2011 Legislative Session

Day 50 - it was another grinding day on the House Floor. We started the day at 10:00 AM and are still here debating bills nine and a half hours later. We're debating HB 1267 right now. This bill clarifies and expands the rights and obligations of state registered domestic partners and other couples related to parentage. It's a rather interesting debate between two different Democrats with very little being said on our side. We do have a few amendments, but Rep. Miloscia (D, 30th District) introduced 32 amendments and he's kicking some serious butt with his arguments. Tomorrow will be another long grind with a large number of bills on the calendar, but we're a week away from House of Origin cutoff. It could be a very long week.

 #HB  #1267  #Miloscia  #Rep  #David  #Taylor  #surrogacy
http://chum.ly/n/71d2e9

2011 Legislative Session

Day 48 - Today was a real grind ... 10 hours on the House Floor debating and voting on legislation. We were able to grab some lunch at noon, which was nice, but otherwise it was a long day. No session tomorrow (Sunday) which should make for a relaxing day, but we'll be back at it Monday morning at 10:00 AM running the Suspension Calendar. I wasn't able to get home again this weekend and next weekend is up in the air as well. I miss the family and my dogs!

Next week looks to be very busy ... Monday, March 7th is the House of Origin cutoff which means all House bills which are not NTIB must be voted out by that night. There are a lot of bills sitting in the Rules Committee, which could make for a long week of late nights. We got some really great amendments for many of the Democrats bad bills, which always makes floor debate a fun time.

 #15th  #District  #Rep  #David  #Taylor  #House  #of  #Origin  #cutoff
http://chum.ly/n/70f0cb

2011 Legislative Session

Day 47 - Today was a interesting day, but not a lot happened on the House Floor. Tomorrow should be much better as far as debate goes. The majority party appear rot be holding back all controversial bills for tomorrow or Sunday (assuming we work on Sunday). Unfortunately, I'm going to miss the Friends of the NRA diner tomorrow night in Yakima. That really sucks since I love going to that diner.

We have several bills moving through the process right now, but not a whole lot of Republican bills. It looks like our State Meat Inspection bill is dead again this year, but we'll see. We introduced HB 2004 earlier this week to require all Tribal vehicles be licensed by WA State ... this is all about protecting public health and safety, so we'll see how that works out. I also found out one of our wolf bills will receive a hearing on March 8th at 8:00 am. HB 1109 requires Legislative approval before finalizing the conservation and management plan. Make sure and let people know about this hearing and plan on attending if you're available. This is a huge issue for Washington State and our voices must be heard.

 #Washington  #wolves  #15th  #District  #David  #Taylor  #NRA  #tribal  #license  #plates
http://chum.ly/n/7074e9

2011 Legislative Session

Days 45 and 46 - Somewhere in the mix I seemed to have lost a day ... oh well. Nothing going today, but tomorrow and Saturday will be full days on the House floor. I won't be headed home once again this weekend. It sounds like things are going well back home ... calves are hitting the ground pretty much everyday and everything is staying healthy.

I've been following all that's happening in Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio with a lot of interest. With any luck, Washington will get our chance to debate real reforms to collective bargaining. We're still working on several pieces of legislation that would be significant governmental reforms.

 #Wisconsin  #Indiana  #Ohio  #15th  #District  #Rep  #David  #Taylor  #collective  #bargaining
http://chum.ly/n/6fe0e9

2011 Legislative Session

Day 44 - Still not doing a lot on the floor, but at least some progress is being made. it looks like we'll be here all weekend voting on bills ... Not real great since Tiffany has a volleyball tournament on Sunday. Tomorrow will be an easy day ... I have nothing on my calendar. Great scheduling by the majority party. We had 2 students and a teacher in town from White Salmon for a couple of days ... great opportunity to share Olympia with future voters. Sounds like they had a great time.

I using my new iPad right now and it is awesome. This thing is really, really cool.

