Less Government, Lower Taxes and More Freedom -

2014 Legislative Session - T-minus 6 days

As we head into the 2014 Legislative Session and I prepare to head to Olympia later this week, I am thinking about the various bills we are likely to see. The rumor on the street is there won’t be much, if any, supplemental budget, which means 2014 could be a huge policy year with deferred implementation until 2015. As expected, there are already good bills and bad ones.

Among the good bills, there’s HB 2133 to maintain the privacy of student educational records which has already has a hearing scheduled, the 4th Amendment Protection Act to address warrantless surveillance and data collection and a few new regulatory reform bills to help promote economic development. On the other hand, it looks like both"firearms” initiatives to the Legislature have the requisite number of signatures for consideration and there’s HB 2124 related Continuity of Government (COG). We’re also hearing there are possibly bills allowing for random sobriety checkpoints and DNA collection upon arrest.

I’ll be making (sometime multiple) daily posts including bill summaries, commentary and floor action again this year. The Freedom Agenda Team will also be posting podcasts throughout the session with commentary on the day’s issues and happenings. As always, feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you have this Legislative Session.

Less Government, Lower Taxes and More Freedom -

After a whirl-wind week, I’m back in Olympia facing the third Special Session of 2013. I participated in a property rights/Agenda 21 meeting in Yelm last Wednesday that went really well. The folks seem to be fired up and are asking a lot of great questions. I traveled to Utah over the weekend with Representatives Matt Shea and Jason Overstreet to show our support for Senator Mike Lee. The rally was great and turnout was fantastic. On Monday, I traveled to the UW to speak to law students about drones and driverless vehicles. It was a great experience and hope the students enjoyed it as much as I did.

As many people know, the Governor has called the Legislature back into Special Session to consider several bills that are needed in order for the Machinists Union to ratify their contract with Boeing. I have to admit that I don’t understand why legislative action is necessary for a private union to ratify a labor contract with a private corporation. At a minimum it sets a bad precedent. I do find it ironic that the most significant opponent to our Drone Bill last year (HB 1771) aimed at protecting citizens Constitutional rights, is now coming before the Legislature seeking additional tax cuts.

June 25th - 2013 Second Special Session

It’s Tuesday morning and the House convened at 10:00 AM for possible action on bills. After a remarkably short caucus, we started voting on bills at 10:45 AM. We passed 4 bills and then broke for caucus and lunch. The four bills we passed were …

Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1978 passed 82 to 2 with 13 excused.
Substitute House Bill 1986 passed 82 to 3 with 12 excused.
House Bill 1988 passed 87 to 0 with 12 excused.
Substitute House Bill 1957 passed 83 to 5 with 9 excused.

After breaking for lunch, we started considering amendments to the proposed Transportation Funding Package. The funding package relies on a 10-1/2 cent fuel tax increase, increases fees and bonding of projects. All told the fuel tax increase amounts to a $3.76 billion dollar tax increase, the various fees amount to $2.74 billion and bonding of projects adds another $3.5 billion. Among the amendments proposed by the House Republicans were two amendments to remove the Emergency Clause from these bills. One amendment removed the Emergency Clause and the other removed it and replaced it with a Referendum Clause. As many people know, an emergency clause eliminates the ability of the public to place a referendum on the November ballot. In other words, the Democrat Majority doesn’t believe the voters of Washington should be allowed the opportunity to approve or reject the tax increase.

Although rarely done, Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1954 and Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1955 were amended on Second Reading and placed on the Third Reading Calendar for action as early as tomorrow. House Rule 12 requires budget bills to sit on the bar for 24 hours before being considered for final passage on Third Reading, unless waived by the Speaker without objection or a 2/3 majority vote of the House.

We broke for caucus again and then ran two more bills before adjourning for the day.

House Bill 2079, which never received a public hearing and was never referred to a committee, passed 56 to 34 with 7 excused.
Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 1872 passed 58 to 32 with 7 excused.

