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Friday, Mar. 18, marks the ninth day of the special session, almost one third of a session that could last 30 days. Although most legislators are not present in Olympia, budget negotiators for the House and Senate have been meeting. The Senate Ways & Means Committee heard a revised budget that moved closer to the House budget by tapping some monies from the "rainy day" fund. There are still disagreements concerning some budget priorities and the sources of funding for the increased costs. Due to the nature of budget negotiations, most observers do not expect to hear any public announcements until an agreement is reached and is ready to be voted upon. There is some speculation that the special session could last the full 30 days.
Given the lack of legislative activity during the past week, this Bulletin will only report on the two bills whose status changed since last Friday. The Governor signed two bills concerning human trafficking and these new laws will become effective in June:
Bills on Human Trafficking
SB 5342 will adjust certain legal definitions concerning human trafficking to protect foreign workers. The bill unanimously passed the full Senate (49-0) last month. The House also unanimously passed SB 5342 and it has been signed by the Governor.
SB 6376 will recognize January 11 as Human Trafficking Awareness Day in Washington State. The bill unanimously passed the Senate, and passed the House by a 96-1 margin. The bill was signed by the Governor.
Both of these bills were signed by the Governor before he vetoed 27 bills late on Mar. 10. He has not signed any bills since then. In Washington State, bills passed by the Legislature can become law without the Governor's signature.
The next Bulletin will be sent out after there has been developments on the budget or the bills WSCC has been tracking. Once the legislative session is complete, the WSCC will prepare a comprehensive report on all the bills WSCC has tracked. The Bulletin will announce when this report is available on the WSCC website.
Click here to view WSCC Bulletins on our website.
The Washington State Catholic Conference (WSCC) is the public policy voice of the Catholic Bishops of Washington State. |
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