Welcome to Policy Watch 2007

PART I: Upcoming Advocacy Days for WEEKS THREE and FOUR:
PART II – WEEK 3 IN OLYMPIA

PART I: Upcoming Advocacy Days for WEEKS THREE and FOUR:

WEEK FOUR – 1/29-2/02

1/29 Native American Lobby Day - State Capitol Rotunda.
Contact: icwourstories@yahoo.com Gather at Noon

1/31 Washington Adult Day Services Association Day; begins at 10:00 am -
House Hearing Room D, J.L. O’Brien Building.
Contact: Sara Myers (smyers@adultday.org)

1/31 Developmental Disabilities Advocacy Day - United Churches of Olympia,
10:00 am; contact: http://www.arcwa.org/advocacy_day.htm [There is a
DD Advocacy Day every Wednesday, check time/place via web site.]

2/01 Housing Advocacy Day; Begins at 8:30 a.m., United Churches, Olympia
(11th and Capitol Way). Contact: Ben Gitenstein (ben@wliha.org)

2/01     Head Start/ECEAP, begins at 10:15 in the Forest Ballroom of the
Red Lion Olympia Hotel.   Contact Katy to arrange for lunch –
katy@wsaheadstarteceap.com.   Rally on Capitol steps at 2:30. For information
about the program, Contact: Amie Lapp Payne (amie@wsaheadstarteceap.com

WEEK FIVE – 2/05-2/09

2/05 Minority Executive Director Coalition’s Unity Day – Cherberg Building
Contact: Dorry Elias-Garcia (delias-garcia@medcofkc.org)

2/06 Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs – Cherberg Building,
Conference Rooms A-B-C; Contact: policy@wcsap.org

2/06 March of Dimes
Contact: Cherish Hart (chart@marchofdimes.com)

2/06 Washington Rural Health Association Policy Day
Contact: Liz Blodgett (wrha@wsu.edu)

2/07 Alzheimer's Association, Western and Central WA
Contact: Patricia.hunter@alz.org

2/07 Transit Advocacy Day; begins at 10:00 am, at United Churches, Olympia;
for details go to: http://www.arcwa.org/advocacy_day.htm

2/09 ASK-Y: Youth Advocacy Day
Contact: Jim@mockingbirdsociety.org

2/09 Multiple Sclerosis Lobby Day; gathering at the Red Lion Hotel in Olympia; Contact: Ruth@nmsswas.org; begins at 8:00 am.

Weekly (or Multiple) Lobby Days
EVERY WEDNESDAY, The Arc of Washington State will hold their weekly Developmental Disabilities mini-Advocacy Days, from January 31 thru April 11. Each week a different disability issue will be 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 THREE IN OLYMPIA

THE SCENE

The Capitol campus is never lonely during the legislative Session. Once again this week the corridors and meeting rooms, Committee Hearings and legislators’ offices were filled with citizens of every possible description, coming to speak directly with their Representatives and Senators. And this was only the third week of Session.

Citizens came to speak up for restaurants, ending hunger, protecting victims of domestic violence, supporting migrant health clinics and home care workers, and promoting everything from snow mobiles, to potatoes, community colleges, dentists, bloggers, mentors, members of the National Guard, and physical therapists. There were several marches and even a xylophone performance by children from an elementary school. And this is only a partial list: specific Public Hearings attracted additional groups, busloads of people with strong feelings – both for and against – the bills and issues being discussed. The practice has a long, proud history. Early U.S. Senators fielded requests from a variety of groups: “… merchants desiring an end to the tax on molasses; federal clerks requesting an increase in pay; military officers who sought reimbursement for personal funds expended during the Revolution; as well as from chambers of commerce, taxpayers' committees, veterans, and even state legislatures.” These days we’re more likely to be talking about taxes on internet sales than molasses, but the idea is the same.
And petition they do, every week during the Session: Executive Directors, Board members and rank-and-file members of local and statewide groups.

Olympia Royalty – the Constituent
Through it all, there’s one title that outranks all the others: constituent.

A constituent is just a person who lives in a Representative or Senator’s Legislative District, and can vote to elect or un-elect them. I’ve been known to ask legislators “what counts more with you – money? Or votes?” Sometimes there is a brief pause, but the answer is always the same: votes. And the explanation is always the same: “you can always go outside of the District for money, but you can never go outside of the District for votes.” Someone with bushels of money to contribute to a campaign is only allowed one vote, the same as someone with no money to give -- and the people who run for elective office know that.