June 13th and 14th - 2013 Second Special Legislative Session Days 2 and 3

Welcome to the Second Special Legislative Session of 2013, where some things never change. We started the day and spent the next 2 hours waiting for the Democrat Majority to decide what they want to do. The first bill we ran was House Bill 2075, which was yet another Estate Tax (Death Tax) bill that passed 53 to 33 with 11 excused. This is the third time we voted on a version of the Death Tax bill this year.

After running the bill the Death Tax bill went to ease and we were told to be back at 2:00 PM. At 4:30 PM we remained at ease and were told to be on the floor at 6:00 PM, only to sit around until 11:20 PM without doing anything.

We finally ran a bill, Senate Bill 5296, to reform the Model Toxics Control Account (MTCA) which has the potential to be a huge economic development tool for local jurisdictions. It only took 137 days in session, but we passed a great"jobs” bill. The bill passed 67 to 18 with 12 excused. All the no votes were Democrats.

We adjourned at midnight. Let’s recap today’s busy day on the House Floor … 15 hours, 2 bills.

June 11th - 2013 First Special Legislative Session Day 30

At 3:30 today the First Special Session of the 2013 Legislature came to a close. I say "first" because we start the Second Special Sessional tomorrow at 10:00 AM with a Pro Forma Session and expect the first actual votes to happen on Thursday, Day 2 of the Second Special Session. Here's a summary of what a 30-day Special Session looks like ... 4 days with the House in Session, a total of 12 bills voted on, 10 of which occured on one day.

June 10th - 2013 First Special Session Day 29

We were called back to Olympia for another day on the House Floor waiting for the Democrat Majority to decide what they want to do. We were able to adopt a Resolution honoring Trooper Sean M. O'Connell Jr who was killed in the line of duty in May, but have done little else. There are only four bills on the Floor Calendar, so it could be a short day and we have no idea how long we’ll be here.

We ran the Capital Budget as amended to only address those projects passed over the last three biennia through re-appropriated funds. In other words, the projects contained in the amended Capital Budget have already been bonded and are on-going. Unfortunately, we have no idea where these projects are in the process or whether all of them have been started. The Capital Budget also includes millions of dollars for land purchases, yet we have no idea which of the purchases are pending, in process or simply on the state’s wish list. House Bill 1089 passed 83 to 10 with 4 excused.

And now we’re done for the day … amazing.

June 6th - 2013 First Special Session Day 25

Here we are on Day 25 of the First Special Legislative Session and we’re finally running bills. With the exception of the one bill we ran last Thursday (May 30th) these are the first bills we’ve run all Special Session.

Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1947 passed 68 to 25 with 4 excused.
Substitute House Bill 1961 passed 87 to 6 with 4 excused.
House Bill 2042 passed 84 to 9 with 4 excused.
Second Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2016 passed 71 to 22 with 4 excused.
Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 1971 passed 74 to 18 with 5 excused.
Engrossed House Bill 2036 passed 52 to 35 with 10 excused.
House Bill 2068 passed 79 to 9 with 9 excused.
Substitute House Bill 2069 passed 83 to 5 with 9 excused.
Substitute House Bill 1057 passed 53 to 35 with 9 excused.
Engrossed House Bill 2034 passed 52 to 40 with 5 excused.

After a long 13 plus hour day on the House Floor, we managed to pass a total of ten bills and I voted"no” on all of them. In summary, the House passed tax increases, extended assessments, further implemented Obamacare, increased court fees, shifted state tax dollars to federal dollars, and passed another operating budget … not a great day for the taxpayers of Washington.

June 6th - 2013 Special Legislative Session Day 25

We’re on the Floor this morning for what could be a long day of waiting. The Democrat Majority has placed eleven bills on the Calendar for possible action over the next couple of days, but we really don’t know what their plan is. By all accounts, thus far, they don’t have a strategy to reach agreements before the end of the First Special Session, meaning a Second Special Session is looking like a real possibility.

