Welcome to Policy Watch 2008
PART II – WEEK SIX IN OLYMPIA
THE SCENE
Once again three important events marked Week 6:
(1) on 2/19, Floor Action ended for bills moving through their “house of origin,” leaving many DEAD bills in its wake;
(2) promptly the next morning, activity shifted back to action in the Policy Committees -- as bills that survived the process in their “house of origin” began to be considered in the “opposite house;” and
(3) the House Appropriations Committee unveiled its much-anticipated version of the Supplemental Budget.
All this is evidence that the Session is moving into its late phases: narrowing the list of bills that will live (or die); deciding which will be funded in the Budget. And because Week Six is such a critical point in the process, the Capitol campus once again teemed with people: advocates for the Arts, volunteers from Big Brothers/Big Sisters, faith community members, members of POWER (Parents Organizing for Welfare & Economic Rights), and too many school children to count. All were exercising their constitutional right “…of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the government” – which is a well-spoken way of describing a “lobby day.”
Two groups came in large numbers (several hundred each), wore lots of red, and were particularly hard to miss. One day it was the parents and teachers involved in Head Start/ECEAP (Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program) who came from all across the state, another day it was social workers from across the state.
Both represent communities that the uninitiated might not think of as “lobbyists” - since the popular image of a “lobbyist” seems to be of someone in an expensive suit, glad-handing with the legislators and looking like a future campaign contributor. Like many of the groups that come to Olympia, Head Start/ECEAP parents fit none of that description. They are by definition low-income; they tend to be young; and many bring special circumstances to the program: a child with a disability, limited English language proficiency, little formal education.
One thing they do have is a fierce determination to give their children a better chance at higher education than they had. Phrases like “early childhood education” and “head start” aren’t just catchy buzz-words for them; instead, they represent the door to a brighter future. One young mother spoke eloquently of the difference ECEAP made for her daughter, a child who started out with serious emotional difficulties. Today, thanks to ECEAP, she is near the top of her class in reading and math, and has plenty of friends.
Or consider the group of parents that arrived feeling shy and nervous, but left happy and proud. These were parents who thought their English wasn’t good enough for an important place like the Capitol (“…and when I’m nervous… I think in Spanish!”). They met up with their Representative in a crowded hallway and – to everyone’s surprise and pleasure – she immediately put them at ease by switching into Spanish. According to one description: suddenly, Olympia was no longer an intimidating, “foreign” place, but a place where elected officials ask about your children… and “are so easy to talk to!”
“Social worker” is another title that isn’t usually linked with “lobbyist” in the public mind. More often it conjures up the notion of a kindly individual providing individual services to someone needing help because of an illness, disability, child welfare, or some other life crisis. But social work is inherently political. Its American founder was a social reformer and political dynamo, Jane Addams. Among her many claims to fame, Addams brought the Settlement House movement to America, helped start the first Juvenile Courts, was named a School Board member and sanitation officer for her immigrant neighborhood (at a time when women didn’t hold such positions), lobbied for women’s suffrage and against child labor, started adult night classes (credited with influencing today’s Community Colleges), was a founder of the Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom, and in 1931 was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace. Even today, virtually everything social workers do is affected by public laws and public budgets.
So the social workers who descended on the Capitol from legislative districts across the state came to do what their profession has always done, and their Code of Ethics requires of them, namely: “…engage in social and political action….” They came by busload from Bellingham and Spokane, took ferries from Bremerton, formed carpools and caravans from Yakima, Seattle, Tacoma and Vancouver. Legislators who came out of the Capitol to join in their Rally saw Legislative District signs from two-thirds of the Districts in the state, held aloft by people who had come to their Capitol to speak for social justice - and for all the people they care about who could not be there in person.
One social worker (herself a novice just a couple years ago) brought some “first-timers” along for the day – home care workers and working parents. “I love to watch the transformation people go through,” she remarked. “They start off so shy and nervous, and then gain more and more confidence as they clarify their message. By the end of the day, they are so articulate about how their families and communities are affected by their issues.” Plus, she reports, by the time they leave “…they comment on how easy it is, how appreciative and responsive most legislators are, and what a great feeling it is to DO SOMETHING face-to-face for the issues one cares about.”
That’s a simple, wonderful fact about our state legislature: it IS easy to talk to the people who go there to represent us, IS easy to have a voice in the process. They don’t always win, but every year there are examples where the advocacy of ordinary people makes a difference. Consider two brief items from this week.
- On Tuesday, Parent Coalitions from across the state met in Olympia, and learned that a bill they supported, SSB 6448 (a bill to provide intensive supports for children with developmental disabilities) was not listed for a vote on the Senate Floor. With “cut-off” looming at 5:00 pm that day the parent coalition members report that they “…marched over to the Capitol, sat down in the hallway outside the Senate Chamber, and proceeded to write notes to each and every Senator in our respective counties that we wished to have this bill … passed before 5:00 p.m. that day. We had our notes delivered to our Senators on the floor. We are pleased to report that the Substitute Senate Bill passed UNANIMOUSLY.”
