Winners, losers this legislative session
MAKS GOLDENSHTEYN; Staff writer
Winners: Pierce County poll voters, pregnant inmates and people who worry about chatty drivers. Losers: Leif Erickson fans, police-harassed motorcyclists and chatty drivers.
The 2010 Legislature went into overtime over budget and tax issues, but plenty of other topics made headlines during the regular and special sessions.
Now that the dust has settled, it’s time to look at whatever happened to all those bills. Some died with little fanfare. Others made it through one house, only to run out of steam. The governor has already signed many, but some will need voter approval as well. Here’s a rundown of legislative highlights.
SIGNED INTO LAW
CELL PHONES: Senate Bill 6345 makes it easier for police to ticket people who are driving while either texting or talking on a cell phone without a headset. The bill makes it a primary offense to do either. The state’s current secondary offense slaps drivers with an extra fine only if they are pulled over for another infraction, such as speeding. Gov. Chris Gregoire signed the bill; law goes into effect June 10.
POLICE BENEFITS: House Bill 2519 expands benefits for families of police and firefighters killed in the line of duty. It guarantees unlimited free college tuition to officers’ survivors and allows them to collect lifetime pensions regardless of how long their loved ones worked.
It does not contain a change the House and Gregoire wanted that would allow spouses to keep collecting workers’ compensation benefits even if they find a new husband or wife. Gregoire signed the bill.
DRUG OVERDOSES: Under Senate Bill 5516, people who seek help for someone suffering a drug overdose would not face prosecution for possession of drugs. The person still could be charged with manufacturing or selling drugs. The measure also exempts the person suffering the overdose from prosecution, and anyone for whom the evidence is gained only because medical assistance was called.
Gregoire signed the measure into law, and it takes effect in June. Washington becomes the second state in the nation to have a law granting some legal immunity to people who call to report a drug overdose. New Mexico has had a similar law since 2007.
TOLL SCOFFLAWS: Senate Bill 6499 will provide a grace period for drivers who don’t pay the toll to cross the Tacoma Narrows bridge and future toll roads. Drivers whose license plates are caught on camera would no longer immediately be slapped with a bill of $52, but would have 80 days to pay the original toll and an administrative fee.
The bill also would allow toll projects to keep all the revenue from their fines, which has helped prevent Narrows bridge tolls from rising this year. Gregoire signed the bill. The grace period should go into effect around mid-January, the state Department of Transportation says.
CRIMINAL AID: Senate Bill 6293 raises the penalty for the crime of rendering criminal assistance in the first degree and would end an exception for family members of criminals. Gregoire signed the bill.
BPA BAN: Senate Bill 6248 calls for a statewide ban on the chemical bisphenol A in baby bottles and other containers. A ban on containers intended for children younger than age 3 would go into effect July 1, 2011, and a ban on sports bottles would take effect July 1, 2012. Gregoire signed it.
Connecticut and Minnesota passed similar laws last year. This year, Wisconsin banned the chemical from baby bottles and children’s cups.
“RETARDATION”: House Bill 2490 removes the term “mental retardation” from state law and replaces it with “intellectual disabilities.” Gregoire signed the bill.
RACE TO THE TOP: Reforms spurred by the competition for federal Race to the Top grants and sought by Gregoire include a greater ability for the state to intervene in failing schools. Senate Bill 6696 also changes the way principals and teachers are evaluated, bumps automatic tenure rights to three years instead of two years for many teachers, and paves the way for nonprofit organizations to issue teacher certifications. Gregoire signed the bill.
EDUCATION SPENDING: Another package of reforms, House Bill 2776, is meant to drive more spending into the K-12 education system, a goal underscored by the state’s recent loss in a lawsuit challenging its financial commitment to education. When fully implemented, the plan could increase the state’s commitment to education by billions of dollars. The bill was partially vetoed by the governor to fix a technical duplication, but otherwise remains intact with a June 10 effective date.
OUT-OF-STATE PAROLE: Senate Bill 6548 allows Washington to suspend the parole or probation of offenders coming from other states. Gregoire signed the bill.
POLICE RECORDS: House Bill 1317 would prohibit birth dates and photographs in the personnel files of police, court and corrections employees from being given out as public records, except to the media. Gregoire signed the bill.
GOLF CARTS: Senate Bill 6207 will pave the way for golf carts to be driven on public roads in cities that allow it. The bill allows cities or counties to create golf cart zones. Golf carts would be allowed only on streets with speed limits of 25 mph or slower. Gregoire signed the bill, but vetoed one section that exempted child passengers from seat belt and child restraint requirements.
PREGNANT INMATES: House Bill 2747 bans the use of all restraints on inmates who are in labor or post-delivery recovery. It also limits restraints on pregnant inmates who are being transported to medical care or court proceedings while in the third trimester of pregnancy. Gregoire signed the bill.
The measure was proposed after a former inmate sued the state last year, saying her constitutional rights were violated when she was shackled while in labor.
SEX OFFENDERS: Senate Bill 6308 limits computer use by sex offenders at the state’s Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island. Gregoire signed the bill, which allows an offender to be denied computer access as part of his treatment plan.
