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

Report from Olympia |  April 17, 2015

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

There are just nine days left in the legislative session. This week we hit the deadline for the Senate and House to take action on bills from the opposite chamber, except those necessary to implement the budget and bills in dispute between the chambers.

While I am hopeful that I will be home with you in the 4th District very soon, there is still plenty of work to be done before lawmakers can leave Olympia for the year.

Thanks, as always, for your interest in what’s happening here at the Legislature.

Best Regards,

Senator Mike Padden

2015 Government Guide now available

This week you may have received, in your mail, our 2015 update to the 4th Legislative District Government Guide. In order to save taxpayer money, we have not sent a hard copy of the guide out for several years, but have made it available online. For similar reasons, everyone in the district may not have received the printed version of the guide this year. If you did not receive the hard copy of the guide, but would like one, please contact my office. We have a limited supply still available. We will also soon be making some copies available at our local libraries and senior centers. This 4th Legislative District guide to government provides information on how to contact federal, state and local government offices and services. It also has some great information about our legislative district and some of the institutions and people that make us such a great place to live, visit or start a business. To get your online copy of the guide, click here.

Meet our page: William Grassel

William Robert Grassel, a student at the Oaks Classical Christian Academy in Spokane, recently served as our page at the Capitol in Olympia. He was one of 16 students who served as Senate pages for this week.

The 15-year-old son of Clint and Brenda Grassel, William enjoys cross-country, track and field and playing chess with his younger brother. He is a bright and engaging young man, and it was a pleasure to have him join us in the Legislature.

The Senate Page Program allows Washington students to spend a week working in the Legislature. Students are responsible for transporting documents between offices, as well as delivering 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 legislative session.

Students interested in the Senate Page Program are encouraged to visit http://leg.wa.gov/Senate/Administration/PageProgram/.

AUDIO: House Public Safety Committee hears testimony on felony DUI bill

On Tuesday, the House Public Safety Committee heard testimony on our measure to make a fourth DUI conviction within 10 years a felony. The testimony on Senate Bill 5105 was very compelling, and I hope that you will take a moment to listen to the hearing for yourself and forward it on to your friends and family. You can listen to the audio of the hearing by clicking here or on the image above.

Sexually violent predator bill heading to governor's desk

On Monday our bill aimed at preventing the release of sexually violent predators was unanimously approved by the Senate, and is now heading to the governor’s desk for his signature. While I sponsored the Senate version of the bill, the House version was introduced by Representative Susan Fagan from Pullman. The bill is about making sure that some of our most dangerous sex offenders are not released from civil commitment while they still pose a danger to the public. Only 37 percent of sexually violent predators choose to participate in treatment, and a growing number refuse to participate in annual psychiatric reviews. This measure seeks to change that by giving offenders the incentives they need to take part in treatment and regular evaluations. Under current law, once committed, some offenders refuse to participate in annual reviews administered by state forensic psychologists, which impairs the experts’ ability to make an accurate recommendation as to whether the individual still meets the criteria of a sexually violent predator. Meanwhile, these predators can seek out their own hired-gun experts to testify on their behalf. This creates an imbalance in the system, increasing the risk that a sexually violent predator who has not been rehabilitated will be released. House Bill 1059 addresses shortcomings in the current law by: (1) making any report or testimony offered by an expert on an offender’s behalf inadmissible unless the offender has participated in the state’s most recent annual review; and (2) defining “treatment” as the sex-offender specific treatment program at the Special Commitment Center.

Budget countdown continues

Today is the 96th day of the 105-day legislative session. There are only nine days left for the House Democrats to bring their proposed tax increases to a vote, and their budget proposal won’t balance without $1.5 billion in new taxes.

The Senate passed a complete, no-new taxes budget. The state already has $3 billion more in revenue due to growth in the economy. With 9 percent more revenue than two years ago, we can fund our priorities without new taxes and our budget balances over the next four years.

Senate budget writers have been ready and waiting for 21 days for the House to come to the negotiating table with a complete budget, not just a spending plan.

Successful leaders do not write checks that they are not prepared to cover and it appears House Democrats won’t vote to pass their own tax proposals. We encourage them to drop their needless push for more revenue and support a sustainable budget that meets the needs of our state without new taxes. That’s how we can finish the people’s business on time and on budget.

Auditor indicted on 10 federal charges

In a previous update, I shared with you the peculiar events surrounding our state auditor, Troy Kelley. Mr. Kelley’s Tacoma home was recently searched by federal agents and investigators subpoenaed records from his office at the Capitol. As vice chair of the Senate Accountability and Reform Committee, I wanted to give the auditor the opportunity to explain himself to the public. Unfortunately, he refused to accept our committee’s invitation to testify, instead sending two members of his staff.

This week the news got even more disturbing. On Wednesday a grand jury indicted the state auditor on 10 counts, including filing false tax returns, perjury, obstruction and possession of stolen property. Yesterday Kelley appeared at U.S. District Court in Tacoma, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges.

While Auditor Kelley is presumed innocent in our system of justice, his behavior and refusal to be straightforward has cost him the confidence of the public – so he should resign his position immediately. As state auditor, it is Kelley’s job to conduct audits that are aimed at rooting out the same type of activities he is now accused of committing himself. There is no way he can effectively do the job he was elected to do.

Kelley has said that he will take a leave of absence, but that is not good enough. We need an auditor who can actually do the job.

I will keep you up to date on this story as it develops.

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