Washington State House Legislative Action Alert!

From the Washington Tenth Amendment Center (Facebook post):

Tomorrow (5 p.m.) is the cutoff for house of origin in the WA Leg. Word is there are nearly 80 bills still in the house. Despite this fact, the democratic majority spent most of today wallowing in disarray and indecision, and therefore ONE bill was voted on. One. Your money hard at work, folks! It is up in the air whether HB 1588 will get a vote, and HB 1771 is also in the stack. That is the bill that creates regulation regarding surveillance by UAV's. It NEEDS a vote! I know everyone has rallied hard, but we need to keep pushing. Please hammer Speaker Frank Chopp's office 360-786-7920, and also call and respectfully ask Mike Hope to withdraw his support for HB 1588. This is pivotal. His number is 360-786-7892. Thanks everyone! Please Share!

NRA-ILA Alert: HB1588 heads for the House floor

Washington: Bill to Criminalize All Private Firearms Transfers Goes to House Floor

Today, House Bill 1588, legislation that could criminalize private sales of firearms and lead to handgun registration, was amended and reported by the House Judiciary Committee by a 7-6 vote.  HB 1588 is now headed to the House Rules Committee before going to the floor of the state House of Representatives. It is imperative that you contact your state Representatives and the members of the House Rules Committee TODAY and urge them to oppose HB 1588.

Sponsored by state representatives Jamie Pederson (D-43), Mike Hope (R-44) and 36 other state representatives, HB 1588 could criminalize all private sales of firearms. This bill mandates a $20 fee (tax) to conduct a background check.  All private firearm sales would be required to be brokered by licensed gun dealers and it is unlikely that $20 would cover their cost.  A likely outcome is dealers refusing to process these transactions, potentially bringing all legal private firearm sales to a halt.

HB 1588 is unworkable in its current form, as it conflicts with federal law.  Furthermore, if it was able to be implemented as drafted, it would create a database of all privately sold handguns since ALL dealer handgun deliveries are registered with the state.

This bill is nothing more than a regulatory scheme that would create a huge burden for law-abiding citizens, would be unenforceable and would be ignored by criminals anyway. It is truly nothing more than a precursor to Universal Firearm REGISTRATION!

More below the fold:

Another tax, firearm safety, and the Department of Health

The firearm bills, they keep on coming.  There are 17 bills involving firearms working through the State legislature. The latest was introduced as 10:35 PM on February 5th, 2013.  Thanks to a Facebook post by the Washington 10th Amendment Center, we know about HB 1703, "Promoting firearm safety through an education program funded through fees on firearms and ammunition and creating a sales tax exemption on gun locks".  The bill page is here, and the full bill here.

The good news is, admirably, the state legislators sponsoring HB 1703 want to address firearm violence by creating a "firearm-related injury and death prevention education program". Training and education is good, especially for firearms. Unfortunately, their approach is flawed, and looks to be just another source of tax revenue for the state, if not an attempt to make purchasing ammunition and firearms too expensive for many people. 

First: firearm safety is an important matter.  Every responsible firearm owner knows this.  However, it's clear that that the sponsors of this bill do not understand what that means, as HB 1703 directs the Department of Health to develop the "firearm-related injury and death prevention program".

Why the Department of Health?  According to HB 1703, Section 1:

(2) Public health approaches to reducing both motor vehicle crashes and tobacco deaths have been highly successful and the legislature believes that using public health approaches to reducing gun violence and gun deaths will also result in success.

(3) In an effort to reduce the number of firearms-related deaths and injuries, the legislature intends to:

(a) Institute a statewide educational program aimed at educating firearm owners, prospective firearm owners, and those who live and work where firearms are present, about firearm safety;

(b) Fund such a program with fees on the retail sales of firearms and ammunition; and

(c) Promote the safe storage of firearms through a tax exemption on the purchase of gun locks.

The concept of educating people on firearms is a sound one.  But the success of public health approaches to reducing motor vehicle crashes and tobacco deaths is an unproven assertion, one that has not been demonstrated or addressed in the brief text of this bill.

As an example, motor vehicle designs now incorporate significant improvements in safety features, such as air bags, reinforced frames, improved brakes, and so on.  Law enforcement officers keep speeders and other bad drivers in check.  Drunk driving laws are more severe.  Which of these are "public health" approaches?  All of them?  Or none?  This is highlighted in their "Motor Vehicle Related Injuries" brochure, where the "public health" approach is simply a team effort to solve a problem, where the Department of Health is simply the project manager, not because the Department of Health actually understands firearms and firearm safety.  They have to study the problem first.

