Today was a banner day for the Northwest Progressive Institute’s 2020 legislative priorities. Three key policy bills on our list — all still alive thanks to Senate action earlier in the session — each received votes today to advance out of their committees of origin in the House of Representatives. To get to Governor Jay Inslee’s desk, these bills will need to be voted upon by the full House.
Here’s an overview of each bill.
Senate Bill 5395, which has attracted significant Republican opposition in the House, advanced on a vote of nine to eight after failing to get out of the House Education Committee last year. The bill was heard in committee last Thursday, with right wing parents showing up en masse to condemn it.
It has thankfully moved forward and remains alive ahead of tomorrow’s cutoff for policy bills enacted by the other chamber to get out of committee.
The bill advanced on a party-line vote, with the committee’s nine Democrats giving the bill a “do pass” recommendation and the eight Republicans voting nay.
Recommending “do pass”: Democratic Representatives Sharon Tomiko Santos (Chair), Laurie Dolan (Vice Chair), Dave Paul (Vice Chair), Steve Bergquist, Lisa Callan, Lillian Ortiz-Self, Monica Jurado Stonier, My-Linh Thai, Javier Valdez
Recommending “do not pass”: Republican Representatives Mike Steele (Ranking Member), Bob McCaslin (Assistant Ranking Member), Mike Volz (Assistant Ranking Member), Michelle Caldier, Chris Corry, Paul Harris, Skyler Rude, Alex Ybarra
Requested by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal and sponsored by State Senator Claire Wilson, the bill is intended to help young people at many different stages of childhood and young adulthood make better decisions about their health and their future. The House Education Committee amended the bill, so it will need Senate concurrence to clear the Legislature.
The original bill’s main provisions, as summarized by the staff of the Senate Democratic caucus are as follows:
SB 5395 passed the Senate earlier this month.
Senator Mona Das’ SB 5323 also received a vote in its committee of origin today. The House Committee on Environment & Energy, chaired by the incomparable Joe Fitzgibbon, opted to replace the bill with a new version (known in legislative parlance as a striker) that also bans single use plastic bags.
The bill then received a “do pass” recommendation from the committee.
Impressively, the vote was unanimous. It looks like this is the year for this bill!
Recommending “do pass”: Democratic Representatives Joe Fitzgibbon (Chair), Debra Lekanoff (Vice Chair), Beth Doglio, Jake Fey, Jared Mead, June Robinson, Sharon Shewmake; Republican Representatives Richard DeBolt (Ranking Member), Mary Dye (Assistant Ranking Member), Matt Boehnke, Keith Goehner
NPI Vice President-Secretary Diane Jones testified in support of SB 5323 at its hearing last Thursday, explaining that 69% of Washingtonians surveyed by NPI’s pollster PPP expressed support for a statewide ban on single use plastic bags.
We are delighted to see the bill move forward with bipartisan support.
The striking amendment substantially changes the original bill. The new language differs from the original as follows, according to House nonpartisan staff:
As with SB 5395, the Senate must sign off on these changes for the bill to leave the Legislature. The Senate can refuse to do so, in which case the House would be asked to recede from its amendments. If the House chose not to recede, then a conference committee would be appointed to negotiate a final version.
At the same time the Education and Environment Committees were meeting to consider the aforementioned bills, the House Public Safety Committee was meeting to discuss Senate Bill 5339, prime sponsored by Senator Reuven Carlyle. This bill repeals Washington’s now inactive death penalty statute, ending the practice of putting people to death for the crime of murder.
The Senate has passed this bill for three consecutive sessions, but it hasn’t received a vote on the floor of the House. However, it did get a vote of confidence from the Public Safety Committee, chaired by Representative Roger Goodman.
The committee rejected three Republican amendments, all sponsored by Jenny Graham, prior to taking a final vote to advance the bill.
Graham is a vocal proponent of executions who fervently — and wrongly — believes that abolishing the death penalty will result in convicted murderers getting out of prison and hurting more people.
There is no evidence — I repeat, no evidence — that eliminating the death penalty encourages people to commit more crimes, but Graham and others continue to disingenuously argue that the prospect of an execution is a deterrent.
The committee did not change the bill. If the full House approves it as is, it can go to Governor Inslee’s desk for his signature without further action in the Senate.
The party-line vote was as follows:
Recommending “do pass”: Democratic Representatives Roger Goodman (Chair), Lauren Davis (Vice Chair), Sherry Appleton (Second Vice Chair), John Lovick, Tina Orwall, Mike Pellicciotti, Eric Pettigrew
Recommending “do not pass”: Republican Representatives Brad Klippert (Ranking Member), Robert Sutherland (Assistant Ranking Member), Jenny Graham, Dan Griffey
In 2018, NPI unveiled research showing that Washingtonians of all political ideologies support abolishing the death penalty and replacing it with a form of life in prison. Amazingly, even Trump supporters favor, by a slight plurality, life in prison alternatives, as do an outright majority of Republicans.
We will continue to lobby in support of all three of these bills and track their progress in the remaining days of the 2020 legislative session.
The pursuit of high-profile endorsements from tribes, labor unions, business groups, local party organizations, and…
The week's major votes included House passage of a set of destructive bills that seek…
Perhaps as soon as next year, 2 Line trains will cross Lake Washington, making it…
Depriving states of the means to modestly regulate national banks would further tilt America’s already…
Flanked by advocates, city staff, and business leaders, Harrell pitched the proposal as essential and…
Biden will headline a reception for the Biden Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee, and…