Welcome to Policy Watch 2007

PART I: Upcoming Advocacy Days:
PART II – WEEK 4 IN OLYMPIA

PART I: Upcoming Advocacy Days:

WEEK FIVE – 2/05-2/09

2/05 Minority Executive Director Coalition’s Unity Day – Cherberg Building
Rooms B and C, 9:00 am; Contact: Gabriella (gquintana@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 St. John's Episcopal Church in the Parish Hall. 114 20th Ave SE.
Contact: Cherish Hart (chart@marchofdimes.com)

2/06 Washington Rural Health Association Policy Day; John L. O’Brien Building,
first floor Briefing Room. 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; begins at 9:30 am. Cherberg Building,
Conference Rooms A-B-C; 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.

WEEK SIX – 2/12 - 2/16

2/12 Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice Lobby Day; co-sponsored by NARAL Pro-Choice Washington and Planned Parenthood of WA Contact: Alissa Haslam (alissahaslam@prochoicewashington.org)

2/12 African American Legislative Day, Capitol Rotunda
Contact: Rosalind Jenkins (rjenkins@caa.wa.gov)

2/13 Asian/Pacific American Legislative Day
Contact: Diane Narasaki (dianen@acrs.org), mingt@acrs.org

2/13 American Civil Liberties Union – ACLU – Day
Contact: aguilar@aclu-wa.org

2/13 Community Health Network of Washington, and the Washington Association of
Community & Migrant Health Centers;
Contacts: Rebecca.Kavoussi@chnwa.org and mbelozer@wacmhc.org.

2/14 Earth Ministries
Contact: LeeAnn Beres (LeeAnne@earthministry.org)

2/14 Senior Citizens' Lobby Day, gathering in the Columbia Room at Capitol.
Contact: Seniorlobby@qwest.net.

2/14 Priorities for Healthy Washington
Contact: rattemann@pugetsound.org

2/15 Washington State Parent Teacher Association.
Contact: ptalegdir@wastatepta.org, Donna Christensen (DonnaRChris@aol.com)

2/15 Northwest Women's Law Center Legislative Day
Contact: Nancy Sapiro (nsapiro@nwwlc.org) or (pjcrone@comcast.net).

2/15 Arts Day at the Legislature – Columbia Room in the Capitol Bldg; begins at 7:30 am.
Contact: (info@wsartsalliance.com)

2/15 University of Washington Lobby Day – mostly students but faculty and staff welcome.
alicia.levezu@gmail.com

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 FOUR IN OLYMPIA

THE SCENE

Anyone going to a new place for the first time tends to notice things that the “regulars” may miss, or just take for granted - like the Seattle-ite who was pleasantly surprised by the low cost of parking in Olympia’s Visitor Parking lots (.50/hour).

One first-time visitor had an intriguing observation. “Have you ever noticed,” he asked, “how some of the staff people seem to resemble the legislators they work for?” He drew this conclusion based on his sample of three: his Senator – who is a quiet-spoken, someone bookish woman… and whose staff person seemed much the same; plus one of his Representatives – who’s a rather dour, serious individual… staffed by a woman with a very dour, serious demeanor; and his other Representative – who’s an outgoing, quick-to-laugh, friendly sort… with a staff person to match. Hmmmm.

Another newcomer initially thought her legislators were trying to avoid appointments with constituents - because the staff kept referring to already-scheduled “meetings.” To the newcomer’s ears that just sounded like an excuse. Then a friendly staffer happened to explain that she was including all the 2-hour Committee Hearings and Executive Sessions as “meetings,” as well as the almost daily “pro forma sessions” members have with their House or Senate colleagues, plus all the additional times for “caucus” and suddenly the word “meetings” had taken on new meaning. By the time she left Olympia she was impressed that legislators managed to fit in so many appointments with constituents – given all their other “meetings.”

Visitors arriving at one Committee Executive Session could have been excused for thinking they’d quit early. After all, people were streaming out of the Committee room, muttering about “caucusing.” In political circles a “caucus” most usually refers to the members of a political party. When the weekly calendar shows a time for HOUSE SESSION/CAUCUS it is just signaling that a time is being reserved for all of the House Democrats to get together in one room and all of the House Republicans to get together in another. In this case the members of the Committee felt they needed to consult with their colleagues along party lines before continuing – so the Democrats huddled on one side of the room, while the Republicans huddled on the other. Once they’d finished “caucusing,” the meeting resumed. (People who follow activities in the U.S. Congress would also have heard of caucuses formed around particular issues or affinities – e.g., there’s the recently revived Congressional Caucus on Women’s Issues, a Congressional Black Caucus, a Congressional Hispanic Caucus, a Rural Caucus, etc.)

Real People
But what often impresses – and surprises – newcomers the most about Olympia, is glimpsing the very human side of people they expected to find “intimidating” or “scary” -- in short, people who wouldn’t care about, or want to hear from, someone like them.