 #15th  #district  #Rep  #David  #Taylor  #iPad
http://chum.ly/n/6f6bfa

Post from davidtaylor at CHUM.LY

Rep. Allen West to CAIR: 'Don't blow sunshine up my butt':  www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=2668...66849

Rep. Allen West is one of my heroes ... I just love this guy. Make sure and watch the video.

 #Congressman  #Allen  #West  #15th  #District  #Rep  #David  #Taylor  #wnd
http://chum.ly/n/6edb63

2011 Legislative Session

Day 43 - Family Day on the Hill. Molly, Tiffany and Brock came over for the weekend. We had a great time. short but great, and Tiffany and Brock both got to vote on two Resolutions. Pretty cool. Charles' family came over too ... yes, three boys in the house over the weekend ... and also voted for the Resolutions. It was a crazy scene on the House Floor ... all the Republican's had families and kids and all the Democrats had "life partners". Crazy ....

Tomorrow is a grind day ... a whole bunch of bills to run off the floor. We should be on the floor all day long. Wednesday will be more of the same, except Ways and Means and Transportation; neither of which I sit on, but Charles does. We'll be here over the weekend too, then BIAW comes in next week. By Wednesday, Operation Chaos and Mayhem will begin. Stay tuned ...

 #Family  #Day  #15th  #District  #State  #Rep  #David  #Taylor  #Operation  #Chaos  #Mayhem
http://chum.ly/n/6e60cb

Post from davidtaylor at CHUM.LY

Zarelli zeroes in on budget leadership | The Columbian:  www.columbian.com/news/2011/feb/20/zarelli-zeroes-...field

Nice to see our former State Republican Chair lobbying Sen. Zarelli for SEIU. Hopefully Esser is as successful lobbying for SEIU as he was getting Republican Candidates elected in WA State ... hahahaha.

 #Esser  #SEIU
http://chum.ly/n/6da4c9

2011 Legislative Session

Days 40-42 - Friday was an interesting day. We voted on the "Reaction Budget" yet again. Another supplemental budget that does nothing to address the real issues facing the state. Government that's too big, too intrusive and operates the priorities of government. We were in General Government Operation and Oversight (Appropriations) for 4 hours yesterday. The good news is, we were able to get enough done that we didn't have to have a meeting on Saturday.

Picking up Brock today and Molly and Tiffany will be over tomorrow (Sunday). Family day is on Monday at the Capital, so I'll get to see the family all weekend.

 #15th  #District  #David  #Taylor  #State  #Rep.  #Family  #Weekend.
http://chum.ly/n/6d3b93

February 17th

I want to thank all of my friends and family who have sent me messages today wishing me a Happy Birthday. Right now we're grinding through the process and I can't tell you how much I appreciate all the messages ... thanks.

Molly gave me a Reed's Rules, published in the 1890's for my birthday. The House of Representatives operates under those rules ... she truly rocks!

 #Reed's  #Rules
http://chum.ly/n/6c6d19

2011 Legislative Session

Day 39 - Today was Policy cutoff for the House of origin. We had a terrible bill pass out of the State Government and Tribal Affairs Committee this morning ... HB 1371. The original bill debanded, defunded or otherwise eliminated a bunch of boards and commissions to the tune of $10.304 million. I firmly believe these boards and commissions provide greater opportunity for the public to have a say in State Government, but I also understand the need to cut spending. I proposed an amendment that would have removed the five most expensive boards and commissions and saved $9.981 million, but the Democrats wouldn't take the amendment. Instead, they passed an amendment that saved less then $500 thousand. Now that's some REAL reform ... or not. Just for clarification, it costs the state around $500 thousand to run for ONE HOUR!

I've actually been having a lot of success this session and many of my amendments have been accepted by the Committees I serve on. For example, today I had a striking amendment accepted in the Environment Committee. I'm still learning how to work over here and there are really a lot of good people on both sides of the political spectrum ... we may not always agree, but many are willing to talk things through.

Tomorrow we should be debating the Supplemental Budget, yet again, and I expect there to be a few fireworks. I'll be in the General Government and Appropriation and Oversight Committee until late into the night, since the fiscal cutoff is rapidly approaching. With any luck Operation Chaos and Mayhem will begin tomorrow or Monday ... stay tuned.

