation, you can read:
• Orwall’s press release
• Statewide Poverty Action Network press release
• Federal Way News story
• Washington Policy Watch piece
• News Tribune story

In the House today - fiscal committee cut-off

Today is cut-off for all fiscal bills except the budget and bills necessary to implement the budget. The House will convene on the floor at 10:00, floor action is epected.

In committees today:

8:00 am State Government and Tribal Affairs
Executive Session:
1. HB 2028 - Transferring executive ethics responsibilities to the public disclosure and ethics commission.
2. HB 2033 - Consolidating arts and heritage programs for the purpose of streamlining government and improving efficiency.
3. HB 2029 - Reforming and streamlining the sentencing guidelines commission for the purpose of saving money.
4. HB 2035 - Effectuating financial stability for the public printer.


1:30 pm Ways and Means
Executive Session: Bills previously heard in committee – list will be posted soon

WA Whiteboard: Beer-based budgeting?

Rep. Marko Liias walks us through how a new beer might be made:

Legal to buy and own, but not to use – how does that make sense?

If you have a firearm noise suppressor in a box collecting dust, soon you’ll be dusting it off and will get to use it if the governor signs a bill that passed the legislature this week.

This is a big deal for hunters and for folks who like to shoot targets in ranges because, under current law, it’s legal to purchase and own noise suppressors but it’s illegal to use them.

Huh?

“That’s like saying it is ok to buy a TV set but it’s illegal to turn it on,” said Rep. Brian Blake, who sponsored House Bill 1016.

“My bill simply brings coherence to the statute by making it legal to use suppressors that are duly registered in accordance with federal law,” said Blake.

The bill does absolutely nothing to weaken current requirements for purchasing a noise suppressor. Prospective buyers will still have to go through the background check, get approval from law enforcement, pay a $200 fee, and be registered with the National Firearms Act database.

Representatives of law enforcement agencies supported this bill because noise suppressors allow them to provide more training opportunities, are safer to use when breaking up meth labs, and help prevent hearing loss for police officers on the job. And neighbors of indoor and outdoor shooting ranges will also appreciate the decrease in noise.

Starting tomorrow: move over or pay up

Starting tomorrow, drivers who fail to slow down or move over when passing the flashing lights of an emergency vehicle on the side of the road will be charged a hefty $248 fine.

According to the Washington State Patrol, officers experienced 80 collisions involving passing vehicles striking trooper vehicles parked alongside the highway between 2006-2009. The major cause was drivers speeding or driving too fast for conditions, followed by DUI.

Last session, legislators approved a bill sponsored by Rep. Marko Liias to better protect emergency responders by establishing "emergency zones," the 200 feet of roadway in front of and behind a stationary emergency vehicle.

To learn more about the new law, check out this short video from WSP.

Another rainy day in Olympia

The rain keeps falling, and the legislative days keep clicking by. Today, day 81 of the 105-day session, the House is holding a pro forma session at 9:55 am. Look for some bill action on the floor tomorrow. The Rules committee will meet this afternoon at 1:00 to move Senate bills to the calendar.

Here are highlights for today’s committees:

8:00 am HHR B State Government & Tribal Affairs
Public Hearing:
1. HB 2027 - Allowing advertisements relating to licensing services in department of licensing publications and on the department of licensing web site.
2. HB 2028 - Transferring executive ethics responsibilities to the public disclosure and ethics commission.
3. HB 2029 - Reforming and streamlining the sentencing guidelines commission for the purpose of saving money.
4. HB 2033 - Consolidating arts and heritage programs for the purpose of streamlining government and improving efficiency.
5. HB 2034 - Reforming and streamlining the sentencing guidelines commission for the purpose of saving money.
6. HB 2035 - Effectuating financial stability for the public printer.

10:00 am HHR A Ways and Means
Public Hearing/Possible Executive Session:
1. SSB 5749 - Regarding the Washington advanced college tuition payment (GET) program.
2. ESB 5764 - Creating innovate Washington, which includes the Washington clean energy partnership as a programmatic activity.
Possible Executive Session:
1. SHB 1741 - Regarding temporary assistance for needy families benefits.
2. HB 2019 - Concerning the deposit of the additional cigarette tax.
3. E2SSB 5073 - Concerning the medical use of cannabis.
4. SSB 5202 - Regarding sexually violent predators.
5. ESSB 5253 - Concerning tax increment financing for landscape conservation and local infrastructure.
6. SSB 5394 - Concerning primary care health homes and chronic care management.
7. 2SSB 5427 - Regarding an assessment of students in state-funded full-day kindergarten classrooms.
8. SSB 5445 - Establishing a health benefit exchange.
9. SB 5516 - Allowing advance payments for equipment maintenance services for institutions of higher education.
10. SSB 5525 - Concerning hospital benefit zones that have already formed.
11. SSB 5531 - Reimbursing counties for providing judicial services involving mental health commitments.
12. E2SSB 5596 - Requiring the department of social and health services to submit a demonstration waiver request to revise the federal medicaid program.
13. 2SSB 5636 - Concerning the University Center of North Puget Sound.
14. SSB 5691 - Streamlining the crime victims' compensation program.

For information on any of these bills, click here.