Welcome to Policy Watch 2007

PART I: Upcoming Advocacy Days
PART II – WEEK 10 IN OLYMPIA

PART I: Upcoming Advocacy Days

No lobby days reported to POLICY WATCH for this week.

NOTE: Many legislators are hosting “TOWN HALL” meetings in their Districts this weekend - March 17 or 18. Check to see if there is one in YOUR community. Show up. Wear a badge indicating the issue you care most about. Ask a question about a bill or budget item.
This is a great opportunity for people to talk with their legislators – including people who cannot get to Olympia.

Weekly (or Multiple) Lobby Days

EVERY WEDNESDAY, The Arc of Washington State hosts a weekly Developmental Disabilities mini-Advocacy Day, from January 31 thru April 11. Each week a different disability issue is highlighted. For location and other details – go to: http://www.arcwa.org/advocacy_day.htm

EVERY THURSDAY, the Children’s Budget Coalition hosts a brown bag lunch. Noon – 1:00 pm. – John L. O’Brien Building, Briefing Room. Briefings available on request. Contact: sarah@childrensalliance.org , or, jon@childrensalliance.org (206-324-0340 X 19).

PART II – WEEK 10 IN OLYMPIA

THE SCENE

Of over 2,500 bills introduced this year, fewer than 800 are still “alive” to see action in the “opposite house.” (And for those who care about health and human services issues, it is interesting to note that almost 100 of these surviving bills are in those categories.)

Even those numbers are a bit misleading. One reason is that identical bills are often introduced in both the House and Senate – to increase the chances that at least one version will survive the process. Plus, some bills that appear “dead” at this juncture will reappear in the form of “budget proviso’s” or because they were amended onto another bill that was moving. And third, bills regarded as “necessary to the budget” can be kept alive until the budget is finally settled. But the rough numbers give at least a sense of what the legislature is still dealing with, and most bills that are dead now … will stay dead.

By the end of the Session, only a few hundred bills on any topic will have made it all the way through the process and been signed into law.

That’s about par for the course. At this point in the Session -- when bills that were introduced in the House and passed by the House move over to the Senate, and bills that were introduced in the Senate and passed by the Senate move over to the House – there are typically only about one-third of the Bills and Joint Resolutions still in play.

One bill that already made it all through the process got signed into law this week: SB 5093 – the bill to provide health care for all kids by 2010. It may have occurred in the ornate Capitol building but this was not the usual bill-signing ceremony. Along with a smiling Governor, the legislators, the advocacy groups and the media people… there were pre-schoolers in red t-shirts, squiriming babies, and cheering children of all ages. The Speaker of the House sounded like a cheer-leader himself as he led the group in applause: “Let’s hear it for all the advocates… let’s hear it for the legislators… let’s hear it for the children….” Everyone who played a role was praised: key Representatives and Senators, committee staff and bill drafters (‘’… who worked out the details… working late into the night….”), policy analysts and health care providers. And Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown also took a moment to speak directly to the parents (or anyone who knows the parent of a child without coverage): “Let’s tell EVERYONE how to get health care for their kids,” she said. Citizen democracy was alive and well at that ceremony.

THE PROCESS - The Opposite House
In the first part of Week Ten all the action was over in the Legislative Building, on the House and Senate Floors. In the last part of Week Ten the action had shifted back to the House and Senate Committee rooms which once again were filled with citizen activists, lobbyists, and school groups visiting their Capitol. And because surviving House bills are now being heard in the Senate, and surviving Senate bills are being considered in the House, legislators can frequently be seen crossing over to testify on behalf of their bills in the other body.

As one might imagine, the stakes at this point are very high, but legislators continue to try and keep a sense of perspective. After all, they still have five more weeks of long, stressed-filled days of working together. At one Senate Hearing a Representative arrived to present her bill to her Senate colleagues. She began her statement before the Committee by saying she felt “…a bit like Charlie Brown with the proverbial football.” After all, a bill on the same topic had been introduced year after year, always with the hope of success… only to be snatched away at the last minute. She then anticipated all the arguments that had been raised against the bill, answering each in turn. Finally, she described the bill as the result of many compromises, a stripped-down, bare-bones version that surely deserved to pass. That’s when a Senator on the Committee asked to be recognized by the Chair. “Representative,” he began, “I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying: there’s always a fly in the punchbowl….” To which the Representative responded: “… and there you are!” (The Senator – and the whole room – burst out laughing.)