This is reflected in Section 7:

Action Alert on House Bill 2612

ACTION ALERT: REQUEST YOUR IMMEDIATE ACTION

Action Alert Topic: Vote NO on House Bill 2612

The House General Government Appropriations & Oversight Committee who could vote on it at any moment - Act Now!

 
See http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2011-12/Pdf/Bills/House%20Bills/2612.pdf for details concerning this bill. 

Membership Action Needed: 

The Freedom Foundation, the source most widely used by Tri-Cities TEA Party Board and Legislative Committee urgently request that all Tri-Cities TEA Party members voice their opposition to HB 2612!

If you send an email, it is recommended that the Subject line or the first line in the body of the email state: "You are receiving this because of your position on the General Government Appropriations & Oversight Committee."

As a citizen of the State of Washington and a member of the Tri-Cities TEA Party, I strongly disagree with HB 2612, and request that you and the respective General Government Appropriations & Oversight Committee members kill this bill! HB 2612 is not pro-minority; it's pro-lawyer and pro-election chaos! This bill would result in countless lawsuits against cities and counties, tying up elections in the courts and costing local government money they can ill-afford to spend defending election results! Election quality issues should be dealt with in the redistricting process or by the legislature, not by a judge in the middle of an election! Carving out special privileges for certain voting groups is a dangerous road to follow.America has always aspired to be a "melting pot", not a nation of fragmented and suspicious groups!

Description: Bill HB 2204 would require counties to accept voter registrations right up to 5 p.m. onElection Day. The current deadline is eight days before an election, allowing county staff time to verify both the accuracy and the legality of the registration information.

Please Contact these Legislators in Nearby Districts:

District 8 (North Benton)

Rep. Brad Klippert, R (360) 786-7882 klippert.brad@leg.wa.gov

Rep. Larry Haler, R (360) 786-7986 haler.larry@leg.wa.gov

District 9 (Franklin, Adams, Whitman, Garfield and South Spokane)

Rep. Susan Fagan, R (360) 786-7942 fagan.susan@leg.wa.gov

Rep. Joe Schmick, R (360) 786-7844 schmick.joe@leg.wa.gov

District 16 (South Benton, Walla Walla and Columbia)

Rep. Maureen Walsh, R (360) 786-7836 walsh.maureen@leg.wa.gov

Rep. Terry Nealey, R (360) 786-7828 nealey.terry@leg.wa.gov

Please contact these Legislators on the General Government Appropriations & Oversight C ommittee:

Representative District Email Address Phone Number

Hudgins, Zack (D) Chair 11 hudgins.zack@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7956

Miloscia, Mark (D) Vice Chair 30 miloscia.mark@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7898

Moscoso, Luis (D) Vice Chair 1 moscoso.luis@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7900

McCune, Jim (R) * 2 mccune.jim@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7824

Taylor, David (R) ** 15 taylor.david@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7874

Ahern, John (R) 6 ahern.john@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7962

Armstrong, Mike (R) 12 armstrong.mike@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7832

Blake, Brian (D) 19 blake.brian@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7870

Fitzgibbon, Joe (D) 34 fitzgibbon.joe@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7952

Ladenburg, Connie (D) 29 ladenburg.connie@leg.wa.gov (360)786-7906

Pedersen, Jamie (D) 43 pedersen.jamie@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7826

Van De Wege, Kevin (D) 24 vandewege.kevin@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7916

Wilcox, J.T. (R) 2 wilcox.j@leg.wa.gov (360) 786-7912

WWTPP note:  I gave this bill a once-over, and I suggest that you do the same.  But, in essence, the bill sets the standards for "racially polarized voting" and "voting dilution", following from the impacts of case law from the Federal Voting Rights Act.  If nothing else, it sounds like a Federal intrusion into state matters without the Federal government lifting a finger.  If there has been any racially polarized voting in Washington, let me know here, and I'll post it on the blog and Facebook.

SPECIAL WORKSHOP MEETING, WALLA WALLA COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

AGENDA FOR WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012, at 8:00 AM

 Location: County Public Health and Legislative Building, 314 West Main Street, 2nd floor - Room 203, Walla Walla, WA 99362

8:00, COUNTY COMMISSIONERS: Chairman Tompkins

a) Roll call and establish a quorum

b) Board workshop relative to outlining processes for a county administrator position, to hear information on possible roles and responsibilities as put in place in other counties, and review how the proposed position might be utilized for Walla Walla County, and other related matters

Facilitators:

David Goldsmith, Member Services, WA Counties Risk Pool, former County Administrator, Jefferson County, WA, and interim County Administrator, San Juan County, WA, and

Jay Winter, Walla Walla County Personnel/Risk Manager

PLEASE NOTE: Although this is intended as a workshop for the county commissioners, it is open to the public.
No testimony will be taken. Public input sessions have not yet been scheduled.