June 5th - 2013 First Special Legislative Session

Well I'm back in Olympia today for an Appropriations Committee Meeting to hear a couple of bills and to possibly take Executive Action on at least one. We're also scheduled to be on the House Floor tomorrow (Thursday) and Friday. It doesn’t sound like any real progress has been made on the budget, but there are several bills NTIB (necessary to implement the budget) on the calendar.

April 30, 2013

The 2013 Regular Legislative Session has come to an end and I’m home for a little while. The Governor will be calling the Legislature back to Olympia on May 13th for the first Special Session of 2013. I say"first” because there’s already speculation that multiple Special Sessions may be necessary. In the meantime, I’ll be enjoying my time at home getting caught up on all the work I have around the house.

If you haven’t visited"Freedom Agenda - WA” on Facebook, check it out. We will continue to post updates on that page, so please like the page and share it with your friends. The more people that follow that page, the easier it is to spread freedom and liberty across Washington State.

April 23rd - 2013 Regular Legislative Session Day 100

Tuesday morning and I’m back in the Appropriations Committee to consider 12 bills for Executive Action. I’m really not sure how to properly explain the significance of Committee Meetings being held the last week of the Regular Session. It’s not just the Appropriations Committee; it’s also the Finance and Transportation Committees as well. The fact that the Democrat Majority in the House is still moving bills this late in the session clearly demonstrates a level of dysfunction I haven’t seen before.

The bills being considered for Executive Action include …

House Bill 1935, House Bill 2029, House Bill 2033, House Bill 2042, House Bill 2043, House Bill 2044, House Bill 2045, House Bill 2046, House Bill 2047, House Bill 2050, House Bill 2051, and Second Substitute Senate Bill 5794.

February 5th - 2013 Regular Legislative Session Day 23

We’re hearing two bills in the Local Government Committee today. House Bill 1268 authorizes local government to award contracts to the lowest bidder before taxes are applied provided that it gives notice of its intent to do so prior to submission of bids. House Bill 1324 authorizes any county with a population of 1.5 million or more to assume by ordinance or resolution all rights, powers, functions, and obligations of a county ferry District; authorizes any county with a population of 1.5 million or more to assume by ordinance or resolution all rights, powers, immunities, functions, and obligations of a flood control zone district; and establishes procedures and requirements for counties assuming the rights, powers, functions, and obligations of a county ferry district or flood control zone district pursuant to the act.

We’ll also be considering several bills for Executive Action.

#Local #Government #Committee #House #Bill #1268 #1324 #Executive #Session #Rep #David #Taylor #15th #District
https://chumly.com/n/19f3d1a

January 17th - 2013 Regular Legislative Session Day 4

The 2013 Legislative Session is now four days old and there is very little moving along the process. It's been a strange year in relation to my previous three sessions. Maybe it’s all the pomp and circumstance over the past three days, but the session feels different none the less.

I will be speaking at the 2nd Amendment Rally here in Olympia on Saturday. I hope to see a lot of people from Yakima there in support of our 2nd Amendment Rights.

I’ll be posting today’s Introduction Sheet later today. My goal is to keep people informed as to the bills being considered by the Legislature. We will need people in Olympia throughout the year to help fight to keep our freedoms and liberty intact.

Stay tuned, it's going to be a long session.

#legislature #session #second #amendment #Yakima #Rep #David #Taylor #15th #District
https://chumly.com/n/197aacf

December 17, 2012

Prefiled Bills:: apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/prefiled.aspx

In our ongoing efforts to keep people informed, here is a link to the prefiled bills for the 2013 Legislative Session. This is a test to make sure the links work, so please let me know if you have any problems.

#2013 #Legislative #Session #prefiled #bills #Rep #David #Taylor #15th #District
https://chumly.com/n/18dcaf3

2012 Second Special Legislative Session Day 1 Update

It's 3:30 AM and we're three and a half hours into the 2nd Special Session. We've voted on three bills ... so much for something new and exciting in the 2nd Special Session. This is the 6th Special Session since 2010 ... Fun-tastic Olympia under one party control.