Opposite House Bills in Committee
Once again the weekly meeting schedule offers a capsule look at what’s happening. For starters,
all the Senate Committees are now hearing bills with House numbers (beginning with a 1 or 2) and all of the House Committees are hearing bills with Senate numbers (beginning with a 5 or 6).

Then, because there are fewer bills remaining, Committees in both houses have more reasonable schedules. For example, instead of the lists of 12 or 20 bills waiting to be voted on in a single 2-hour meeting (common just before cut-off), these days Committees have a more reasonable 2-5 bills to learn about in a Public Hearing, followed by just a few more to be voted on in Executive Session. And many of the bills have already been heard in some form.

The House Judiciary Committee, for example, held a Public Hearing at the end of this week on SB 5336 – providing domestic partners certain rights and benefits. Back in late January they held a Hearing on the House version of that same bill, HB 1351, and then voted to pass it by a vote of 7-4. The issues and the arguments related to this bill are not new to the Committee. They’ve heard most of it before – and not just in Committee: there has been a large, well-organized, highly visible citizen effort on behalf of this bill. When the Senate version – Senate Bill 5336 - passed the full Senate first, the House bill was allowed to die; at that point the Senate bill became the “vehicle” for action. So at this stage in the process, SB 5336 must go through all the steps in the “opposite house” -- which it will no doubt do with considerable ease.

Or consider HB 1422 – a little bill to help incarcerated parents maintain contact with their children. Unlike SB 5336 it did not have a large, experienced effort behind it, nor were those most affected - the incarcerated parents and their children – coming to Olympia to lobby. But it did get support from a determined band of legislators and some dedicated advocates – including a group at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma. The bill was helped through the process by information collected by the students, a conference at PLU last year that included key legislators, and testimony by faculty when the bill got its Committee Hearings in the House. Now it’s coming up for a Hearing in the Senate Human Services Committee on the 23rd – which heard its own “companion bill” in late February; it should benefit from everything that went before.

A very different story can be told for HB 1088 – a bill to expand the availability of mental health services for children. That bill has no Senate counterpart. So next Tuesday when it is scheduled for a Public Hearing before the Senate Human Services & Corrections Committee, that’s the first time a group of Senators will have a formal opportunity to consider the bill and the issues it raises. Like many bills at this stage, it was already modified in the House – one way to win enough votes for passage is to make the provisions more modest and lower the price tag – but the Senators may want still more changes before they’re through.

That’s the scenario that will be playing out in every Committee of the legislature during the next two weeks as they devote all of their time to considering bills from the “opposite house.” With each Committee meeting three times per week, unless they schedule extra meetings, that means just six opportunities – 12 hours – in which to consider all the remaining bills during a Public Hearing and then a later vote in Executive Session. Those hours will just zip right by.

One more factor will come into play next week: the budget. The latest Revenue Forecasts were made public this week, so next week the House Appropriations Committee will reveal its version of the budget on Tuesday, put it to a vote in Committee on Wednesday, and take it to the House Floor for a vote by Friday. Early the following week we’ll get to see the Senate version of the budget. And both versions will provide the backdrop to many of the remaining discussions for the surviving bills. There are many more good ideas for laws than there is public money to pay for them, and the budget is where many critical choices will get made.

Tip: We have two tasks at this point. The first is simply to make sure our bills don’t get lost in the final weeks of the Session – which we do by paying attention to the Committee schedules and letting our legislators know which bills are important to us.

The second is to read legislative alerts as they arrive and watch carefully for any changes in the bills you are following. Then, let your legislators know how you feel about the changes. Many bills have already been pared back to make them less costly – a process of “slimming down” the bills that some worry can go too far. Advocates for health care reform, for example, have been heard to comment that the health and/or mental health services remaining in some of the slimmed-down bills are so “skinny” that they’re now positively anemic.

