Report from Olympia -- Feb. 20, 2015

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

Report from Olympia |  Feb. 20, 2015

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Did you realize that more than 1,060 bills have been introduced in the state Senate so far this year, and even more have been introduced in the House of Representatives?

If you’re saying to yourself that there is no way that all of those bills can become new laws, you are correct. While many of these measures address what we can all agree are serious concerns, many of these bills are either not fully developed or lack broad support from the public.

The legislative process is designed to act as a funnel with a series of deadlines to reduce the number of bills that make it all the way through to the governor’s desk.

Today we reached the first of these deadlines in the 2015 session. Hundreds of bills that are not approved by their assigned policy committees by tomorrow will not move forward in the legislative process this year.

It is important to remember that bills “necessary to implement the budget” can be brought up for a vote at any time. Also, the bills that do not progress this year are still on what’s called the “legislative calendar.” This means that they can go through the process again next year.

By this time next week, we’ll all have a better picture of which bills are “alive,” which ones are “dead,” and which ones are clinging to a hope and a prayer. You can read future Reports from Olympia to learn which is which.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve as your state senator.

Best Regards,

Senator Mike Padden

Watch my video update

Click to watch my video update.

Protecting private property owners from eminent domain abuse

My bill to protect private property rights is one step closer to becoming law after clearing the Law and Justice Committee last week. The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says private property shall not be taken by the government for private use. However, the U.S. Supreme Court  has defined ‘public use’ so broadly that government can take a citizen’s property for whatever purpose it chooses, even if it is just to sell it to a private developer or even another private citizen. This issue was put in the national spotlight after the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. City of New London. In that case, the city took Ms. Kelo's home and turned the property over to the Pfizer drug company and a private developer. Following the Kelo decision, 43 other states reformed their eminent domain laws, and Senate Bill 5363 would add Washington to that list. Under the bill, private property may be taken only for public use, and public use is specifically defined as not including economic development. No private property owner should lose their land simply because some developer knows the right person down at city hall.

Meet our page: Gianluca Dinaro

Gianluca Dinaro, a sophomore at St. Michael’s Academy, was our Senate page for the sixth week of the 2015 legislative session.

Gianluca is the 16-year-old son of Antonio and Rita Dinaro of Spokane. He enjoys camping and playing sports, and is a member of the Knights of the Altar at his church. Gianluca hopes to attend the University of Washington or Gonzaga University and would like to become a sports writer.

He was a great addition to our team and took a real interest in the legislative process.

If you know of students who are interested in the Senate Page Program, please encourage them to visit http://leg.wa.gov/Senate/Administration/PageProgram/. It is a great experience they will always remember.

From the district...

With legislative deadlines looming, this week the pace of work picked up significantly. But there is always time to meet with friends from the district who stop by to discuss their views on legislation or even to just say hello.

This week we met with Pat Rushing, the mayor of Airway Heights, to discuss Fairchild Air Force Base and water issues impacting the community. We also met with some of our local wheat growers and some health-care workers from the district who came to discuss patient-safety issues.

On Wednesday, Tim Knue with the Washington Association for Career and Technical Education visited. Some of our Spokane Valley city officials were also in Olympia that day.

Yesterday, we met with constituents with the Faith Action Network, to discuss their legislative agenda; Alisha Benson with Greater Spokane Incorporated; and several leaders with the Spokane STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) Network.

If you have plans to visit Olympia, please let us know. We would love to hear from you directly about the issues impacting you and your family.

In the News: Puget Sound Business Journal

On Wednesday, the Senate Law and Justice Committee unanimously approved Senate Bill 6019, my legislation addressing the independence of administrative law judges. Below is an excerpt from a recent Puget Sound Business Journal article, discussing my bill and the whistleblower case that inspired it. You can click on the link at the bottom to read the full article.

Washington Legislature to consider bill to make judges more independent after insurance commission whistleblower

By Annie Zak, Staff Writer A bipartisan bill introduced Tuesday to the state Legislature aims to increase the independence of administrative law judges within state agencies. Senate Bill 6019, sponsored by Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, is a direct response to an issue that arose last year when a judge presided over a case involving her own employer. The goal is to prevent state agencies from influencing administrative law judges who, confusingly, also work under the purview of the agencies whose cases they preside over. The issue of whether these judges can truly be independent when making their rulings came to light last year when administrative law judge Patricia Petersen blew the whistle on the state Office of the Insurance Commissioner, where she was chief presiding... Click here to read the full article.

Fourth District telephone town hall this Tuesday

You may have received a call from me reminding you about an important event: Our 4th District Telephone Town Hall. On Tuesday, my legislative seatmates Matt Shea and Bob McCaslin will join me for a community conversation, and I hope you will too. The call will last for one hour and start at 6:30 p.m. We understand that your schedule is busy and value your participation in this event. Your input is not only appreciated, it is needed. Our job as lawmakers is to represent the interests and views of our district. The best way for us to do that is to hear from you directly. You should be receiving a call Tuesday evening, inviting you to join in; if by chance you don’t, you can still take part in this telephone town hall using this information. Inbound Listener Line: (509) 703-4657 Constituent Web Login: listen.townhallinteractive.com Web Listener PIN: 317261 Hope to speak with you soon!