 #Rep  #David  #Taylor  #HB  #1371  #15th  #District  #State  #Rep
http://chum.ly/n/6c6d18

2011 Legislative Session

Day 38 - We were able to move HB 1200 out of the General Government Appropriations Committee with a 12-0 vote. With any luck, citizens of WA State will be able to purchase fresh, healthy WA grown meat products in the grocery stores and restaurants by this fall. Today is the "Policy Cutoff" day, which means all policy bills in the house origin must be moved out of the various committees by 5:00 PM today. Monday is the "Fiscal Cutoff", except for bills Necessary to Implement the Budget or NTIB.

We should have some big news very, very soon ... stay tuned!

 #HB  #1200  #Rep  #David  #Taylor  #Meat  #Inspection  #Program  #15th  #District  #Policy  #Cutoff
http://chum.ly/n/6c1c36

Let's Roll

Afternoon Jolt: Rhetorical Jabs on TransAlta Bill | PubliCola - Seattle's News Elixir:  publicola.com/2011/02/15/afternoon-jolt-rhetorical...-jabs

And the award for the "Angriest Line of Questioning" goes to ...

 #TransAlta  #Rep  #David  #Taylor
http://chum.ly/n/6c1b6c

Strange but True

Washington State Wire: Former GOP Chair Esser Lobbying for Lefty Union | PubliCola - Seattle's News Elixir:  publicola.com/2011/02/16/washington-state-wire-for...union

An interesting twist in state politics ...

 #Esser  #SEUI  #2012  #Governor  #Race
http://chum.ly/n/6c1b52

2011 Legislative Session

Day 37 - Today was fairly uneventful. HB 1200 was heard in the General Government Appropriations Committee and I'll have to work to get it out of Committee. The Agencies hung a $1.1 million on the fiscal note, which doesn't take into account revenue increases coming from producers. Every $1 produced in the cattle industry translates to $3.30 on Main Street. We heard HB 1825 in the Environment Committee today, which would shut down the TransAlta plant in Centralia Plant in 2020. It's a terrible bill that would have monstrous impacts on power generation in Washington State.

Tomorrow should be an interesting day. I have meetings from 7:45 AM until 8:00 PM ... the deadline for policy committees in Thursday, so things are starting to move quickly. It looks like some of us will be working on Saturday, too. Bid meeting tomorrow morning with Leadership ... more to come.

 #TransAlta  #HB  #1200  #Rep  #David  #Taylor  #Centralia  #15th  #District
http://chum.ly/n/6b814d

2011 Legislative Session

Day 36 - We've officially completed one-third of the the regular session .... 5 weeks down, 10 weeks to go. There's still not a lot happening, but with policy cut-off coming on Thursday things should begin to heat up. Looks like it'll be a long week!

 #Cut-off  #Rep  #David  #Taylor  #15th  #District
http://chum.ly/n/6b270d

2011 Legislative Session

Days 33, 34 and 35 - Not a lot happened on Friday, mostly meetings. Bruce, Jim and I did meet with a bunch of students from Skamania County. We were able to take them down onto the House Floor, showed them our desks and had a picture taken with all of them. I really enjoyed visiting with them.

I'm home for the weekend ... planning on moving a few cows around and hauling hay from our storage area. I can't tell you how happy I am to be home, even if it's only for about 48 hours.

I received notice House Bill 1109 will receive a hearing on Wednesday, February 16th at 1:30. HB 1109 is one of our Wolf Management Bills and it requires Legislative approval of the State's Environmental Impact Statement and Wolf Conservation and Management Plan. We fully expect the environmental community to be out in force opposing the bill, so we need our folks there as well. Please let everyone know.

 #House  #Bill  #1109  #Rep  #David  #Taylor  #Wolf  #Management
http://chum.ly/n/6a08cc

2011 Legislative Session

Day 32 - Well today was interesting. I'm amazed that state agencies send people in to talk about budgets and when asked why something is proposed the way it is, they respond ... "I'll have to get back to you on that." Seriously, how about sending people who know what the heck is going on?

