106 Newhouse Building ● P.O. Box 40404 ● Olympia WA 98504-0404

Feb. 6, 2015

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

It’s hard to believe we’re already into February, and that four weeks of the 2015 legislative session are almost behind us. This week the Legislature began delving into some big issues like responding to the governor’s cap-and-tax plan and helping our veterans find jobs. We also took another significant step forward on remote testimony this week with a work session that included video testimony live from the Tri-Cities and hearing testimony from Spokane. You can read more about this below.

Thank you for your interest in what’s going on in the Legislature. If there is anything I can do for you, please let me know. It’s a pleasure to serve you.

Best Regards,

Senator Mike Padden
4th Legislative District

 

 

From the district... Local firefighters visit Olympia

Don Kresse, Rich Bruce, Sen. Mike Padden, Darrell Core and Duane Hughes

This week, the Washington Council of Fire Fighters came to Olympia for its annual Legislative Conference. The WSCFF represents 130 affiliated local firefighter unions and more than 6,900 affiliated members of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) within the state. A few of our local firefighters took the opportunity while in town to stop by the office to say hello and discuss some of the issues important to firefighters.

If you have plans to be in Olympia, and would like to discuss issues important to you, I hope you will let us know. We would love to see you.

 

Law and Justice Committee unanimously approves felony-DUI bill

Momentum and support continues to grow for making a fourth DUI conviction in 10 years a felony. On Tuesday the state Senate Law and Justice Committee voted unanimously to approve Senate Bill 5105, which now moves one step closer to a vote of the full Senate.

This is good news. These repeat-DUI offenders are the most likely to commit a vehicular assault or vehicular homicide. It is imperative that we do everything we can to get these people off the streets and under supervision so that they can’t continue to put themselves and the rest of the public in danger.

The bill now goes to the Ways and Means Committee, which will evaluate the measure’s fiscal impact. There may be some who will argue in that committee about the costs related to the bill. But they should remember that there is also cost to inaction. As mentioned in previous updates, we heard in our Law and Justice Committee from the victims of drunk drivers. The Bartlett family from Yakima, for example, told us about how they lost a wonderful man – a father, husband and grandfather who volunteered at hospices, when he was mowed down at 9:30 in the morning, while walking on the sidewalk, by a drunk 27-year old woman driving her boyfriend’s RV.

It was such a senseless, completely preventable event, and no family should ever have to go through that pain.

 

Committee hearing features powerful testimony on parental notification, ‘wrongful life,’ victims of ‘revenge porn’ and webcam abuse

Click the image above to watch.

We often hear emotional testimony on bills before our committee, but seldom do we have a day like Monday in the Law and Justice Committee. That day we heard public testimony on four bills:

• SB 5289, requiring notification to parents or guardians in cases of abortion.
• SB 5747, prohibiting actions for wrongful life and wrongful birth, and expanding the beneficiaries in an action for wrongful death.
• SB 5106, creating a civil action for unauthorized remote access of a webcam.
• SB 5502, concerning the distribution of intimate images.

The stories shared with the committee were extremely powerful. If you missed it, you can watch these hearings on TVW for yourself by clicking on the image above.

Remote testimony takes another step forward

BOB BRAWDY — Tri-City Herald

As you may know, we’ve been working to give more citizens an opportunity to testify on bills and participate in state government. We have been using remote testimony via live video in the Law and Justice Committee this session. This week, the Senate’s Committee on Trade and Economic Development followed suit, holding a work session with testimony live from Columbia Basin College in the Tri-Cities.

 

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