(The media may pay a lot of attention to the lobbyists who represent big interests and big money, but consider the source. Most commercial media thrives on scandal and controversy, not sunny stories with happy endings. Who and what they focus on isn’t the test of what’s important. After all, they pay a lot of attention to Britney & Paris & Brad….)

Two women who work with children’s programs in Snohomish county came to Olympia for the first time and quickly learned the power of the constituent. They arrived thinking they would “just shadow” people with more experience this first time, but they very quickly learned that wasn’t possible. As soon as any legislative aide heard they were constituents, they were asked for their information, asked about the issues they cared about – and much of the time they were offered brief appointments with the legislators. By mid-afternoon they had met with legislators and/or their aides from all 6 Snohomish County legislative districts. In some of those offices they were able to alert legislators to issues directly affecting services and programs back home; in one office they won the legislator’s support for a bill simply by calling it to his attention.

That’s another reason legislators value visits from constituents: with nearly 1,500 bills already introduced, it is easy for a legislator to miss some. When constituents arrive with information about how a particular bill will affect services and people back in the legislator’s District, the legislators become better informed, and better able to represent their Districts.

To constituents who thought they didn’t have anything useful to say, the experience is empowering. Asked their impressions at the end of their day, one of the Snohomish County visitors said: “incredible! I want to come back… as a lobbyist!” “This was amazing!” said the other, “…people are so friendly, and so eager to hear what you have to say. Everybody perks up when you say you’re a constituent, from the District.”

They are not alone. One young mom, a home care worker with two young children, almost didn’t come. She thought she wasn’t important enough, that “… nobody’s going to listen to me.” She left Olympia transformed: she too had learned the power wielded by constituents, and left with a new confidence that people like her are listened to. Her new goal is to organize other people like her, and give them the confidence to show up.

Yet another first-time citizen lobbyist came with a group of advocates for victims of domestic violence. Asked what the experience was like, she said: “pheee—nom—i—nal!!!!” And a retired social worker who has plunged into the process head-on told a group: “If you’re ever having a bad day – go to Olympia! Everybody’s nice to you!”

QUICK QUESTION: do you know who regards YOU as a constituent? the name of YOUR SENATOR? YOUR TWO REPRESENTATIVES? If you are old enough to vote, you should – a quick trip to www.leg.wa.gov, and a click on “Find Your Legislator” is all it takes.

THE PROCESS – First, Public Hearings; Next Step, Executive Session

One of the many Public Hearings held in Week Three was conducted in the House Committee on Early Learning and Children’s Services, on House Bill 1088 – a bill to expand mental health services available to children. Because Committee responsibilities and membership change whenever there is a new crop of legislators, the topic was new to most of this group of 4 Democrats and 3 Republicans. So roughly half of the two-hour meeting was devoted to a Work Session, which helped Committee members understand the current mental health system, its benefits and gaps.

Then the Committee Chair began calling the names of people who’d signed up to testify. Because so many had signed up, they were asked to keep their statements to 3 minutes each – and some simply stated their names, the groups they represented, and their position on the bill (including any changes they would like to see). The testimony was overwhelmingly supportive.

But that doesn’t end the story, not least because legislators would also be hearing from constituents via mail, email, and phone – people who couldn’t come to the Public Hearing in person. Their reaction to the bill might be different from those who testified.

So the Early Learning & Children’s Services Committee has scheduled HB 1088 for the next stage in the process: an Executive Session. That will take place in Week Four – giving members and staff some time to pull together everything they’ve heard from constituents and lobbyists, and to draft any changes they would like to see in the bill. Unlike Public Hearings, where members of the public testify, during Executive Session only Committee members speak. The public is welcome to be present, and an Executive Session may also be broadcast around the state by TVW, but this is a time for the legislators. They use the time to raise questions of one another, offer amendments (changes) to the bill, and vote.

During Executive Session the Chair will ask members for any amendments they wish to propose, and will then go methodically through the list. After each amendment has been proposed and discussed, the Chair calls for a vote on the amendment. Those getting a positive vote from 51% of the Committee members are incorporated in the bill; those failing to get enough votes do not. And once all of the amendments have been voted on, the Chair will call for a vote on the bill as amended – which is the final vote for, or against, passage.

(That same day, 1/30, the Early Learning & Children’s Services Committee has also scheduled a Work Session and Public Hearing (BH 1472) on racial disproportionality in child welfare, along with Executive Session on bills to expand the definition of “at-risk youth” (HB 1007, provide “home visitation” for families (HB 1365), and public access to Child In Need of Services and at-risk youth hearings (HB 1565).)

