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Report from Olympia | June 27, 2015
Dear
Friends and Neighbors,
There was some breaking news
overnight. At 1:30 a.m. the governor announced that legislative negotiators had
reached a tentative deal on a new operating budget. While details of the deal
have just been released, there is now hope that we’ll be able to avoid a state-government
shutdown when the current operating budget expires at the end of the day June
30.
Unfortunately, a third special
session will be needed to complete that work. We expect it will be a short, 3-day session.
All year long, the Senate has
fought for a budget that is sustainable, provides relief to our middle-class
parents and students through a tuition cut, and most importantly, meets our
obligations without new taxes.
This week, the Senate once
again passed several bills aimed at improving public safety by toughening
Washington’s felony-DUI law and addressing other issues related to impaired
driving. After passing Senate Bill 5105 unanimously three times this year, the
Senate will have to do it one more time for this important measure to finally
receive a vote from the House of Representatives.
Lastly, the Senate also paid
tribute to the late WSU President Elson Floyd. You can read more about this
below.
As always, I welcome your
input on any issue relating to state government. Please feel free to
contact me anytime via email or by calling our district office at (509) 921-2460.
Thank you, as always, for the continued opportunity to serve
you in the state Senate.
Best regards,
Senator
Mike Padden
 The WSU flag was raised over the capitol on Thursday in honor and rememberance of WSU President Elson Floyd, who passed away from cancer this month.
This week, both the House and Senate took time away from
negotiations on the budget to pass resolutions honoring late Washington State
University President Elson Floyd. The reading of the resolutions gave lawmakers
an opportunity to discuss the legacy of President Floyd as one of the most
effective and passionate advocates for WSU, parents, students and higher education
as a whole.
Most senators also highlighted what a good, decent and
caring man President Floyd was, and how much he will be missed.
In addition to the resolution, the Senate also unanimously
voted to name the newly-approved WSU medical school the “Elson S. Floyd School
of Medicine.” The bill, which is sponsored by Sen. Michael Baumgartner, will need
to pass both the Senate and House of Representatives in the new special session
in order to become law.
Felony-DUI bill moves
to House for third time this year
For the third time since lawmakers convened at the state
Capitol in January, the Senate has unanimously passed our bill to make a fourth
DUI conviction in 10 years a felony. Unfortunately, we will have to do so one more
time in order for the bill to become law.
Forty-five states have felony-DUI laws; of those only
Washington requires five convictions within a 10-year period. Neighboring
Oregon and Idaho require only three DUI convictions. Senate Bill 5105, while
not the final step in getting tough on drunk drivers, is an important step.
The Senate has passed this common-sense bill unanimously
three times this year, and it has the full support of Attorney General Bob Ferguson,
law enforcement, prosecutors and – most importantly – victims’ families.
Today was the last day to act before the end of the current
legislative session, yet House leadership adjourned without taking up this
measure. This means that we will have to send the measure to the House yet again
in the upcoming third special session. With just days to go before lawmakers
leave town, it is important that this legislation to take dangerous repeat DUI
offenders off our roads be a part of the final go-home package.
You can click
here to read my recent blog post on this issue.
The Senate also sent over to the House two other
bills related to improving public safety.
Protecting the public: Pretrial alcohol and drug
monitoring
Senate
Bill 6134 would clarify that a $150 limitation on costs for pretrial
supervision does not apply to those for pretrial electronic alcohol and drug
monitoring. The bill is in response to the decision in Washington v. Hardtke. In that case, the state Supreme Court found
that the costs for an electronic alcohol-monitoring bracelet fit under the
statutory meaning of “pretrial supervision.” The practical effect of that
decision is that courts can no longer impose reasonable, pretrial supervision,
intended to protect victims and the public at-large. This bill fixes that
problem. It passed the Senate on Wednesday
41-3, but will now require another Senate vote in the upcoming third special
session.
Helping law
enforcement deal with impaired drivers
On Thurday the Senate passed House
Bill 1276, which deals with impaired driving. The legislation covers a lot
of ground and is the product of much work and compromise. Provisions of the
bill include:
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Specific
DUI offenders must install an ignition-interlock device on all motor vehicles they
operate, sign a sworn statement not to operate any vehicle without an IID, and
participate in alcohol monitoring at their own expense.
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Courts
are required to notify the Department of Licensing in instances where a
defendant is required to use an IID and in instances where such restrictions
are lifted.
- It
becomes a traffic infraction to have an open container of marijuana in the main
compartment of a vehicle while on a public highway.
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The
Department of Health is required to adopt rules for the training and supervision
of forensic phlebotomists, and permits a physician, nurse or other medical
professional to collect a blood sample when directed to do so by a law
enforcement officer for the purpose of a blood test.
HB 1276 passed the Senate 38-6, and now heads to the
governor.
 Arlene Roberts, an 80-year-old woman with no family or estate, was brutally murdered in 1978. In cases like hers, who speaks for the victim?
On Wednesday the Senate unanimously passed Senate
Bill 6099, also known as the Victims’ Voice Act.
Sometimes the court gets it right and sometimes it gets it
wrong, but in either case there are often real-world consequences that need to
be addressed.
This bill is in response to a controversial ruling by the
state Supreme Court in April that a detective’s testimony on behalf of an 80-year-old
murder victim, urging the court to reject a plea agreement and give her killer
a harsher sentence, violated the defendant’s due-process rights.
Under the VVA, which passed the Senate unanimously, if a
crime victim is deceased and has no estate or surviving family or any other
representative, a prosecuting attorney may appoint an investigative
law-enforcement officer or community victims advocate to serve as a
representative of the victim during the sentencing hearing. The appointed
representative of the victim would be permitted to make a sentencing
recommendation that is different from that provided in a plea agreement.
Click the image above to view my comments on the U.S. Supreme Court's controversial ruling legalizing gay marriage throughout the country.
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