A stop in the House Committee on Housing this week might have changed that. The Committee Chair (a former Air Force pilot) spoke with obvious emotion as he noted the 111 homeless people who died in King County last year – a number that’s been growing. At the same time, he told everyone in the Hearing room, our economy was growing: “…more people are dying in our streets while more people, others, are getting rich. … We promised to end homelessness, and I want to keep us on track for honoring that promise. … We need local governments… working with private non-profits... and people who care. We’re smart enough. The only question is: will we hold ourselves accountable? Will we do what is needed to get the job done?”

Or consider the legislator (a former police officer) who stopped on the marble steps just beneath the Capitol Dome to chat with a group of homeless people and shelter providers (they were among the 300+ people who’d gathered for Housing Advocacy Day) – and assure them he would do whatever he could to support their priority bills and budget items. The setting might have been a bit intimidating, but the legislator and his manner were definitely not.

And then there were the staff and legislators who joined the first of what is hoped to be an annual Legislative Day to celebrate Indian Child Welfare. Under that same pink and ivory marble Capitol Dome, they heard from young people who’d been raised in the foster care system… and are now in school, learning to help others like themselves; they heard the stories of elders who’d raised a second (or third) generation of foster children. The stories, said one, were “wonderful… moving, and very powerful.” As one of the participants cheerfully said, “…this was a great day to be indigenous!”

It may seem that legislators who happen to be people of means cannot understand or care about others – as a Pierce County Community College student recently worried aloud. But many of our very part-time legislators do their best. Like any large group, our legislators include all kinds. But how else to explain why they’d be spending their time in Olympia on bills to end homelessness, improve mental health services, make it easier to restore the voting rights of former felons once they’ve served their time, or help the young people in our foster care system have a better life. Those aren’t the pursuits of the self-absorbed, and they want us to tell them know what we know, help them understand how a bill might affect ordinary people.

Last Week’s POLICY WATCH posed a key question: do you know who regards YOU as a constituent? the names of YOUR SENATOR? YOUR TWO REPRESENTATIVES? If you didn’t check last week, do it now: go to www.leg.wa.gov, and click on “Find Your Legislator.” Or call the toll-free Hot-Line – 1-800-562-6000 – and ask the operator. That’s all it takes.

THE PROCESS – A Bit More on Committees
Committee membership is determined by each house, at the beginning of every long session (like this year’s), to take into account the results of the previous November’s elections. Next year - when there is a short, 9-week session - Committee makeup will only change if a legislator dies, gets appointed to another office, or moves away.

Every year, Committee membership reflects a key political reality: the ratio of Democrats to Republicans is roughly the same on Committees as it is in the body as a whole. With a 62-36 Democratic majority in the House, and a 32-17 Democratic majority in the Senate, there are almost twice as many Democrats as Republicans on every House and Senate Committee. That’s why the work of the caucuses is important to members. Individual members are chiefly concerned with issues important within their Legislative District, but the caucus and its leadership look out for issues that will win – or hold – seats for their whole party, state-wide. They know that the party that wins the majority of seats in the House or the Senate (or both), controls the Committees. And the bigger the margin of victory, the stronger the control.

Some of that is even reflected in the names a majority party gives to Committees when they reorganize at the start of the session. For example, back when Republicans had the majority in the Senate, “labor” was not named, though it was a part of the Senate Commerce Committee’s work. Then, when Democrats won solid control of the Senate, they created a separate committee on Labor and Workforce Development. Today that Committee’s name has changed again: labor is still mentioned first – but as part of a Committee re-named to reflect broader interests by a caucus eager to hold its majority: the Labor, Commerce, Research and Development Committee.

Similarly, a few years ago there was a Committee on Environmental Quality and Water Resources. That reflected both party interests but also a new interest by the voters on salmon, on water quality, and related water concerns. Later the word “quality” was dropped, the Committee was re-named Water, Energy & Environment (partly because of a West Coast energy crisis that year), and it has been re-named once again - as the Committee on Water, Energy & Telecommunications.

Fiscal Committees
Through all the changes in party control the FISCAL Committees keep the same names. And, in part because everyone wants to sit on the Committees that determine how the state’s money will be spent, these fiscal committees are bigger: the 21-member Senate Ways & Means Committee covers both how we raise revenues (“means”) and how those revenues are allocated (“ways”). The House of Representatives divides the two functions: the House Appropriations Committee (“ways”) has 34 members, and there’s a separate Committee for how we raise revenues (“means”), called Finance, with 9 members. Add 34 + 9 and almost half the body’s 98 Representatives are on a Fiscal Committee. (Because the House is twice the size of the Senate it also has a separate Committee to deal with the Capital Budget – with 22 members).

