GOAL Post, 2013-7
Legislative Update from Olympia, 1 March 2013
FISCAL COMMITTEE CUT-OFF PASSES
CHAMBER CUT-OFF MARCH 13TH
LIMITED ACTIVITY ON BILLS OF INTEREST
NEW ANTI-GUN GROUP WITH $$$$$
Admin note: the extra "S" in front of some bills (e.g., SHB or SSB) means a substitute bill was passed by the committee. Substitutes typically are used to amend language in the original bill, frequently based on public testimony. As you can see in the Bill Status section, few bills pass in their original form.
Today was the last day for bills that had a major fiscal impact to pass out of one of the fiscal committees (Appropriations, Ways & Means, etc). Three of the nine gun bills still ubder consideration fall into this category. SHB 1096 and SB 5831 appear to have passed out of their respective fiscal committees today. SSB 5376 appears to have died in Senate Ways & Means. (I say ":appears" because on-line posting of bill status has been slower than usual this session. )
All of the bills we are tracking are now resting in their respective Rules Committee, the holding place for bills awaiting a floor vote. The chamber cut-off is in 12 days, 13 March. At that time if a bill hasn't been passed by the original chamber (House or Senate), it is considered dead for the session. Once a bill passes out of its original chamber, it goes to the other side for the same series of policy committee hearings/action, fiscal committee action if required, and then up for another floor vote.
While awaiting a floor vote, additional amendments may be drafted and offered. Without doubt such activity is taking place right now with SHB 1588, the universal background check bill. It will be interesting to see what changes are offered in an attempt to gain enough votes to pass it out of the House. SSB 5452 moved one step forward in Senate Rules and will likely be voted on early next week. The other bills have until 13 March.
The Seattle Times this week reported formation of a new "citizens" group to promote gun control in Washington. Dubbed the "Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility,"the group appears to be backed by current and former Seattle City Councilcritters, as well as by Seattle fat-cat Ward Hanauer. Where their money is a coming from is another matter. Habauer is the initial sugar-daddy, but like the 1997 anti-gun initiative I-676, it'll likely be Seattle-centered "limousine liberals in tasseled loafers" as the Spokane Spokesman Review called them, or liberal anti-gun foundations using their tax-exempt dollars to attack YOUR rights. It wouldn't surprise me to find New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's fingerprints on it as well.
They've hired a high-powered lobbyist, their own "hired gun," Zach Silk, who ran last year's successful legislative gay marriage lobbying campaign. Ostensibly created to lobby the legislature to pass "responsible" gun legislation, they're also threatening a initiative later this year if they can't coerce Olympia into giving in to their demands.
A similar "citizens group" did the same thing in 1997 -- after their pet bill to mandate gun storage failed, they ran an initiative calling for licensing of everyone in Washington who "possessed" a handgun (far broader than "owned"). Seattle media polling indicated 65% support for the initiative, but a funny thing happened at the only poll that counts: on election day the initiative was defeated 71--29%.
BILL STATUS:
The following bills remain under consideration in the 2013 session
Bill # Subject Sponsor Status
SHB 1096 Juvi illegal firearm possession Hurst (D-31) H. Rules
SHB 1383 Stalking protection orders Goodman (D-45) H. Rules
SHB 1588 Background checks Pedersen (D-43) H. Rules
SHB 1612 Firearm offender registry Hope (R-44) H. Rules
SHB 1839 Background checks Goodman (D-45) H. Rules
SHB 1840 Firearms/restraining orders Goodman (D-45) H. Rules
SSB 5282 DSHS/WSP info exchange Carrell (R-28) S. Rules
SSB 5376 Juvi illegal firearm possession Kline (D-37) Died S. W&M
SSB 5452 Stalking protection orders Conway (D- S. Rules
SSB 5831 Bans double tax on clay pigeons Rivers (R-18) S. Rules
Key to abbreviations:SB = Senate Bill, HB = House Bill, Jud = Judiciary, L&J = Law & Justice, HS&C = Human Services & Corrections, Trans = Transportation, Approp = Appropriations, Early Learn = Early Learning and K-12 Education, W&M = Ways & Means
GOAL POSITION ON BILLS
HB 1096 CONCERNS
HB 1383 CONCERNS
HB 1588 OPPOSE UNLESS AMENDED
HB 1612 CONCERNS
HB 1839 SUPPORT
HB 1840 OPPOSE
SB 5282 SUPPORT
SB 5376 CONCERNS
SB 5452 CONCERNS
SB 5831 SUPPORT
HEARING(S) SCHEDULED
None
LEGISLATIVE HOT LINE:You may reach your Representatives and Senator by calling the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000. Toll free!!!The hearing impaired may obtain TDD access at 1-800-635-9993. Also toll free!!!
1-800-562-6000, TDD 1-800-635-9993
OTHER DATA:Copies of pending legislation (bills), legislative schedules and other information are available on the legislature's web site at "www.leg.wa.gov". Bills are available in Acrobat (.pdf) format. You may download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from Adobe's web site (http://www.adobe.com). You may also obtain hard copy bills, initiatives, etc, in the mail from the Legislative Bill Room FREE OF CHARGE by calling 1-360-786-7573. Copies of bills may also be ordered toll free by calling the Legislative Hotline at (800) 562-6000. You may also hear floor and committee hearing action live at http://www.tvw.org/ (you need "RealAudio" to do this, available free at the TVW web site).
By reading the House and Senate "bill reports" (hbr, sbr) for each bill, you can see how individual committee members voted. By reading the "roll call" for each bill, you can see how the entire House or Senate voted on any bill. The beauty of the web site is that ALL this information is available, on line, to any citizen.
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Upcoming WAC gun show(s):
Puyallup 23-24 March
Monroe 6-7 April
"The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain or employ an armed body of men. "
Article 1, Section 24, Constitution of the State of Washington
Copyright 2013 Gun Owners Action League of WA
