|
Report from Olympia | February 13, 2018
Dear
Friends and Neighbors,
Week five was spent on
the Senate floor voting on bills previously approved by their assigned
committees. Below I highlight several good bills that are still in play, so
please keep reading.
Tomorrow is the final
day for us to consider “house of origin” bills; in other words, it’s the
cut-off deadline for the Senate to vote on Senate bills and for the House of
Representatives to vote on House bills.
After that, all of the
approved House bills will come to the Senate to begin the evaluation process
all over again, starting with public hearings in committees. This will continue
to whittle down the number of viable bills so that we are left with only the
measures that have broad support in both chambers, or those bills that are a
priority for the majority.
Please don’t hesitate to
contact me if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for staying
connected and for the great privilege of serving as your state Senator.
Sincerely,
Senator
Mike Padden
As I mentioned in my
last update, Feb. 6 would have been the 107th birthday of Ronald Reagan, the
nation’s 40th president. Reagan was born on Feb. 6, 1911, and was a witness to,
and major player in, some of the most important milestones in history. A
Hollywood actor, Democrat, and union leader, Reagan would become Mr. Republican,
the leader who stood up for freedom and against communism, who reinvigorated
the American economy and spirit, and inspired generations of us who cherish
freedom and smaller government.
On his birthday, I was
honored to take to the Senate floor to honor President Reagan – a personal hero
of mine, and someone who inspired me personally to serve the public.
You can listen to a report on my comments by clicking here.
The Senate Page
Program provides an opportunity for Washington students to spend a week working
at the Legislature. Students transport documents between offices, as well as deliver
messages and mail. Pages spend time in the Senate chamber and attend page
school to learn about parliamentary procedure and the legislative process.
Students also draft their own bills and engage in a mock session.
Last week, we were
happy to sponsor Emma Bowman as our page. Emma, a freshman at West Valley High
School in Spokane Valley, is an intelligent and hardworking young lady. It was
a pleasure having her page with us.
If you know of a
motivated young person who is interested in learning about the legislative
process, please direct them to the Senate Page application found here.
The Senate Ways and
Means Committee voted unanimously last week to advance Senate Bill 6410, concerning school safety. Under the measure, which I was happy
to introduce, first responders would be required to notify both public and
private schools during any situation in their vicinity that would warrant an
evacuation or lockdown. The bill would also create two school safety centers –
one in eastern Washington and one in western Washington.
Many times, schools
have to call law enforcement for information about emergencies when it should
be the other way around. This bill would help increase safety in all schools,
public and private, and it takes a proactive approach by requiring law enforcement
to notify schools in these critical situations.
I’m pleased that my
colleagues on both the K-12 policy committee and the Ways and Means fiscal
committee have advanced this bill, and I look forward to the full Senate having
an opportunity to approve it soon.
The bill now goes to the
Senate Rules Committee – the final stop before a full vote of the Senate.
On Friday, the Senate
unanimously approved Senate Bill 6408, aimed at clarifying the rules surrounding the use of police
body cameras
Overall, this is a
balanced bill that supports truth and accountability, while protecting privacy
and decency in the process. Body cams are generally a good thing, and they show
events as they happen. They protect the public against police excesses, which
do happen, and they protect officers from false allegations.
SB 6408 would make
permanent the existing requirements and Public Records Act provisions governing
body-worn cameras (set by a bill passed in 2016) and apply them to all
law-enforcement and corrections agencies deploying body-worn cameras. This
year’s bill also would strengthen privacy protections for intimate images in
such recordings, and clarify record-retention requirements for body-worn camera
recordings.
The bill now goes to
the House of Representatives for its consideration.
The state Senate on
Friday approved our measure aimed at restoring judicial authority to set
pretrial bail determinations and conditions of release. Senate Bill 5987, if it
becomes law, would let judges make common-sense decisions to save lives and
protect the public. It passed with a 47-0 vote.
SB 5987 would:
- allow the imposition of conditions of release for any felony, gross misdemeanor, or misdemeanor case;
- require protecting the public from harm as a purpose for imposing conditions of release; and
- clarify that a pretrial-release program is any program in superior, district, or municipal courts.
The bill is a product
of a legislative work session that included judges and prosecutors. Both the
Washington District and Municipal Court Judges’ Association and the Washington
State Superior Court Judges’ Association testified in support of the bill.
Allowing judges to set
reasonable pretrial conditions would also help defendants.
Judges don’t always
want to impose high bail amounts or jail time pending trial. If possible, many
would prefer less harsh restrictions, so long as they are still able to do so
while protecting the public.
This bill will allow
them to order the most reasonable pretrial conditions of release, while still
putting public safety first.
SB 5987 now goes to
the House of Representatives for its consideration.
|
Spokesman-Review
| Jim Camden
Surrogate mothers could be paid for carrying a child for another
couple under a bill that passed the Senate despite criticism that it could turn
babies into “commodities like a bushel of wheat or widgets.”
Washington law currently allows women to act as surrogate
mothers, but not to receive compensation above the cost of medical and other
expenses. A proposed change to the Uniform Parentage Act, which covers a wide
range of issues involving parental rights and responsibilities, would allow a
surrogate to be paid more than that by the couple who have arranged for her to
carry a baby for them.
… Some of the loudest objections came from
Spokane-area senators. Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, tried unsuccessfully
to strip the bill of the ability to pay the surrogate mother more than her expenses.
“Are we dealing with commodities, like a bushel of wheat or
widgets?” Padden asked, arguing there should at least be some cap on what a
surrogate mother could be paid. “We forbid parents from selling their children.
We’re buying and selling here.”
Click here to read the full story in
the Spokesman-Review.
Join your 4th District lawmakers for
a telephone
town hall!
Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018
6:30 to 7:30 PM
You should receive a call, but if not, you can
call us!
(509) 404-3049
If you have a question or concern about state government, please do not hesitate to contact our office. We are here to serve you!
* * *
| 
