Legislative Commentary

Our 2017 session will pass the one-third mark on Sunday – President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.

Not only was Lincoln among our greatest presidents, and the author of the Emancipation Proclamation, and the founder of the Republican Party, but as you might guess, our state’s Lincoln County is named for him.

According to my legislative history book, Lincoln County was part of the Ninth District from 1965 to 1972, with Adams and Whitman counties.

Feb. 12 used to be a legal holiday in our state; the Legislature ended that with a bill passed in 1969, which took effect in 1971 – when the separate holidays for Lincoln’s birthday and President George Washington’s birthday were combined into Presidents’ Day.

Speaking of presidents: Kirk Schulz, who became WSU president roughly 10 months ago, was a welcome visitor Monday.

Among the many others who came by were the Franklin County prosecutor, the executive director of Aging & Long Term Care of Eastern Washington, a representative from Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program in Whitman County, a trio of Spokane County school superintendents and a pair from Adams County: Commissioner John Marshall and Stephen McFadden from the Adams County EDC.

Wednesday also was the always-popular Potato Day at the Capitol, when the state’s potato growers set up stations on two sides of the Rotunda to offer baked spuds with all the fixings. A visit with Secretary of State Kim Wyman wrapped up the week.

Bill to fix court’s Hirst ruling 
on residential wells moves forward

Few issues hit all 39 counties in our state the way the Supreme Court’s Hirst decision does. This is the ruling from October that complicates the process of permitting a residential water well.

Complications mean more cost – tens of thousands of dollars more, potentially – which is why the Hirst case is threatening the economic activity that comes from homebuilding and real-estate transactions, in addition to derailing the dreams of families all around our state.

To me, agreeing on a “fix” for the Hirst decision is something the Legislature should do as soon as possible, while work on the McCleary education-funding agreement continues on a separate track.

The Senate’s committee on agriculture, water, trade and economic development has already acted, recommending the more straightforward of the two Hirst bills introduced in the Senate.

It’s Senate Bill 5239, and has both Republican and Democrat sponsors – including me. The House appears ready to move both of its Hirst-related bills forward next week, even though the approaches they take are quite different.

A legislative agreement could start bringing relief from Hirst immediately, and there’s no good reason why we can’t have a fix in place as soon as the end of February. It could, and should, be the first major bill to come out of this session.

Senate education-funding bill still stands alone

The Senate’s passage of the Education Equality Act on Feb. 1 easily qualifies as the biggest news to come out of the legislative session so far. But I don’t envy the members of the news media whose job it is to report on the bill.

It’s hard enough to explain the Supreme Court’s McCleary decision to people outside the legislative arena.

Now try explaining the many facets of our legislation – how it not only fixes the constitutional issue about school levies, but treats students and taxpayers in 295 diverse districts equitably, and responds to long-standing compensation concerns from teachers and district officials. Capturing so much substance in a news story has to be a challenge.

Misinformation makes a reporters’ jobs even more challenging. During the debate before we voted on the bill, members of the Senate’s Democrat minority repeatedly claimed that it would mean less money for some school districts, like Seattle.

We knew the truth: our plan would invest more money in each student in Washington. Thursday the director of the governor’s budget office told reporters something that confirms we had our story straight.

More than a week after we passed Senate Bill 5607, it still stands alone as the only complete solution on the negotiating table – “complete” meaning policy changes and the funding to go with them. The House budget committee passed an education-policy bill, but how the House majority would pay for its proposed policy changes is a mystery.

Session’s first deadline is one week away

Our committees are working away on a wide range of bills and hosting discussions on important issues, knowing that the deadline for policy committees to act on legislation is Feb. 17. Here’s a snapshot of this past week:

The State Government Committee held a public hearing on a bill involving paid signature gatherers (Senate Bill 5397).

The Human Services, Mental Health and Housing Committee conducted a public hearing on a bill aimed at ending homelessness (SB 5656).

The same committee that acted on a Hirst-decision fix (Agriculture, Water, Trade and Economic Development) also took testimony this week on a bill regarding Washington state’s motion picture and film industries tax credit (SB 5502).

The Commerce, Labor and Sports Committee conducted a public hearing on a bill concerning political campaign contributions (SB 5533).

The Health Care Committee held a work session on vaccinations.

The Natural Resources and Parks Committee held work sessions on “megafires” (a term for the enormous fires that have hit north central Washington in recent years) and concerns about recreational fishing, especially the stability of seasons and fisheries.

The Transportation Committee holds a public hearing on a bill to clamp down on “distracted driving” (SB 5289)

The deadline or “cutoff” for budget committees (Ways and Means, and Transportation) is Feb. 24.