Computer use is already restricted at the Special Commitment Center. Offenders can’t access the Internet, or use certain memory devices, such as thumb drives. But pornography has still been a problem. Last year, seven offenders were indicted on child pornography charges after apparently obtaining illicit images while at the heavily secured facility.
COLD MEDICINES: House Bill 2961 sets up an automated computer system to track people who buy cold medicines, some of which contain ingredients essential to methamphetamine production. State law already requires stores to keep the cold medicines out of public reach and limit how much a single customer can buy. Gregoire has signed the bill; it becomes effective June 10.
STATE HOSPITALS: Senate Bill 6610 could remove some of the most dangerous patients from state hospitals where concerns have been raised about security. It deals with patients committed to a state hospital for mental illness after being declared not guilty of a crime by reason of insanity. The bill gives temporary authority to the secretary of the Department of Social and Health Services to transfer such patients to a prison. Gregoire signed the bill.
SENT TO GOVERNOR OR VOTERS
BAIL REFORM: House Joint Resolution 4220 is a state constitutional amendment that would grant judges more power in denying bail. Maurice Clemmons, who killed four Lakewood police officers Nov. 29, had been released on bail less than a week before the shooting.
The measure now heads to the November ballot for final approval by voters. If enacted, it would allow state judges to deny bail when a suspect is charged with a crime carrying a possible life sentence and, based on evidence, is considered a danger to the community.
SCHOOL BONDS: With House Bill 2561, legislators sent about $500 million in bonds to the November ballot, so voters can weigh in on a proposal for energy-efficient renovations at public schools and universities. The bill is awaiting Gregoire’s signature.
DIDN’T MAKE IT
ALL-MAIL ELECTIONS: House Bill 1572 would have forced Pierce County to go to an all-mail system for voting, but the bill died for lack of a vote on the Senate floor. Pierce is the only county where some voters go to the polls.
ASSAULT WEAPONS: Senate Bill 6396 would have banned assault pistols and rifles. The legislation focuses on “military-style” assault weapons, which can fire rapidly and carry large magazines of ammunition. The proposal drew heavy criticism from gun-rights activists and died in committee.
MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION: House Bill 2401 would have legalized marijuana and its derivatives for adults 21 and older. It would have imposed a tax on marijuana and authorized its sale at state-owned liquor stores.
With House Bill 1177, adults found guilty of possessing 40 grams of marijuana or less would have been slapped with a civil infraction and handed a $100 fine instead of a misdemeanor. The bills died in committee.
BIKER PROFILING: House Bill 2511 was an attempt to curb the alleged profiling of motorcyclists by law enforcement officers. It would have forced local police agencies to adopt written policies and institute training. The language used in the bill is borrowed from a measure passed in 2002 that dealt with racial profiling. It died in committee.
MUTE SWANS: Senate Bill 6255 and House Bill 2476 would have eased restrictions on trafficking the birds so that a Gig Harbor homeowners association could obtain a second swan for a private lake. The bills failed.
POLICE ASSAULT: Senate Bill 6550 would have increased the penalty to a year in prison for violating the terms of a sentence by assaulting a law enforcement officer. The bill died in committee.
TUITION CONTROL: Senate Bill 6562 would have temporarily transferred some tuition-setting authority from the Legislature to the governing boards of the state’s three largest universities. The bill died in committee.
PREGNANCY CENTERS: Senate Bill 6452 would have forced the state’s 46 limited-service pregnancy centers to be more transparent about their services and to provide clients with information that is “medically and scientifically accurate.” Many of the centers are faith-based and run by volunteers. The bill would have forced them to disclose that they don’t provide abortions, birth-control services, referrals for abortions or prenatal care. The bill died in committee.
OVERSEAS VOTING: House Bill 2483 would have allowed Washington voters overseas, mainly military voters, to cast their ballot by e-mail. The bill didn’t get a Senate floor vote. The state will continue to let overseas voters get ballots via e-mail, but they must send them back by traditional mail.
“AT HOPE”: Senate Bill 6249 would have removed from state law any references to schoolchildren that are considered negative. Instead, all such references – such as at-risk, in-poverty and disadvantaged – would have been replaced with the phrase “kids at-hope.” The bill died in committee.
LEIF ERICKSON: Senate Bill 6284 would have made Oct. 9 Leif Erickson Day. Erickson was a Norse explorer considered to be the first European to land on North America. It died in committee.
DUI IMPOUND: Under House Bill 2565, a person arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs would have had his or her car impounded for 12 hours. Law enforcement officers currently aren’t required to have vehicles impounded, provided that a reasonable alternative – dropping the car off at a parking lot, for example – is found. The bill died without a vote on the Senate floor.
DRINK BAN: House Bill 2804 would have banned caffeinated beer drinks such as Joose and Core High Gravity. The bill died in committee.
TANNING RULES: House Bill 2652 attempted to license and regulate tanning parlors. The bill died without a vote in the House.
Staff writer Jordan Schrader and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