- When the House version of the budget came out on Wednesday, it did not include funding for long-term care and some other top senior priorities. Saying they “… were shocked and angry,” advocates appealed to their members. “If you are concerned about this, please contact your elected House member immediately, or better still come to Olympia for a chat.” By week’s end, after care providers and the families they serve had responded to the call - $3.5 million had been added to the House version, for partial funding of several priorities.
And yet… far too many negative stereotypes hold sway, and far too many Washington residents never even try to make real democracy for themselves and the issues they care about.
The PROCESS – “Opposite House” Action
Early in Week Six all of the action was in the Capitol Building. Day-trippers and full-time lobbyists alike crowded around the third-floor areas just outside the Chamber doors, writing brief notes to send in to their Senators and Representatives, then milling around to see if the legislators could step out of the chamber for a brief conversation about specific bills. Inside the chambers, bill after bill was called up for discussion, amendment, final votes. Some survived; more did not.
By now two-thirds (or more) of the bills before the legislature this year are DEAD.
That’s easier to know than one might think, but a simple glance at the Daily Status Report holds the key. Go to www.leg.wa.gov, and click on Bill Information. Then go to the Daily Status Report and first look down the list of Senate bills. In the right hand column (headed STATUS) is an S or H, followed by a bit of information telling readers where the bill stands now.
If the letter in that right-hand column is an S – that means the bill did not make it out of the Senate, it’s “house of origin.” Barring some last-minute, parliamentary maneuver, that bill is DEAD for this year.
If the letter in that right-hand column is an H – you know the bill has passed the Senate and is now being considered in the House of Representatives, its “opposite house.” (Do the same for House bills – if they have an S in that column, that means they made it through to the “opposite house” – in this case the Senate - and are still alive for now.)
So the action is once again in the Policy Committees, which are back on their usual schedules: with two-hour meetings in which to consider as many bills as they can. This time all of the Committees are considering bills sent over from the “opposite house.”
One day this week a Committee meeting for the Senate’s Early Learning & K-12 Committee, included Public Hearings on six House-passed bills, complete with public witnesses. They also took quick Executive action on one more House-passed item, a bill familiar to them because it had a Senate “companion” that the Committee had acted on just two weeks earlier.
As one might expect, the bills all dealt with school-related policy issues. And even though the Senators moved quickly through the bills, they paused to ask questions of the witnesses (among whom were some remarkably self-assured middle-school students), took time for exchanges, and raised important points.
One Senator expressed frustration over the lack of information on Asian/Pacific Islander students, noting that the API community feels ignored, that they get no response specific to their communities when seeking information from the schools. “They’re just angry because nobody’s listening…” he said. “I’m frustrated too… this is the fourth time I’ve mentioned this….” (It didn’t help that the witness appearing for the school systems had to ask what “API” meant.) Another Senator pointed out that while the data given to lawmakers (about students who are not achieving as hoped) tends to show breakdowns by race, “… a common theme seems to be poverty, not just race. Is anyone tracking that? Are we doing any outreach to the low-income?”
And one witness who came to address the needs of students with disabilities, gently chided the Committee and the state. I may sound a little flip, she began, “…but what we’re discussing is ‘too little, too late.’ We shouldn’t wait until six weeks before students sit for their WASL tests to be asking how many counselors we need” to help them succeed. After noting that many children with disabilities are also not being tracked, she said, “I share the Senators’ frustration.”
Null & Void Clause.
Now that the House and Senate versions of the Supplemental Budget are appearing, and tough choices are being made about how to allocate scarce state funds, even more bills will die – and the reason will be money.
That’s why, near the end of many bills, readers will note a “null and void clause.” Since bills setting policy may be passed before final action on the budget, the legislature could pass a law that has no funding available to carry it out. To avoid that problem, many bills include a final section known as a “null & void clause.” That clause specifies that the entire bill is moot (i.e., not valid), unless funding is provided for it in the budget by a specific date.
YOUR PART: This week the useful action has three parts.
One: If a bill you care about has passed through the body where it was introduced, contact your legislators in the “opposite house;” let them know you want the bill passed by their body as well. Two: If it requires funding, also request that funding be included for it in the Budget.
Three: Check the emails/websites of the advocacy groups monitoring the issues you care about.
Check the status of your bills often (http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/dailystatus.aspx?year=2007).
Important actions are occurring daily, even hourly, and you will want to react as swiftly as those Parent Coalition and senior citizen advocates did.
PLUS: You can follow important actions in Olympia via TVW – our own Public Affairs television station. Much of their programming can be viewed on your computer.