EPA Procedures fail to impress Supreme Court

If you want a prime example of Federal over-reach, look no further than the US EPA, which puts landowners into a position of not using their land. or face severe penalties if they do.....without any recourse, including the judicial system.  Ed Morrissey writes about a couple in Idaho who couldn't sue the EPA, until the EPA sued them.  It's an extension of Agenda 21.

This is happening in the United States of America. Today. For real. 

OWS not even close to TPP!

From the national TEA Party Patriots:

Occupy Wall Street?
They're No Tea Partiers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington, D.C.–
Today, Jenny Beth Martin and Mark Meckler, co-founders of the Tea Party Patriots, the nation’s largest tea party organization, contrasted the tea party movement with the “Occupy Wall Street” protests in New York and other cities.

“For two years now, tea partiers have stood firmly on principle and helped shape the political debate in this country.  They believe in time-honored American values, principles and systems—including the freedom to innovate and employ people to implement and distribute one’s ideas to the public.  They believe freedom from government allows entrepreneurs to try new things, see what works and discard what doesn’t.  They don’t believe corporations aren’t inherently evil, nor should bankers be beheaded.  They do not believe this country should be divided by class, but united in a return to the principles that undergird our nation’s success.  In fact, they want more of what made America great: more Constitutional restraint on government so that the people have more freedom to achieve the good things the country offers.

“By contrast, those occupying Wall Street and other cities, when they are intelligible, want less of what made America great and more of what is damaging to America:  a bigger, more powerful government to come in and take care of them so they don’t have to work like the rest of us who pay our bills.

“The tea party, meanwhile, was a spontaneous, organic and fast-moving movement, but it has maintained a cogent message:  a demand for fiscal responsibility in government.

“Tea party rallies have always been safe and clean.  Unlike in New York, we can find no reports of tea partiers being arrested, individually or en masse, at the thousands of tea parties across the country with millions of attendees that have taken place for years now.  They are not lawbreakers, they don’t hate the police, they don’t even litter.  A quick glance at the TV reveals the sharp contrast posed by the Wall Street occupiers.

“Yet the Leftist media cheers for a group of lawbreaking troublemakers who occupied a park in New York, blocked the Brooklyn Bridge, were arrested by the hundreds and treated law enforcement with disrespect and disdain—all while trying to tear down the foundations of the greatest nation on earth.

“Such a media response is expected.  But when you compare these people with tea partiers—now you’ve got a problem with We the People.”

Tea Party Patriotsis a national grassroots coalition with more than 3,500 locally organized chapters and more than 15 million supporters nationwide.  Tea Party Patriots is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting the principles of fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government, and free markets.  Visit Tea Party Patriots online at www.TeaPartyPatriots.org.

For further information, please contact Jameson Cunningham with Shirley & Banister Public Affairs at (703) 739-5920 or (800) 536-5920.

WALLA WALLA COUNTY TO UTILIZE SURVEY AS MEANS TO RECEIVE PUBLIC INPUT

A press release from the County Commissioners:

The Walla Walla County Board of Commissioners have developed an informal, brief, three question, survey that they plan to utilize as a means of gathering information from county citizens to help guide future discussions. The survey responses are for internal, informational use only, and will be destroyed with no record maintained other than the response data. Citizens have requested an opportunity for input regarding matters that might have an impact, financially or otherwise, resulting in this informal survey being developed to help obtain that information easily and at no cost to the county or those taking the survey.

The non-scientific survey is intended to serve as a non-binding, informational guide for the county commissioners, and is available electronically on the county’s website (www.co.walla-walla.wa.us). The survey will be on the website until close of business on Wednesday, May 25, 2011.

Utilization of such informational, non-binding surveys in the future to allow citizens a convenient means to have input may be an option considered by the county commissioners. The Board of County Commissioners has attempted to hold meetings in various areas of the county in past years, as a way to allow more access to those citizens who are unable to attend regular commission meeting, with only limited attendance. This survey mechanism is a trial to help citizens have input.

This survey concerns taxes, always an important topic to TEA Partiers.  You will have to enter your name and address to participate.  I expect that this is to prevent people from voting the Chicago Way ("Vote Early!  Vote Often!"). 

Click here for the survey.

County Sales Tax change proposed

Martha e-mails that the time frame for written comments on the proposed sales tax increase has been extended to  Friday April 1, 5:00 PM.

Please email your comments to the commissioners at: wwcocommissioners@co.walla-walla.wa.us 

These are difficult times but we need to prioritize where our tax dollars go.  No more tax increases!  Remember, we are Taxed Enough Already!  Let's stop this proposed tax increase dead in its tracks

Press Release: Grandmothers Roundtable in Walla Walla

On Monday, 7 March, the Grandmothers Roundtable presents a forum entitled:

“Three Views of Government: Democrat, Republican, and the Tea Party Movement.”