Tomorrow is Friday (Yea!) and I'm headed home for the weekend. I've got 2 committee and some floor time and then homeward bound. I'll head back Sunday to get ready for next week. Big news should be happening soon!

 #Rep  #David  #Taylor  #15th  #District  #budget
http://chum.ly/n/694dbc

2011 Legislative Session

Day 31 - We finally passed the Unemployment Insurance bills, which reduces taxes on our business by over $300 million. Bills are starting to move out of committee, which means we'll begin to be on the House Floor more and more very soon.

Founder Quote

"My ardent desire is, and my aim has been ... to comply strictly with all our engagements foreign and domestic; but to keep the United States free from political connections with every other Country. To see that they may be independent of all, and under the influence of none. In a word, I want an American character, that the powers of Europe may be convinced we act for ourselves and not for others; this, in my judgment, is the only way to be respected abroad and happy at home." --George Washington, letter to Patrick Henry, 1775

 #George  #Washington  #15th  #District  #State  #Rep  #David  #Taylor  #UI
http://chum.ly/n/68f7cb

2011 Legislative Session

Day 30 - Another day, another proposed "fee" by the Democrats. I think we're finally going to get the UI tax reduction bill onto the House floor on Wednesday. Passing that would put $300 million back into our businesses and likely stimulate job creation.

 #15th  #District  #Rep  #David  #Taylor  #UI  #tax  #reduction
http://chum.ly/n/688776

2011 Legislative Session

Day 29 - I had a fairly uneventful day in Olympia, but I did get to see some of our great Republican ladies from Yakima. It's always good to see folks from home, especially when they're happy to see me too. We were supposed to debate the Unemployment Insurance tax reduction bill today, but it was postponed until Wednesday.

Here's a nice little quote from our Founding Fathers:

"The people can never willfully betray their own interests: But they may possibly be betrayed by the representatives of the people; and the danger will be evidently greater where the whole legislative trust is lodged in the hands of one body of men, than where the concurrence of separate and dissimilar bodies is required in every public act." --James Madison, Federalist No. 63, 1788

Keep this in mind the next time you read about an Executive Order from the Governor or President.

 #James  #Madison  #15th  #District  #Rep  #David  #Taylor  #UI  #tax  #reduction
http://chum.ly/n/681dd1

2011 Legislative Session

Day 28 - Looks like I forgot to actually write "Day 27" in yesterday's post ... sorry about that. I stayed in Olympia over the weekend to get a few things accomplished. Thankfully yesterday I was able to get a lot of background research done for a couple of issues, so I should be able to get the rest put together before the Super Bowl later today. Tiffany's got a Volleyball tournament today (sorry I missed it babe) so the girls weren't able to come over this weekend.

My Super Bowl predication ... Packers 24 Steelers 13.

 #Packers  #Rep  #David  #Taylro  #15th  #District  #WA  #State  #Super  #Bowl
http://chum.ly/n/6733bd

2011 Legislative Session

TVW - Washington State Public Affairs Network: MEDIA:House Floor Debate:  www.tvw.org/media/mediaplayer.cfm?evid=2011020040&...hcp=1

Day 26 - Today was National Guard Day at the Capital. It was a great, great day, in which the House passed a Resolution honoring the WA National Guard and passed HB 1000. As the Ranking Republican on the State Government and Tribal Affairs Committee, I was pleased to support HB 1000 in committee and on the House Floor (see attached @ 23 minutes). My brother-in-law, Lt. Peter Brown USMC, is currently serving in Afghanistan and I am proud to support a bill that will ensure his vote is counted in an election.

I'll be in Olympia over the weekend working on a couple of bills. We introduced HB 1840 today. Several of our members have been inundated by email because of my three Wolf Management Bills. Well, as you can imagine, I was felling a little guilty about causing a landslide of email being sent to them. HB 1840 should, hopefully, bring a little balance to the discussion ... I would encourage everyone to read the bill.