#Second #Special #Session #15th #District #Rep #David #Taylor
http://chumly.com/n/125a1cb

2012 Second Special Legislative Session Day 1

So the Governor has officially called the Second Special Session, but we're waiting for it to actually begin. It's 12:37 AM on Tuesday and we still have several bills that need to be passed before we'll get out of here. As soon as we begin, we will be starting our 5th Special Session in the 62nd Legislature. How do you like that one party control now?

#Second #Special #Session #62nd #Legislature #15th #District #Rep #David #Taylor
http://chumly.com/n/1259992

2012 First Special Legislative Session Day 30

After a day filled with nothing yesterday, I hope the Legislature can pull it together and actually get done today. Unfortunately, the odds of actually getting everything done is about 1 in a million. We were warned that we could see the sun rise tomorrow morning or that the Democrats could cover the clocks and pretend we didn’t actually go past the midnight deadline. Regardless of what transpires over the next 13 and a half hours, I am certain that the Democrat’s failed leadership will shine brightly.

All of the supposed agreements that were reached yesterday afternoon and evening fell apart last night, so I have no idea what to expect. Since I really don’t have any news to share (but will as soon as I learn something), here’s a nice Founder quote:

"It will not be too strong to say, that there will be a constant probability of seeing the station [of President] filled by characters pre-eminent for ability and virtue." --Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 68, 1788

#Alexander #Hamilton #Special #Session #15th #District #Rep #David #Taylor
http://chumly.com/n/1254983

2012 First Special Legislative Session Day 29

I’m back in Olympia after spending Easter Weekend back home. I arrived today to find nothing happening. The Governor called a 5 Corners meeting at 12:30 PM and the Ways and Means Committee is meeting at 3:00 PM today. We have a total of seven bills on the Floor Calendar with the potential for a few more to be added after Ways and Means. All in all, there’s not a lot to do before the end of the first Special Session. Second Special Session is rapidly approaching.

#Special #Session #15th #District #Rep #David #Taylor #Ways #Means #Floor
http://chumly.com/n/124fc9f

2012 First Special Legislative Session Day 26

Back on the House Floor this morning for a fun filled day of ... waiting! We’re taking bets on whether we’ll work tomorrow or not. The Senate doesn’t seem to think so, but the Senate Ways and Means Committee is meeting this afternoon to consider legislation and that could lead to working tomorrow. All that being said, the rumor is we will be sent home around 1:00 PM for the weekend. We will be back on Monday for additional"work”, with the cutoff being Tuesday at midnight.

#Special #Session #Ways #and #Means #15th #District #Rep #David #Taylor
http://chumly.com/n/124282b

2012 First Special Legislative Session Day 25

I’m back in Olympia and, after hearing a single bill in committee yesterday, we have yet to do anything today. We have been given a run list of three bills to do after 1:00 PM today. Folks, this is nothing but a bunch of posturing by the Democrat Majority to create the allusion that we’re actually doing something to address the budget deficit. Fact, we are doing nothing substantive to address the long-term sustainability of the budget ... NOTHING! The ‘”reforms” being touted by the Democrats are not true reforms and have not been agreed to by anyone.

The Floor Calendar has several bills that are not remotely related to budget issues. Look at HB 2821 which bans a chemical that has no proven link to children’s health or HB 2830 which creates collective bargaining rights for interpreters. There is no reason we should be discussing these issues during a Special Session.

As most we recall, we were in Special Session in December to specifically deal with the budget and then work on bills that would create jobs in Washington State. Instead, we spent the first 30-days dealing with social issues and the last 30 dealing with the budget yet again. Ugh, frustrating is an understatement.

#supplemental #budget #special #session #social #fiscal #Rep #David #Taylor #15th #District
http://chumly.com/n/123cd89