One bill that has already been “exec’t’d” (the short-hand expression for the process commonly heard in Olympia) by the House Higher Education Committee is House Bill 1131. It would crate a “passport to college” by helping youth in foster care learn about winning admission to higher education, providing scholarships to those who get accepted, and also giving financial incentives to higher education institutions to admit and retain these young people.

By entering the number (1131) in the box labeled “search by number” one quickly learns that the bill got a Public Hearing on 1/22, and Executive Action (e.g., was “exec’t’d”) on 1/24, where a majority of the Committee voted DO PASS. At the same site it is possible to read the bill itself, a brief “digest” of the bill, and/or a Bill Report . The Bill Report let readers know that all of the testimony on the bill was positive, that the vote of the 9 Committee members was unanimous, and the main provisions of the bill as it was voted on.

Because HB 1131 will cost more than $50,000 to carry out (it asks for $3 million), it will next go to the House Appropriations Committee – our Process topic for next week. (The bill’s chances of funding are helped by the fact that several of the members of the Higher Education Committee who just voted to pass HB 1131 also sit on the Appropriations Committee.)

A More Controversial Bill
Many bills do not get smooth sailing. One example this week was the Public Hearing before the House Committee on Health Care & Wellness, on House Bill 1297. Schools are not required to provided sex education beyond teaching about abstinence. But IF a school chooses to provide any sex education, this bill would require that the information provided must be medically and scientifically accurate. It was only one of three bills listed for a Public Hearing that day (the other two were on eligibility for long-term care services – HB 1247, and a bill to create a voluntary adult family home certification program – HB 1242). In addition, 6 bills were listed for possible Executive Session in the same 2-hour meeting, so most of the 100+ seats in the Committee Room were filled.

As might be imagined, everyone wishing to testify on the content of sex education taught in Washington’s schools expressed strong views - on every possible side. Witnesses included parents and physicians, teen-agers and college students; several questioned their opponents’ evidence and asserted the accuracy of their own. And from the questions posed, it was clear that members of the Committee were also of different minds on this topic. It is a bill that has been offered before, but never passed. Among the many points of contention is the desire by private schools (including faith-based schools) to be exempted entirely from its provisions, and one Committee member who – on hearing the phrase “culturally-sensitive” sex education -- said, “I cannot imagine what that means in this context.”

Some of the testimony was emotionally-tinged. A college student talked about a friend. At 16 she and her boyfriend hadn’t been taught how to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy or STD’s. Now both have a Sexually Transmitted Disease, and both are the parents of a baby born with damaged eyes because of it. A pediatrician urged Committee members not to pit accurate sex education against good abstinence education; both are important, he said… especially given the 145,000 babies born to mothers younger than 17 (number in 2001). One parent testified that she was grateful for the good classes taught at her 13-year old daughter’s school - because she knows that teens are often reluctant to discuss sex frankly with their own parents, even when the parents are willing. Two witnesses later another parent, herself an abstinence educator, testified just as strongly against the kind of sex education curricula currently being used.

That public testimony may seem inherently contradictory and beyond resolution. But public policies that affect everyone in a diverse society are bound to be seen differently by people with different backgrounds and different beliefs. Airing those differences is essential to a good result. But one of the most difficult tasks we give our legislators is expecting them to find a respectful, common ground on issues that are deeply personal – such as what our children may be taught about sex. Parents, teachers, and pastors are only a few of the many who need to be heard. The trick is to make a strong case for one’s point of view … without denigrating or demonizing those who disagree. Ultimately, that is the job of all of us in a democratic society – legislators and constituents alike: forging policies in the common good.

Anyone wishing to follow a bill like this (or any other) need only enter its number in the search box at www.leg.wa.gov, and check every few days to see whether the Policy Committee responsible for hearing the bill has moved it to the next stage in the process: Executive Session.

SOME ISSUES
By now almost 1,500 bills have been introduced. POLICY WATCH only mentions a few of the many, many issues being taken up. To see a list of all the bills introduced to date, go to www.leg.wa.gov and at Bill Information, check the DAILY STATUS REPORT.

Education – all levels – continues to be a hot topic. Note the budget-related sessions next week (below) involving virtually all of the Committees in both House and Senate that have any responsibility for education matters.

On Monday, 1/29, the House Higher Education Committee will hold a Public Hearing on
HB 1354 – to create a low-interest student loan program.

In WEEK FOUR the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education, will devote all of its Public Hearing on Thursday, 2/1 to bills affecting children and others with disabilities:
SB 5450 which would allow students whose IEP’s continue beyond HS to participate in graduation; SB 5451 which concerns students covered by Section 504 to get certificates of individual achievement; SB 5396, which would provide grants to recruit math and special education teachers; and S-0908 – which concerns changes in special education provisions.