The forum will begin at 7:00 pm and will be held at the

Walla Walla Community College Conference Center, Room 185.
 

As budget debates rage in Washington and Olympia over cuts and expenditures in our government, the Grandmothers pondered the question: What do citizens really want from our government and how are we going to pay for it? In order to answer that dilemma the Grandmothers invited representatives from three local political parties to enlighten us on their views of government from their parties’ perspective. Questions raised included: What government services are essential? How should government be paid for? Is there a role for government regulation? Is there common ground between the three political groups?  How can we, as local citizens, make our concerns heard about the state and national budget?

Martha Clinehens, one of the founders of the grassroots Tea Party movement here in Walla Walla, will outline their core values and key principles. Jim Johnson, Chair of the Walla Walla County Republican Central Committee will discuss the role of government from the Republican point of view.  Don Schwerin, County Representative to the Democratic State Committee, will discuss the Democrats’ perspective on government.  

Susan Palmer, Sociology Instructor at Walla Walla Community College, will moderate the forum and will direct written questions from the audience to panel members after their presentations. The evening promises to be informative.

The Grandmothers Roundtable is a non-partisan organization focusing on issues of interest in the Walla Walla Valley and on educating the public about how to better participate. Grandmothers Roundtable forums welcome all ages, genders, and political views.

For more information, contact Pat Yenney at (509) 529-6505 or Linda Moats at bmoats-at-q.com.

Action Alert from Tri Cities Tea Party

Received via Martha; the Tri-Cities TEA Party sent this to their membership.  I edited the text to reflect Walla Walla:

REQUEST YOUR IMMEDIATE ACTION

WITH THE WASHINGTON STATE LEGISLATURE

Action Alert Topic:   Vote No on House Bill 1366

The Hearing will be on Monday, January 24 at 1:30 p.m.

Act Now!

Membership Action Needed:  The Tri-Cities TEA Party Board and Legislative Committee urgently request that all TEA Party members voice their concerns by contacting the House Health Care and Wellness Committee members and their respective representatives by email, and then phone them directly to confirm those concerns.  The following message may be conveyed more or less in your own words.  We suggest that your email subject line be “Vote NO on HB 1366”. 

As a citizen of the State of Washington and a member of the Walla Walla TEA Party, I strongly disagree with HB 1366, and request that you and the respective Health Care and Wellness Committee members withdraw their support for this bill.  I consider the premise of the drafted bill to be false, and its intent is to add unnecessary regulations and liabilities to these so called “limited service pregnancy centers”.  We view this bill as a potential special interest effort to force closure of centers that benefit women and families throughout our state.

Description :   This is a heavily Democrat supported bill with only one Republican (Walsh) out of 36 representatives supporting HB 1366, now being heard by the House Health Care and Wellness Committee.  It involves the so called "limited service pregnancy centers." 

Bill HB 1366 would add extensive disclosure requirements to be given verbally first, then posted in center entries, and on the center's website and on any advertisements.  All of this disclosure must be provided in English and the women's primary language, which includes as a minimum of but not limited to English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, and Chinese.

The bill also provides for legal / civil action against the centers if they don't meet the full letter of the legislation.  That would benefit the lawyers and certainly damage the centers.  Matt Shea, R-Spokane, is very concerned with the potential impacts of this bill on our local communities.  These centers are a tremendous resource.  Some of them have maternity homes where young, pregnant girls have a place to stay and learn important life skills, such as how to cook, budget and take care of their children.  They also provide counseling services.  Many of these centers are paid for through private donations.  House Bill 1366 could result in the closure of faith-based, pro-life pregnancy resource centers and medical clinics across our state.

See  http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2011-12/Pdf/Bills/House%20Bills/1366.pdf  for details concerning this outrageous bill.

Please Contact these Legislators in Near By Districts:

District 8 (North Benton)

Rep. Brad Klippert, R          (360) 786-7882        klippert.brad@leg.wa.gov

Rep. Larry Haler, R             (360) 786-7986        haler.larry@leg.wa.gov

District 9 (Franklin, Adams, Whitman, Garfield and South Spokane)

Rep. Susan Fagan, R           (360) 786-7942        fagan.susan@leg.wa.gov

Rep. Joe Schmick, R           (360) 786-7844        schmick.joe@leg.wa.gov

District 16 (South Benton, Walla Walla and Columbia)

Rep. Maureen Walsh, R       (360) 786-7836        walsh.maureen@leg.wa.gov

Rep. Terry Nealey, R           (360) 786-7828        nealey.terry@leg.wa.gov

Please contact these Legislators on the  

Health Care and Wellness Committee: