Forty days into this year’s scheduled 105-day regular session, state lawmakers have now introduced more than 2,200 bills. As of last week, lawmakers passed more than 300 measures out of House and Senate committees.
So far this session, the full House and Senate have passed a total of 73 bills, but only one bill, HB 1064, to change the law enforcement initiative approved by voters last November, has been signed into law.
Among the bills that advanced in the Legislature last week are:
• HB 1074, to raise the minimum age for buying tobacco and vaping products from 18 to 21. It passed the House on Feb. 20 by a 66-30 vote.
• SB 5221, to require that political committees list the top five individuals or entities that contributed at least $700 to the sponsor of a political advertisement during the 12 months before the advertisement was distributed. It passed the Senate on Feb. 20 by a vote of 33-14.
• HB 1087, to create a long-term care program funded by a new tax on employee wages of 0.58 percent. It passed the House on Feb. 21 by a 63-33 vote.
The Senate State Government, Tribal Relations and Elections Committee on Feb. 21 passed SB 5139, to end the yearly changes in daylight savings time by making daylight savings permanent. The bill now goes to the Senate Rules Committee and possible consideration by the full Senate. Other western states are also considering ending the twice-yearly daylight saving time shift.
As legislative policy committees work toward their deadline today, the broader conversation in Olympia is shifting toward spending and tax issues. According to revenue forecasts, taxpayers are providing lawmakers with a record $50 billion, available for the next two-year spending plan.
This is $4.2 billion more than current tax revenues, but Democrats, who control both houses of the Legislature, told reporters Tuesday that costs for existing programs would amount to $51.1 billion.
Democratic leaders said they could use existing reserves, but there is a long list of additional spending their members want which amount to several billion dollars more. The Democrats’ spending and tax plans will provide more detail when their proposed budget is released next month.
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats also introduced a new carbon fuel tax bill (SB 5971) on Feb. 22 that would increase the gas tax by 15 cents-a-gallon, along with other increases in taxes and fees, to raise some $17 billion for various proposed transportation and environmental projects.
Previous attempts to impose a carbon tax have failed, including Initiative 1631 which garnered less than 44 percent support by Washington voters last November. The sponsor of SB 5971 and Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, Sen. Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens, acknowledged the past failure of carbon tax proposals, but said he thinks his bill has at least a 50-50 chance of passing the Legislature.
The full House and Senate did pass a number of bills last week, most by unanimous consent. Bills that passed by split votes included the following:
House Bill 1074, Increasing the minimum legal age of sale of tobacco and vapor products
Passed the House on Feb. 20 by a vote of 66-30 (two members excused)
This bill provides that a person who sells cigars, cigarettes, cigarette paper, tobacco, or vapor products to a person under the age of 21 would be guilty of a gross misdemeanor. The bill was referred to the Senate Ways and Means Committee for further consideration.
Rep. Mike Chapman, D-Port Angeles, Yes
Rep. Steve Tharinger, D-Port Townsend, Yes
Senate Bill 5221, Concerning disclosure of contributions from political committees to other political committees Passed the Senate Feb. 20 by a vote of 33-14 (two members excused)
This bill would require that any electioneering communication or independent expenditure sponsored by a political committee must list the top five individuals or entities other than political committees which contributed at least $700 in aggregate to the sponsor during the 12 months before the advertisement is distributed. The bill was referred to the House State Government, Tribal Relations, and Elections Committee for further consideration.
Sen. Kevin Van De Wege, D-Sequim, eExcused
House Bill 1149, Clarifying requirements to obtain a sexual assault protection order
Passed the House on Feb. 20 by a vote of 81-14 (three members excused)
This bill would remove the current requirement that a petitioner must allege reasonable fear of future dangerous acts when seeking a sexual assault protection order. The bill was sent to the Senate Law and Justice Committee for further consideration.
Rep. Chapman Yes
Rep. Tharinger Yes
House Bill 1087, Concerning long-term services and supports
Passed the House on Feb. 21 by a vote of 63-33 (two members excused)
This bill would establish the Long-Term Services and Supports Trust Program to provide persons who have paid into this program for a specific amount of time and who have been assessed as needing assistance with activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, medication administration, personal hygiene, or other health-related tasks. Beginning Jan. 1, 2022 employees in Washington state who are working at least 10 percent of full-time employment status would be assessed a premium of 0.58 percent of their wages to fund this program. The bill is headed to the Senate for further consideration.
Rep. Chapman Yes
Rep. Tharinger Yes
WashingtonVotes.org is a project of the Washington Policy Center; see www.WashingtonVotes.org.