These fiscal committees differ from policy committees in another way: what constitutes effective testimony. In the Policy Committees, the members tend to appreciate hearing the personal stories and first-hand accounts of the people likely to be affected by a bill. Those accounts help legislators determine how the policy should be framed.

Fiscal Committees, by contrast, have low-to-zero time for human interest stories or personal anecdotes. That’s not because they are hard-hearted but because their job is different. By the time a bill gets to them, the policy has already been set by a Committee with expertise on the subject. These Fiscal Committees have a different focus: the “bottom line:” What does something cost? How will we pay for it? Is it a good use for the tax-payers’ money? Is there a more efficient/less costly way to get it?

That’s why some fiscal Committee Chairs will actually cut off any witnesses who try to just tell a personal story that doesn’t make a point about budgets. Sometimes a skillful witness is able to combine both -- like the Thurston County under-sheriff who first recommended more cost-benefit analyses, and then suggested that the money currently used to hold homeless defendants in jail until trial could be better used to support group homes to hold them instead.

ONE TIP: if your bill has budget implications, or a Fiscal Note, you need to get a champion on the budget writing committees for your item/your bill. If the advocacy group you are working with is missing that piece, and you think you could help line it up, that would be worthwhile.

Anyone wishing to follow a bill need only enter its number in the search box at www.leg.wa.gov, and check every few days to see whether the Policy or Fiscal Committee responsible for hearing the bill has held a Public Hearing, and scheduled the next key step: Executive Session.

Key steps for every bill
Here’s a quick review. To stay alive and have any chance of making it through the process, once a bill is introduced, it gets a number, and is referred to a Policy Committee where it has to go through some key steps.

The bill has to get a Public Hearing in the Policy Committee it was referred to.

A few of the bills that are scheduled for, or have been through that step are:
1008 – a bill to protect vulnerable adults; got a Public Hearing
1088 – a bill to expand mental health services for children; got a Public Hearing
1422 – a bill affecting children of incarcerated parents; got a Public Hearing
(the Senate version of the same bill has not had a Public Hearing yet)
1602 – a bill to expand foster parent Basic Health Plan eligibility,
is scheduled for a Public Hearing on 2/7
5284 – a bill regarding eligibility for Long-Term Care – got a Public Hearing
(the House version, 1247, is scheduled for Executive Session on 2/5)

2. The bill has to get a favorable vote in an Executive Session in that same Committee.

A few of the bills that already had a Public Hearing and are scheduled for an Executive Session:
1115 - to create programs to end homelessness; it’s scheduled for Executive Session on 2/7
1201 – to extend Medicaid for foster youth to age 21; it’s scheduled for Executive Session on 2/5
1548 – to create a program of services for people with developmental disabilities; it’s
scheduled for Executive Session on 2/6 (The Senate version, 5467, got a Hearing.)
1569 - to reform the state’s health care system; it’s scheduled for Executive Session on 2/8
1855 – regarding sex education in the schools; it’s scheduled for Executive Session on 2/5
1242 – for voluntary adult family home certification; it’s scheduled for Executive Session on 2/5

This year all bills need to get through both those steps in a Policy Committee in their “House of Origin” (where they were introduced) by Wednesday, February 28 – mere weeks from now.

A few of the bills that won a favorable vote in Executive Session and were referred on are:
1097 – to protect vulnerable adults (while on transportation); since it does not require any
appropriation, it will go directly to the Rules Committee
1472 - Regarding disproportionality in child welfare – it was voted on in Executive on 2/2
S5098 – To create Opportunity Scholarships – passed in Executive Session and referred to
the Senate Ways & Means Committee

All the bills that get a favorable vote in a policy committee, but which have fiscal implications must next get a Public Hearing in a Fiscal Committee in their House of Origin by March 5 (that’s a Monday, with a weekend in between), mere working days after the Policy Committee Cut-off.

A few of the bills that are scheduled for, or have been through that step are:
1071 – to provide health coverage for children; the House bill won a favorable vote in its policy
committee and is scheduled for a Public Hearing the Appropriations Committee on 2/6
5093 - to provide health coverage for children; the Senate bill won a favorable vote in its policy
committee and is scheduled for a Public Hearing the Ways & Means Committee on 2/6
1131 - creating the Passport To College Program, is now in the Appropriations Committee
where a Public Hearing is scheduled on 2/5

4. All bills with fiscal implications must get a favorable vote in an Executive Session in that same Fiscal Committee in their House of Origin by Monday, March 5, mere working days after the Policy Committee Cut-off. They then go to the House or Senate Rules Committees.
A future POLICY WATCH will describe the role of the Rules Committees.

