 110 Legislative Modular Building, PO Box 40402, Olympia, WA 98504 | 360.786.7602 | Jim.McCune@leg.wa.gov
FOR ASSISTANCE, PLEASE CONTACT MY LEGISLATIVE ASSISTANT:
Matthew Smith | matthew.smith@leg.wa.gov | 360-786-7602
 Feb. 5, 2024
Times up: Cutoff deadlines whittle down legislation for action this year
 Dear friends and neighbors,
Today the Legislature will reach an important deadline; it is the last day for Senate fiscal committees (Ways and Means; Transportation) to vote on Senate bills. Last Wednesday was the last day Senate policy committees could vote on Senate bills.
These deadlines, or cutoffs as we refer to them, are tools used to whittle down the large number of proposals introduced each session, so that only those bills with enough support can continue to move through the legislative process.
Three of my bills are advancing this session:
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Senate Bill 6133, aimed at deterring cannabis store robberies;
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Senate Bill 6205, which deals with instruction on the history and meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance; and
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Senate Bill 6211, which clarifies how often a landlord can raise rents.
In addition to the bills I have prime-sponsored, I have also signed on as cosponsor to several bills I believe would take our state in a better direction. One of those measures -- Senate Bill 5841 -- passed off the Senate floor last week. This measure would require individuals convicted of driving under the influence to pay financial support to minor children and dependents when the offense results in the death or disability of a parent. I am happy to report that the bill passed the Senate 49-0 and is now in the House.
As we move into Week 5 of the 8 week session, your input is as important as ever.
If you have any questions about issues before the Legislature or if I can be of assistance, please call me at (360) 786-7602 or send me an e-mail at Jim.McCune@leg.wa.gov.
Thank you for the honor of serving you in the state Senate.
Sincerely,
 Sen. Jim McCune, 2nd Legislative District
Freedom Alert!
Protecting the right of Washingtonians to exercise their legislative authority
Brandi Kruse blasts legislative Democrats for killing bills to protect initiative signature gatherers
 Click here to watch and learn more.
Brandi Kruse is an Emmy Award-winning journalist and political commentator. After nearly a decade with the FOX affiliate in Seattle she left to launch unDivided, an independent political show and podcast that gives a voice to Americans who feel silenced by the fringes of both parties.
In her Feb. 2 podcast, Brandi blasts Democrats for killing Sen. Jeff Wilson's SB 5820 and Rep. Greg Cheney's HB 2205 -- two bills that would have protected initiative signature gatherers. Click here or on the image above to watch now.
 Commentary:
Dems have pushed us into lawlessness. Here’s how we restore order.
By Sen. Jim McCune | News Tribune | Feb. 1, 2024
 They call themselves “Kia Boys.” Young, mostly male, inspired by social media attention and lax police pursuit laws, they have brought chaos and destruction to our roads and retailers.
Stealing cars, posting about it online and stashing the cars nearby is not the brightest move, but it's par for the course in what are becoming known as “crash-and-grab” robberies.
They are also just the latest manifestation of the breakdown in public safety. Crime data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation for 2022 ranked Washington second nationally for auto theft with 693 automobiles stolen per 100,000 people — a jump of nearly 40% since just 2021. The 24% rise in larceny thefts from 2019 to 2022 is also second-largest in the nation, according to FBI crime data.
Washington’s violent crime rate was about 1% below the U.S. rate in 2022. A decade earlier it was about 23% below the national rate.
This chaos and lawlessness is the price of bad policies, particularly laws passed by the Legislature’s Democratic majorities.
Fortunately, we can take some common-sense steps to restore law and order.
Click here to read my full guest commentary in the News Tribune.
 In The News:
Dead or alive: some proposed state laws advance, others stall
By Shauna Sowersby | The Olympian | Feb. 2, 2024
 Eatonville Middle School students, parents and teacher, Alex Hansen, at the State Senate with Sen. Jim McCune.
Wednesday evening marked the first cutoff for lawmakers during the 2024 legislative session as bills had to be passed from their committee of origin in order to still be considered this year. In a surprise move Wednesday with the clock ticking, one of the most widely-discussed bills this session did not make the first cutoff -- Senate Bill 5961, aimed at capping rent increases at 5% for each 12 month period.
...SB 6205 – Starting no later than the 2025-26 school year, this bill would require that schools offer instruction on the “meaning and history” of the Pledge of Allegiance. Sponsored by Sen. Jim McCune, R-Graham, the bill passed out of executive session in the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee Wednesday.
Click here to read the full report.
In The News:
KHQ 6 News: Proposed bill designed to require the teaching of the Pledge of Allegiance's meaning in schools
By Steffi Roche | KHQ NonStop | Feb. 1, 2024
 Click the image above to watch.
Students would be required to learn the history and the reasoning behind the Pledge of Allegiance in Washington public schools if SB 6205 passes in the State Legislature.
The bill came about after a teacher at Eatonville Middle School realized that while his students had had the Pledge of Allegiance memorized, they did not know the intention or history behind the words they were reciting.
"We looked at the history of the Pledge...Then, we looked at the law. And that's where it really got interesting because...these are bright kids. And they wondered, 'well, okay, so we're supposed to say this by law, but we don't know what it means. So, why are they requiring us to say something that the schools aren't bothering to teach us what it means?' I said 'Yeah, ditto!'", Alex Hansen, a teacher at Eatonville Middle School said.
Hansen and his students wrote to their legislators and were connected with Sen. Jim McCune (R-Graham).
"The country used to teach the meaning and the history all across this country of the Pledge. And so, it actually gives the students a reason to stand there... and [know] why we're actually standing there saying this Pledge," McCune said.
Click here to learn more.
Contact us!
I hope you will stay in touch. I am interested in your thoughts about state government, and I hope you will contact my office.
I can be reached by phone at (360) 786-7602 and by email at Jim.McCune@leg.wa.gov. It is an honor to serve as your voice in Olympia.
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