 #David  #Taylor  #15th  #District  #wolf  #management  #HB  #1840  #WA  #National  #Guard
http://chum.ly/n/66a108

2011 Legislative Session

TVW - Washington State Public Affairs Network: MEDIA:House Environment Committee:  www.tvw.org/media/mediaplayer.cfm?evid=2011021040&...hcp=1

Day 25 - Today was a great day. We had great dialog in the Environment Committee (see the video attached) and things went really, really well. If you watch the video, the important parts begin at 1 hour, 2 minutes, 2 seconds and 1 hour, 24 minutes, 40 seconds. Enjoy!

It looks like things will begin to ramp up over the next few days and should get fairly interesting by Monday.

 #HB  #1198  #Taylor  #15th  #District  #Rep  #David
http://chum.ly/n/661223

2011 Legislative Session

Day 24 - so apparently I stuck a nerve. Rep. Brian Blake who chairs the House Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR) Committee told me he received approximately 1,100 email opposed to our wolf bills. Most of these emails are from the Greater Seattle Area ... maybe we should send some cougars and wolves their way ... wait I have a draft bill for that too. If your concerned with wolves and cougars in WA, please contact Rep. Brian Blake and Rep. Bruce Chandler to let them know how you feel.

Today was a good day all in all. Tomorrow will be a long day, but something's are worth the fight!

 #15th  #David  #Rep  #Taylor  #Wolves
http://chum.ly/n/659631

Post from davidtaylor at CHUM.LY

2011 Legislative Session:: Day 23 - Wow, another day filled with meetings. I had three hearings today on bills I introduced. I remain hopeful that at least one of them will move on, but who knows. I have one more meeting tonight and then a busy day tomorrow. Only 16 days left to move policy bills out of committee ... time flies when you're having fun.

http://chum.ly/n/6523ad

Post from davidtaylor at CHUM.LY

2011 Legislative Session:: House land-use bill a head-scratcher : Sports Yakima: http://sportsyakima.com/2011/02/house-land-use-bill-a-head-scratcher/

 

A head scratcher, huh? The WA State Department of Natural Resources manages over 600,000 of agricultural lands in Washington State. The question here is whether the PUBLIC wants their tax money spent purchasing and managing agricultural lands by the Department of Natural Resources. Why not sell those properties not being used for "active forestry"? According to the Office of Financial Management, selling those parcels not used for active forestry would generate approximately $440 million dollars and remove the long-term costs of managing (or mismanaging) these lands.

 

Utah and Idaho have both passed similar measures, but according to Mr. Sandsberry, passing a similar law in Washington "would be a huge mistake". Why? Kittitas County is approximately 75% publicly owned. Yakima County 76%, Klickitat County 75% and Skamania County 95% publicly owned. The local tax payers are left with the burden of paying the cost of providing police and medical services to these areas. At what point should the state and federal government get out of the landowner business.

 

I would note that the state and federal government really don't own the land; they manage it on behalf of the public. After all, it was public money that purchased the land, but I digress ...

 

According to Mr. Sandsberry, "selling off DNR lands to the highest bidder is, at best, knee-jerk shortsightedness that would unravel years of land-management policy." The author assumes state and federal agencies actually have a land management policy beyond purchasing additional, trading for additional or otherwise encumbering private lands to the benefit of the public without compensation.

 

Finally, Mr. Sandsberry suggests "generating a states-rights land-use argument will only raise the decibel level of that disturbing corner of the populace already afflicted with anti-government, the-feds-are-using-mind-control-through-my-cell-phone, secessionists-in-armed-compounds paranoia." Wow, I didn't realize that believing in the US Constitution and specifically the 9th and 10th amendments made someone "anti-government" and"paranoid". I guess someone should tell Judge Vinson, who ruled Obamacare was unconstitutional, he's "anti-government" and"paranoid".

 

Just a thought ....

 

#David #Taylor #15th #District #State #Rep #HB #1199 #Obamacare

http://chum.ly/n/6523a8