The House Committee on Human Services will devote part of a Work Session on Thursday, 1/31 at 6:00 pm, to Family Support for individuals with developmental disabilities, and to a Hearing on HB 1548 – creating an individual and family services program for people with developmental disabilities.

Bills affecting teens as well as young children are still getting attention. In WEEK FOUR the House Committee on Human Services is holding a Public Hearing on 1/30 to HB 1422 – for children and families of incarcerated parents, and it is devoting part of its 1/31 Work Session to Juvenile Detention Alternatives.

HB 1201 – to extend Medicaid coverage for foster youth to age 21 has had a Public Hearing and will be taken up in Executive Session on 1/29, in the House Health Care & Wellness Committee A number of other foster care bills have had Public Hearings but are not yet schedule for Executive Session.

Also in WEEK FOUR, the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education is holding a Public Hearing on 1/31 on SB 5370 – concerning job skills training for juvenile offenders, and SB 5497 – for a statewide program for comprehensive dropout prevention, intervention, etc.

Health Care remains a big topic. HB 1569 – to reform the state’s health care system, will get a combined Work Session and Public Hearing in a Joint meeting of the House Health Care & Wellness Committee and the Senate Health & Long-Term Care Committee, on Thursday, 1/31 at 8:00 am. Also on TVW.

HB 1071 which would provide health coverage for all children by 2010 was voted on in Executive Session, and by a vote of 9-4 was passed. A few amendments were adopted, chiefly to raise eligibility to 300% of the poverty line, and to permit families with incomes above that amount to “buy-in” if that was their best chance for coverage for their children. The bill goes next to the House Appropriations Committee.

In WEEK FOUR the Senate Judiciary Committee will devote part of its Public Hearing on Wednesday, 1/31, to SB 5335 – Addressing civil marriage equality. On 1/31 in the House Judiciary Committee, a Public Hearing will be devoted to HB 1351 – protecting individuals in domestic partnerships by granting certain rights and benefits.

The House Committee on Housing continues to devoting a good part of its time next week to bills concerning homelessness and/or ways to increase affordable housing, including a Public Hearing on Thursday, 2/1, on HB 1359 – to create an affordable housing program for all, and HB 1115 – to create programs to end homelessness.

On Tuesday, 1/30, the House Appropriations Committee is devoting a Work Session to a briefing on the history of TANF – Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

By now there have been eleven bills introduced that address one or more aspect of campaign and/or election reform – included the public financing of campaigns (judges and others’), voluntary limits on campaign contributions, how we conduct primaries, and tamper-proof voting. Hearings were held in Week Three.

BUDGET

Because writing the two-year budget is the one thing the legislature must do, and because it affects every constituent in every area of the state, it is the legislature’s major task this year. Word around Olympia has it that members of the Appropriations Committee (which writes the House version of the budget) and of the Ways & Means Committee (which writes the Senate version of the budget), are already zeroing in on the budget items they plan to work for within the process.

TIP: If there is an issue with budget implications that you feel strongly about, and your legislator is a member of either of the Budget-writing Committees, contact them now to express your views. If your legislators do not sit on those Committees, ask them to pass along your concerns to their colleagues who do.

SOME BUDGET-RELATED MEETINGS NEXT WEEK

On Wednesday, 1/31 at 3:30 pm, the HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE will hold a
Work Session on K-12, and on Early reading and investing in kids programs.
J.L. O’Brien Building – House Hearing Room A.

On Tuesday, 1/30 at 8:00 am, the HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE on EDUCATION has scheduled a Work Session that covers all of the Higher Education budget requests. J.L. O’Brien Building – House Hearing Room A.

On Wednesday, 1/31 at 6:00 pm, the HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE on EDUCATION has scheduled a Joint Work Session together with three additional HOUSE COMMITTEES: on EARLY LEARNING & CHILDREN’S SERVICES, and on EDUCATION, and on HIGHER EDUCATION -- on implementing the recommendations of the Washington Learns Commission (HB 1641). J.L. O’Brien Building – House Hearing Room A.

NOTE: On Monday, 1/29 at 1:30 pm, a similar JOINT HEARING will be held by the SENATE COMMITTEES on EARLY LEARNING & K-12 EDUCATION, and on HIGHER EDUCATION, on the recommendations of the Washington Learns Commission (SB 5501).

On Tuesday, 1/30 at 3:30 pm, the SENATE WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEEE will hold a Public Hearing on several bills dealing with creating a rainy day reserve fund, or budget stabilization account. Cherberg Building -Senate Hearing Room 4. Also 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.

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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