You can always send a quick message from back home.
If you cannot come to Olympia, communicate your wishes from a distance. Legislators pay close attention to the calls, letters, and emails that come to them from back home.
Whether or not you come to Olympia – don’t think your job is done. BACK HOME, follow-up:
- CALL (directly to their offices, or TOLL FREE 1-800-562-6000)
- EMAIL/WRITE
- KEEP THE GOVERNOR INFORMED of how you feel about the bills being voted on. Remember, she has the power to sign, or veto any bill or budget item that is passed.
- SHOW UP AT MEETINGS WHEN LEGISLATORS are BACK IN THE DISTRICT
The SUPPLEMENTAL OPERATING BUDGET
With the new Revenue Forecasts in hand on 2/15, the House Appropriations Committee moved swiftly to provide its version of the Budget on 2/20 – HB 2687. By the end of Friday, 2/22, the Committee had adopted a number of amendments (adding or otherwise adjusting specific items) and voted to send their version of the Budget to the House Floor for discussion, amendment, and finally a vote by all 98 Representatives. (For those who like such details, note that Budget bills do not need to go through the Rules Committee… they go straight to the Floor.)
Within hours, advocacy groups were issuing analyses of how their specific items fared.
The picture from the world of health and human services was decidedly mixed. Advocates for low-income housing were very pleased ($90 million in additional spending for affordable housing and services); as noted, advocates for senior citizens were not (initially there was no funding for long-term care, among other senior priorities); Children’s Advocates found a glass half-full (some increases for foster care supports, gaps left in child nutrition, home visiting, and health care….).
By now most groups have capsule summaries of the budget items most important to them. The House Appropriations Committee version is available in the form of Highlights, as well as the full budget. The Senate Ways & Means Committee version is expected early in Week Seven.
Those wishing to read the various budget proposals can find them at:
http://leap.leg.wa.gov/leap/budget/detail/proposals.asp
Next Steps in the Budget-writing Process
Rather than go line-by-line with detailed changes, the Senate Ways & Means Committee will strike out everything in the House version, and substitute their own wishes for the state’s Supplemental Operating Budget. The result will be known as a Striking Amendment, or “Striker.” Like the Appropriations Committee has just done, the Senate Ways & Means will hold Public Hearings on their version, and within a few days discuss, amend, and vote on it.
Their version will go out to the Senate Floor, for a vote by the full Senate.
Then, after the votes in both chambers, it is likely that a Conference Committee will be formed to work out differences between the two versions passed by their respective bodies.
If the conferees request it, they can declare a “free conference” – at which point just about anything can be considered, including recommendations in the Governor’s proposed budget that were not adopted in either the House or Senate versions. (The Governor’s proposal is available at: www.ofm.wa.gov. )
Throughout this process, whether you are pleased, disappointed, or somewhere in between, you can influence how the final details of the Budget are decided. But you have to speak up NOW. (A “Citizen’s Guide to the Washington State BUDGET” is available at the Senate Ways & Means Committee website.)
There are two additional Budgets: CAPITAL (Buildings, Housing), and for TRANSPORTATION. Check their respective Committees for details.
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SNAPSHOTS
** A temporary resident, here from China to study, came to a Lobby Day this week and was struck by this sight of “…citizen power in civil affairs. …the collaboration and down-to-earth involvement that brings people together. Those busy staff and legislators give a vivid example of ‘public servant,’ a term used a lot in China....”
** A lobbyist for senior issues showed up looking bruised and battered. It seems he’d tripped on a curb on the way to the Capitol. Then, instead of turning back, he decided to show up in his battered state and speak out for a bill to help senior citizens harmed by falls!
** Last week the people gathered in the Capitol included a cupid – complete with feathery wings and a little red cap (he had valentine’s day messages on behalf of the environment). This week, with advocates for the Arts in town, there was a chamber orchestra in the Rotunda, and the state’s Poet Laureate – reading poetry!
** A visiting attorney who’d been to Olympia to try cases, finally came to visit the Legislative Branch this week. He couldn’t resist pointing out that while the Capitol is simply called the “Legislative Building,” the building housing the Supreme Court is called the “Temple of Justice”
** This week’s Trivia Quiz from the Legislative Information Center:
Question: what is a “Constitutional majority?”
Answer: 51% or more of those elected to the House or Senate (that is, not just a majority of those present at the time); it is required for final passage of a bill.
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SOME ISSUES -- UPDATE
Bills have been introduced on such a broad range of issues that PW cannot mention them all. This list simply notes a few health/human services Bills still alive by this week.
REMINDER:
House Bill numbers start at 1,000 and may begin with a 1, 2, or 3;
Senate Bill numbers start at 5,000 and may begin with a 5, 6, or (occasionally) 7.