Bills that get a favorable vote in a Policy Committee but do not have budget implications, go directly to the Rules Committee in their House of Origin. One example is HB 1351/ SB 5336:
1351 – Domestic Partners – House version, passed in Executive Session on 2/2; since it does
not require any appropriation, it will go directly to the Rules Committee
5336 – Domestic Partners – Senate version, passed in Executive Session on 2/1; since it does
not require any appropriation, it will go directly to the Rules Committee

YOUR ROLE: If there is a bill you care about, decide quickly how you can help move it through these steps in the process. If your bill hasn’t gotten a Public Hearing, contact (and get others to contact) legislators sitting on the Committee responsible for the bill at this point and ask that the get it scheduled – and especially get that message to the Committee Chair. Same drill if your bill has gotten a Public Hearing but has not yet been scheduled for a vote in an Executive Session. Make sure this happens in both a Policy Committee and a Fiscal Committee (if the bill would cost more than $50,000 to implement).

NOTE: Some bill numbers now have an “S” before the digits. “S” = Substitute. That’s what they call a bill after it has been amended in Committee, when they simply roll all the changes into one new – that is “Substitute” – bill. It just makes the bill “cleaner” and easier to read.

******
SOME ISSUES
By now over 1,800 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.

As one acute observer noticed, “the P word” is back in the conversation in Olympia: PREVENTION. It is cropping up in discussions of many of the health, education, and human services bills – witness the attention being paid to early childhood, to diversion programs for juveniles, to homelessness prevention, and to prevention of everything from child abuse to domestic violence to chemical dependency. Look for some aspect of prevention to be taken seriously as part of many bills this year.

A regular POLICY WATCH reader also pointed out a couple of bills that “may have flown under the radar” for most people. HB 1047 – would modify provisions affecting alcohol content in food products and confections (raising from 1% to 10% the alcohol content in candy that can be sold in stores other than those operated by the Liquor Control Board), and
HB 1215 – which would prohibit the sale, purchase, or use of alcohol vaporizing devices.
Both bills deal with the use of alcohol in ways that tend to "normalize" alcohol consumption: HB 1047 has been compared to the second coming of candy cigarettes; and HB 1215 goes the opposite direction in rejecting the merchandizing of what, to an older generation, might be
referred to as a bong for alcohol.

Education – all levels – continues to be a hot topic.
On Monday, 2/05, the House Higher Education Committee will hold a Public Hearing on
SHB 1096 – to create a post-secondary opportunity programs. Scheduled that same day is an Executive Session on HB 1222 – regarding the state need grant award calculations.

On Tuesday, 2/06, the House Early Learning and Children’s Services Committee will hold a Public Hearing on HB 1623 – regarding early child development and learning. Also on TVW.

On Thursday, 2/08, the House Early Learning and Children’s Services Committee will hold a Work Session on 2 topics: early life stresses, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

On Wednesday, 2/07, the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education, will also devote time to early child development and learning: S-1301– the Washington Learns Report.

The House Committee on Human Services will devote a Possible Executive Session on Tuesday, 2/06 at 8:00 am, to HB 1393 – requiring record checks for developmental disabilities service providers, and to HB 1548 – creating an individual and family services program for people with developmental disabilities.

On Monday, 2/05 , in the House Health Care & Wellness Committee has scheduled has an Executive Session on several bills: HB 1201 – to extend Medicaid coverage for foster youth to age 21, HB 1120 – providing health coverage buy-in for families with disabilities, HB 1855 – regarding sex education in schools, and HB 1247 – concerning eligibility for long-term care services.

HB 1569 – to reform the state’s health care system, is scheduled for Possible Executive Session in the House Health Care & Wellness Committee, on Thursday, 2/08 at 10:00 am.

HB 1071 which would provide health coverage for all children by 2010 was voted on in Executive Session, and 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 is scheduled for a Public Hearing in the House Appropriations Committee.

HB 1351 – protecting individuals in domestic partnerships by granting certain rights and benefits was voted out of Committee and sent to the House Rules Committee – to be scheduled for Floor Action.

The House Committee on Housing continues to devoting much of its time next week to bills concerning homelessness and/or ways to increase affordable housing.

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 hope to champion within the budget process.

SOME BUDGET-RELATED MEETINGS NEXT WEEK

On Thursday, 2/08 at 3:30 pm, the HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE will hold a
Work Session on medical assistance programs and health care recipients/costs.
J.L. O’Brien Building – House Hearing Room A.

On Tuesday, 2/06 at 8:00 am, the HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE on GENERAL GOVERNMENT has scheduled a Work Session on all of the Ethnic Minority Commissions that advise the Governor. J.L. O’Brien Building – House Hearing Room B.

On Wednesday, 2/07 at 1:30 pm, the HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE on GENERAL GOVERNMENT has scheduled a Work Session on Housing and Economic Development proposals. J.L. O’Brien Building – House Hearing Room B. Also on TVW.

On Thursday, 2/08 at 1:30 pm, the SENATE WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEEE will hold a Work Session on investments to address Washington’s prison capacity problem.
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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