This is the time of year for some of the toughest decisions: whether to continue to support a watered down version of a good bill (that might not pass in more robust form) in hopes of adding to it at some later time, or to work to defeat something that may leave the impression that there’s been progress when it’s mostly nice words… but too little money to be effective.

Snapshots
** Just before this week’s Hearing on a bill to name a state “Poet Laureate,” one lobbyist suggested that all the testimony presented on the bill should be done in the form of Haiku’s.

** The Olympian reported this week that the Republican and Democratic legislative leaders may disagree on policy but they remain personally friendly – witness the fact that they all went out to dinner together one night this week. However, the paper also noted that they chose to sit at a round table (perhaps to avoid having to choose who would sit at the head)….

** One relatively small lobby group managed to have a big impact this week. About 50 members of the Coalition Against Domestic Violence showed up in Olympia … but they seemed much more prominent than those numbers would suggest. That’s because they all carried purple folders with BRIGHT, NEON-GREEN stickers reading: “Help Us End Domestic Violence.” Everywhere anyone looked it seemed there was one of those messages looking right back. Nobody could have missed the point.

** The Weekly Trivia question is back! Olympia regulars know that the “bill room” always used to post a weekly trivia question… until last year when the trivia question guy retired, and no one volunteered to take his place. Crisis! But, as the staff acknowledged this week: “we heard you… so it’s back.” This week’s question: when was the last time Washington elected a legislator from a third party? (Check at the end of the update on bills for the answer.)

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REMINDER: Whatever your bill or budget issue, and where-ever it stands in the process, your legislators need to hear from you. They are just a Toll-Free call away: 1-800-562-6000.

Enter the number of a bill you care about in the search box at www.leg.wa.gov, and check frequently to see whether a Public Hearing or Executive Session have been scheduled in its “opposite house” Committee. If not, contact your legislators and ask them to do whatever they can to see that your bill is scheduled. Then keep track by checking on your bill.

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SOME ISSUES –Because issue-specific groups and the state’s website provide such good information, POLICY WATCH only mentions a few of the many, many bills being considered. To see a list of all the bills introduced to date, go to www.leg.wa.gov and at Bill Information, and check the DAILY STATUS REPORT.

From now until COB on Friday, 3/30, the action is back in the House and Senate Committees, and much of the attention will be on the BUDGET.   So:
   1) check often with an advocacy group that is working on the issues you care most about, and
   2) check the legislature’s website often to track the status of the bills you care about;         then
   3) urge your Senator and Representatives to vote for/against the bills you care about.

Action on Bills
The big test for most bills will come next week when the budgets start to emerge: will Washington provide the money that the Foster Care/mental health/health care/related systems need to make a positive difference in the lives of the Washington’s people.

Some examples of the many bills for children and youth, Foster Care that
passed in their House of Origin and are now in the “Opposite House.”
HB 1131/SB 5155 – helping foster youth go beyond high school; passed the House 81-16, and
         got a Hearing in the Senate Committee on Higher Education on 3/15.
HB1201 – extending Medicaid benefits to age 21; 1201 passed the House 95-1, is
         scheduled for a Hearing on 3/22 in the Senate Committee on Health & Long-Term Care.
HB 1333 – Child Welfare protections; Passed the House 64-32; scheduled for a
Hearing in the Senate Committee on Human Services & Corrections, on 3/22.
HB 1377 – Placement of children; passed the House 94-0; Hearing in the Senate Committee
            on Human Services & Corrections, on 3/16.
HB 1472 – re racial disparities in the child welfare system (1472 passed the House 95-2,
            had a Hearing in the Senate Committee on Human Services & Corrections, on 3/16.
HB 1716 – educational achievement for children in Foster Care; passed House 95-1; scheduled
for a Hearing in the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education, on 3/21.
HB 1922 – Housing Assistance for foster youth; Passed the House 64-32; scheduled for a
Hearing in the Senate Committee on Human Services & Corrections, on 3/22.
SB 5497 – Dropout prevention, including for foster youth. Passed the Senate 47-0; Got a          Hearing in the House Committee on Education, on 3/15.
SB 5909 – supporting the needs of youth in Foster Care – passed the Senate 47-0; now in the
            House Committee on Early Learning & Children’s Services. No hearing scheduled yet.