Thus a bill identified as SB 6264 is the 1,264th Senate Bill introduced in the session; HB 1058 was the 58th bill introduced in the House. More recent bills have higher numbers.
Just a few of the bills still alive and now in the “opposite house:”
BILL TOPIC Status
Some House Bills Committee or Chamber
HB 1421 Privacy Protect’s for DV victims Executive Action taken on 2/22 in
Sen.Gov’t Ops & Elections Cttee.
HB 2474 Superv’n Require’t’s for Social Workers Public Hearing scheduled on 2/26, in
Sen. Hum Services & Correc. Cttee.
HB 2487 Vulnerable Adults Public Hearing held on 2/22 in
Sen. Judiciary Cttee
HB 2497 Nurse Practitioners No date for Public Hearing yet, in
Sen. Health & LT Care Cttee;
HB 2551 Juvenile Treatment Public Hearing scheduled on 2/26 in
Sen. Hum Services & Correc. Cttee
HB 1956 Against Discrimin. In Housing Public Hearing scheduled on 2/29 in
Sen. Judiciary Committee
HB 2834 Foster Parent License Now in the Senate Rules Cttee,
To be scheduled for Floor Action
HB 3133 Mobile Home Parks & Manufac’d Housing Public Hearing scheduled on 2/29 in
Sen Consum. Protect.&Housing Cttee
HB 3104 Expand’g Domestic Partner Rights Public Hearing scheduled on 2/25 in
Sen. Govt. Ops & Elections Cttee.
Some Senate Bills
SB 5900 Victims of Domestic Violence Public Hearing Scheduled on 2/26 in
Hse Commerce & Labor Cttee
SB 6333 Work Group on Health Care Public Hearing Scheduled on 2/25 in
Hse Health Care &Wellness Cttee
SB 6357 Protection Orders in Domestic Violence Executive Action taken on 2/22 in
Hse Judiciary Cttee
SB 6364 Long-term Care Insurance Executive Action scheduled on 2/25 in
Hse Health Care &Wellness Cttee
SB 6809 Working Families Credit Not scheduled yet, in
Hse Finance Committee
And much, much more… House and Senate Committees are already scheduling extra meetings to try and work through as many bills as possible.
YOUR PART. Use the tools available. We have three ways to contact our representatives to tell them how we wish to be represented: we can CALL, WRITE, or VISIT.
If you go to Olympia try to make an appointment in advance, but even if you just drop in, staff and elected officials alike will be friendly and eager to meet with you.
Don’t feel bad if your legislator is busy and you meet with staff. Every Senator gets two aides, every Representative gets one aide, and the whole place gets the help of Committee staff (who work for members of both parties) and Caucus staff (who work for either Democrats or Republicans). All are eager to be helpful. Some are knowledgeable about the details of bills, others will know practical matters like legislators’ schedules. But all try to point visitors to the right person, all are very patient, and all are very good about passing information along.
TWO EASY ACTIONS -- Same As Last Week
- Get and read regular legislative alerts from an advocacy group that monitors the issue(s) you care most about. (POLICY WATCH lists health/human service/low-income groups, at:
http://depts.washington.edu/sswweb/policyw/2008Useful_Info.pdf
If that list doesn’t have what you need, ask your friends, neighbors, co-workers – or google.)
Those who write the alerts monitor what is happening and will tell you when your voice is needed. Most will offer a “sample message” you can put in your own words. You don’t need to be an expert, you just need to care about an issue, and talk about it from your own experience.
- Try to make a call or send a note or email once each week about one of the issues in the Legislative Alert you are receiving. Use the state’s TOLL-FREE LINE (1-800-562-6000) to leave a brief message for your Senator, your 2 Representatives, and the Governor – all in just a matter of minutes. 1 call/message a week for the next 4 weeks, and you can have an impact.
Brief Note. POLICY WATCH should be read with three things in mind. First, we ask a lot of the men and women we elect to serve. They deserve our respect. Second, every activity, every program, every issue affected by the budget has its champions and detractors; legislators will be pressured from all sides on every item. Third, it is our privilege to help our citizen-legislators sort among competing needs and difficult choices. They need us to help them make hard choices.
Pay Attention to the Legislative Calendar.
The 2008 Legislative Session runs from Jan. 14 – March 13. Every day is counted (Weekdays/ Sat/Sun/Holidays) Session. The legislature may also meet on weekends later in the Session. “Cut-off dates” control the action on bills; those failing to get action before “cut-off” usually die.
…here are the next critical points in the 2008 Session:
- 2/29 – last day for bills consideration in the Policy Committees of the "opposite house"
- 3/03 – last day for bill consideration in the Fiscal Committees of the "opposite house"
- 3/07 – last day for bill to be considered on the floor of the opposite house
- 3/13 – 2008 Session adjourns for the year.
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