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February 21, 2020
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
The 2020 legislative session is entering its final three weeks. On Wednesday, the Senate reached the “floor cutoff,” which is the deadline for bills originating in the Senate to be passed by the full Senate. The only bills that are given an exception to this important deadline are the state operating, capital and transportation budgets, and any bills that are necessary to implement the budget (“NTIB” in Olympia speak).
Now that floor cutoff is behind us, the Senate is focusing its time on committee meetings for public hearings on bills approved by the House. The House is doing the same thing with bills passed by the Senate.
 6th Legislative District telephone town hall Feb. 26
I invite you to join me and Reps. Jenny Graham and Mike Volz for a 6th Legislative District telephone town hall next Wednesday (Feb. 26) to discuss the 2020 legislative session. The town hall event runs from 6 to 7 p.m. It’s an easy and convenient way for residents to hear from us about the session.
Only households with landlines will receive an invitation. Residents wishing to participate via cell phone or from somewhere other than their home may call (509) 253-8540.
During the telephone town hall, we will give listeners a quick overview of the session so far and then take questions from local participants. Among the issues likely to be discussed will be the state budget, taxes, $30 car tabs, firearms, business regulations and more.
The telephone town hall event works much like a radio call-in program. Callers who have a question will press the STAR (*) key on their telephone keypads to speak with an operator. As their turn comes up, callers will be “live” and can direct their question to any or all of us.
Latest revenue forecast is positive -- again
On Wednesday the first quarterly state-government revenue forecast for 2020 was released. It indicates that revenues for the 2019-21 budget cycle are $606 million ahead of last November’s forecast, which in turn was up from June’s prediction. In fact, since the end of the 2019 legislative session last April, there has been an estimated revenue gain of $1.5 billion. Despite our strong revenue news over the past year, our Democratic colleagues recently passed a new billion-dollar tax on employers. Does it seem strange to you that the Legislature is raising taxes when there is so much revenue on hand? It seems strange and misguided to me. We should make sure to put aside much of this extra revenue if and when our state experiences an economic downturn that causes revenues to plummet.
Update on my prime-sponsored bills
I’ve introduced several bills this session. A few were passed by the Senate recently and are now in the House. Here is an update on them:
Senate Bill 6316 – Would prohibit law enforcement officers from being assigned to write a specific quota of traffic tickets. Passed Senate 47-0. Scheduled for public hearing in House Labor and Workplace Standards Committee on Feb. 24 (next Monday).
Senate Bill 6374 – Would allow the Dual Enrollment Scholarship pilot program to cover apprenticeship materials for eligible students. Passed Senate 47-1.
Senate Bill 6417 – Would allow retirees in the Law Enforcement Officers’ and Fire Fighters’ Retirement System Plan 2 to change their survivor-option choice after retirement. Passed Senate 48-0.
Senate Bill 6592 – Would allow a county with a population of 40,000 or less, or any city or town within that county, to form a tourism promotion area. Passed Senate 43-5.
Senate Bill 6605 – Would require the Department of Licensing to conduct an investigation on license renewals for private security guards, armed private security guards and private security companies. Passed Senate 47-0. Scheduled for a public hearing in the House Consumer Protection and Business Committee on Feb. 25 (next Tuesday).
As always, I value hearing from you.
Here is my contact information:
Email: Jeff.Holy@leg.wa.gov
Phone: (360) 786-7610
It is an honor and privilege to serve as your 6th District state senator.
Sincerely,
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