Several bills to expand health and mental health coverage have passed in their House of Origin:
  HB 1088 – expanding mental health services for children. Passed the House 92-4. scheduled
            for a Hearing in the Senate Committee on Human Services & Corrections, on 3/20.
HB1460 -- extend Mental Health Parity, passed House 75-22; scheduled for a Hearing in the
            Senate Committee on Health & Long-Term Care, on 3/19.
  HB 1569 – Reform the WA Health Care system for small business/individ’s; passed the House;
scheduled for a Hearing in the Senate Committee on Health & Long-Term Care, on 3/19.
  HB 1644 - Health care for Com’ty & Tech. College employees; passed the House 97-0;
            Scheduled for Public Hearing in the Senate Committee on Higher Education, on 3/19.
HB 1825 – provide funding for Public Health; Passed the House. Scheduled for a Public
            Hearing in the Senate Committee on Health & Long-Term Care, on 3/22.
HB 2094 – Taxpayer Health Care Fairness (employers with >1,000 employees to pay a
            premium for employees using Basic Health Plan or Medicaid). Appeared dead, but
            then had a Hearing on 3/15, and is scheduled for Executive Session in the House
            Appropriations Committee on 3/19.
SB 5659 – Family & Medical Leave Insurance; passed the Senate. Scheduled for a Public
            Hearing in the House Committee on Commerce & Labor, on 3/20.
  SB 5930 – to enact recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Health Commission; passed 48-0;
            scheduled for executive session in the House Cttee on Health Care & Wellness on 3/21.
  SB 5093 – health coverage for all children by 2010. Passed both houses; signed into law
by the Governor on March 13.
SB 5830 – Home Visitation for high risk families; passed the Senate, 46-0. Scheduled for a
Public Hearing in the House Committee on Early Learning & Children's Services, 3/20.

Some key Elderly and/or Disability-related bills have passed their House of Origin.
HB 1008 – Protecting Vulnerable Adults; passed the House 97-0, got a public hearing in the
            Senate Judiciary Committee on 3/16.
HB 1097 – Crimes Against Vulnerable Adults; passed the House 96-0; scheduled for a Senate
            Hearing in the Judiciary Committee, on 3/21.
HB1322 / SB 5340 – Definition of Disability; House bill is on the House Floor;
Senate bill passed the Senate 42-6. Scheduled for a Public Hearing in the House
Judiciary Committee, on 3/21. House bill passed 64-33, is now in Senate Judiciary cttee.
HB 1461 – regarding mobile home community dispute resolution; passed the House 96-0;
            Scheduled for Executive Session in the Senate Consumer Protection & Housing Cttee.
HB 1694 – Coordinated Transportation; passed the House 97-0. Got a Public Hearing in the
            Senate Committee on Transportation, on 3/15.
SB 5450 – Kevin’s Law; passed the Senate 48-0; scheduled for a Public hearing in the House
Committee on Education, on 3/15.
SB 5467 - Individual and Family Services program for people with Developmental Disabilities;
            passed the Senate 46-0. It is scheduled for a Public Hearing in the House Committee on
Human Services, on 3/22.

Some Domestic Violence-related bills are still alive:
   HB 1703 – for a Pilot Program in DSHS offices; appears Dead.
   HB 2119/ SB 5953 – Penalties for domestic violence involving strangulation; House bill
            is now in the Senate Judiciary Committee ; Senate bill is now in the
House Public Safety Committee, with a Public Hearing scheduled for 3/19.
   HB 2191 – Deferred prosecution in domestic violence cases; passed the House, and is now
in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
   SB 5470 – Family law related to DV; is now in the House Judiciary Committee –
with a Hearing scheduled for 3/21.
   SB 5900 – Domestic violence victim safety; appears DEAD.

     All of the four bills proposing to shift to public financing of campaigns died (to provide public financing in judicial campaigns, and to allow public funding of local campaigns).

  One key Education issue is troubled but still alive: House Joint Resolution 4204/Senate Joint Resolution 8207 - allowing local education levies to win by a “simple majority” (rather than 2/3rds, as is now the case). Winning this change has been a priority issue for parents, teachers, PTA’s, and many education-related groups for several years; it has passed the House four times in the past, only to lose in the Senate. Because it involves a constitutional change, it requires a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate.
     In Week 8, the Senate once again voted “no” – by a 30-17 vote, just three votes short of the two-thirds needed. Then, in Week 9, House Joint Resolution 4204 passed the House and is now the vehicle. It is before the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education, which held a Public Hearing on the measure on 3/15.

Economic fairness is always tough to win, but a few bills remain alive.
HB 2256- Asset Building for low-income families; now in the Senate Committee on
Financial Institutions and Insurance.
HB 1096 - creating an Opportunity Grant program to help low-income students go
back to school; now in the Senate Committee on Higher Education.
HB 2312 – Legislative Oversight committee for TANF; passed the House 96-0. Now in the
Senate Committee on Human Services & Corrections.

Tax fairness issues are always tough to sustain momentum for, and this year was no exception. One key bill - HB 1827, requiring a tax expenditure report as part of biennial budget documents – DIED.

Answer to the Trivia Question: Newt Hill, was elected as a member of the Progressive Party in 1926, back when our legislature only met every other year.

BUDGET
The March Revenue Forecast was released this week, and while the news was good – it wasn’t quite as upbeat as some anticipated. There is a net addition of $126 million – which is good news, but that is lower than was hoped for, and it is not money that will be available on an on-going basis. An analysis of the latest forecast is available from the non-profit, non-partisan Washington State Budget & Policy Center (http://www.budgetandpolicy.org/).

Because writing the two-year budget is the one thing the legislature must do, and because it affects every resident of the state, it is the legislature’s major task this year. BUDGET DRAFTING is almost complete. The House Appropriations Committee will issue its version of the budget on Tuesday, 3/20, with a vote expected in that Committee on 3/21. A House Floor vote on the Budget will come by Friday, and the Senate budget is expected early the next week.

If your bill or issue has budget implications, or a Fiscal Note, you need a champion on the budget-writing committees for your item/your bill (the Appropriations Committee in the House, and the Ways & Means Committee in the Senate). If one of your legislators sits on either Committee, be sure they know the budget areas important to you.

SOME BUDGET-RELATED COMMITTEE MEETINGS NEXT WEEK

On Tuesday, 3/20 at 3:30 pm, the HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE will hold a Public Hearing on HB 1128 – Making operating appropriations (a.k.a. the budget) for 2007-09.
J.L. O’Brien Building – House Hearing Room A. Also on TVW.

On Wednesday, 3/21 at 3:30 pm, the HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE has scheduled a Possible Executive Session on HB 1128 – to vote on the budget for 2007-09. On TVW.

PART III

BILL NUMBERS:
House Bill numbers have four digits and begin with 1_ _ _ , or 2_ _ _;
Senate Bill numbers have four digits and begin with 5_ _ _, or 6_ _ _.
Thus a bill identified as HB 1058 would be the 58th bill introduced in the House; SB 6264 is the 1,264th Senate Bill introduced in the session. More recent bills have higher numbers.
Joint Resolutions begin with a 4_ _ _ (House) or 8_ _ _ (Senate).

KEY DATES It is important to understand the Legislative Calendar.
The Legislative Session in Olympia runs from January 8 – April 22, 2007. Every day – including Saturdays, Sundays, and all holidays – is counted in setting the 105-day Session. The legislature may also be in session on weekends later in the Session. The “cut-off dates” below control the action on bills. Bills that fail to get the requisite action before “cut-off” usually die.

…here are critical points in the 2007 Session:

1/08 – 2007 Session begins.
2/28 – last day for bills to be considered in the Policy Committees of the House/Senate - where they originate (a.k.a. "house of origin")
3/5 – last day for bill consideration in the Fiscal Committee (House or Senate) where they originate
3/14 – last day for bills to be considered on the floor in their “house of origin”
3/30 – last day for bills consideration in the Policy Committees of the "opposite house"
4/02 – last day for bill consideration in the Fiscal Committees of the "opposite house"
4/13 – last day for bill to be considered on the floor of the opposite house
4/22 – 2005 Session adjourns for the year.

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