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Weekly Summary
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Our sincere thanks to the over 500 Catholics from across the state who participated in Catholic Advocacy Day! Your advocacy efforts reached the offices of almost all of the state's 49 legislative districts! Such a large turnout helps strengthen the common good.
March 20th marks the beginning of the 11th week of the 15-week regular legislative session. Over the next ten days in Olympia, the policy committees will continue to hold hearings on those bills that passed the opposite chamber. The next major legislative hurdle is for these bills to be voted out of their assigned policy committees by March 29.
Legislators are now busy identifying and negotiating priorities for the 2017-19 biennial operating, transportation, and capital budgets. On March 16, the quarterly revenue forecast was released. The updated 2017-19 revenue forecast projects a $303 million increase to the current budget. This is a 6.8 percent increase over the 2015-17 biennial budget. The increase is due primarily to retail sales tax and the real estate excise tax collections.
The budget negotiations between the Democrat-led house and the Republican-led Senate will focus on whether the revenue increases are sufficient to cover both program maintenance level increases and full-funding of K-12 basic education. After the forecast release, Republican leadership remained confident that no new revenue sources would be required to balance the budget, and Democratic leadership was just as firm that a new revenue source would be required to meet budget needs.
Note: Bills that are amended in committee are usually considered as substitute bills and are designated by the addition of "S" before their number, eg. SSB 5234 or SHB 1234. If a bill is amended in two Committees, it is designated with the addition of a 2 before the S, e.g. 2SHB 1234. Bills that are amended while being considered on the floor of a chamber are designated by the addition of "E" (engrossed) before their number, e.g., ESSB 5234 or ESHB 1234, or even 2ESHB 1234. |
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Update on Bills that are still Alive
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Human Trafficking - SB 5030: Currently, child victims of commercial sexual abuse crimes do not benefit from the extended statute of limitations that applies to child victims of other sexual exploitation crimes. This bill would extend the statute of limitations for trafficking crimes to ten years after the crime is committed, unless the victim is under the age of eighteen years old when the crime occurs. If the victim is a minor when the crime occurs, the statute of limitations for commercial sexual abuse and promoting commercial sexual abuse of a minor would be extended to the victim's thirtieth birthday. The bill was passed unanimously by the Senate and was passed by the House Public Safety Committee on March 16.
Vacating Convictions - SSB 5272: This bill would vacate convictions if they arose from offenses committed as a result of being a victim of trafficking, promoting prostitution, or promoting commercial sexual abuse of a minor. The conviction could only be vacated if the person could prove by a preponderance of evidence that the other conviction was also a result of trafficking, promoting prostitution in the first degree or commercial sex abuse of a minor. The bill unanimously passed the Senate last month. SSB 5272 was passed by the House Public Safety Committee on March 16 and is now in the House Rules Committee.
TANF Resource Limits - ESHB 1831: Eligibility for public assistance is determined by a combination of factors, including the resources or assets of an applicant, such as a personal car. ESHB 1831 would authorize the state to exempt one motor vehicle (other than a motor home) per applicant for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) from being counted as a personal asset if that vehicle is used for transportation. The current vehicle limit is $5,000. ESHB 1831 would also exempt some other resources. Without this legislation, some people who would otherwise qualify for TANF would be denied because the value of their car pushed them over the resource limit. On March 7, ESHB 1831 was amended on the floor of the House, and then passed by a 75-22 margin. The bill passed the Senate Human Services, Mental Health & Housing Committee on March 14, and is in the Ways and Means Committee.
Cesar Chavez Day - HB 1939: This bill would recognize March 31 as Cesar Chavez Day. Cesar Chavez, a Mexican-American born March 31, 1927, was an American farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist that worked to improve the treatment, pay, and working conditions of farm workers. Last month, HB 1939 passed the House by a 71-25 margin. The bill is before the Senate State Government Committee, and is scheduled for a hearing on March 24.
Fair Chance Act - ESSB 5312 & SHB 1298: These bills would prohibit employers from asking about arrests or convictions before an applicant is determined otherwise qualified for a position. Many job applications have a check box on the initial application form concerning arrests and/or convictions. The bills would prohibit use of this check box so that applicants could have a fair chance at being considered for a position based on their qualifications. On March 7, ESSB 5312 was amended on the Senate floor and passed by a slim 25-24 margin. ESSB 5312 will be heard in the House Labor & Workforce Standards Committee on March 21. A similar House bill, SHB 1298, passed the House on March 1, and was heard in the Senate Commerce, Labor & Sports Committee on March 9.
Homeless Housing and Assistance - SHB 1570: Both state and local homeless housing programs receive funding from the homeless housing and assistance surcharge collected by each county auditor when a document is recorded. These programs may include shelters, transitional housing, rental assistance, and vouchers for victims of human trafficking. The surcharge is $40 per recorded document, but is scheduled to change back to $10 in 2019. As a result, as many as 22,000 people could become homeless. SHB 1570 would make the $40 Homeless Housing and Assistance surcharge permanent and allow counties and/or cities to charge an additional surcharge, up to $50 for homeless programs. Bills necessary to implement the budget (NTIB) are exempt from all cutoff deadlines. SHB 1570 is considered to be NTIB and is therefore still alive, even though it didn't pass the House before the March 8 cutoff.
Legal Financial Obligations (LFOs) - E2SHB 1783: Most people convicted of a crime receive at sentencing a notice of their Legal Financial Obligations (LFOs). These obligations include victim restitution, crime victims' compensation fees, etc. Upon completion of their sentence, the court-imposed debt, plus the very high interest rate of 12%, and sanctions, often presents a formidable barrier to persons integrating successfully back into their communities. E2SHB 1783 would eliminate the interest on most of the debt and limit the sanctions for those who prove an inability to pay. On March 2, E2SHB 1783 was amended on the House floor and passed the full House by a 91 to 7 vote. The bill is scheduled for a hearing on March 23 in the Senate Law & Justice Committee.
Public Notices in Languages other than English - 2SHB 1540 / SSB 5046: When wildfires ravaged so much of the state during 2015, many agricultural and forestry workers did not understand urgent evacuation notices because the notices were only in English. To address this public safety situation, 2SHB 1540 would require state agencies to provide health and safety notices in the language that diverse residents can understand when a significant segment of the community speaks a language other than English. The bills would also mandate each local organization for emergency management to maintain updated demographic data for their jurisdictions and information on the languages represented by their respective communities. The full House passed 2SHB 1540 by a 53-45 margin on March 1. The bill was heard by the Senate Local Government Committee on March 9, but no vote has been scheduled. The Senate version of the bill, SSB 5046, unanimously passed the Senate in February and was heard by the House Public Safety Committee on March 13, but no vote has been scheduled.
School Nutrition Programs - ESHB 1508: The bill would require high-needs schools, beginning in the 2018-19 school year, to offer breakfast after the bell to each qualifying student and provide adequate time for students to eat. All public schools are encouraged to offer breakfast after the bell even if not required to do so. After passing the House, ESHB 1508 is before the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee and is scheduled for a hearing on March 21.
Safe Surrender of Newborn Children -SSB 5522: The legislation would require the Department of Social and Health Services to collect and compile information concerning (1) the number of newborns surrendered by the parent under Washington's Safety of Newborn Children Law; (2) the number of newborns abandoned within the state who were not surrendered; and (3) report its findings annually, to the public, which may be on its web site. SSB 5522 was heard by the House Early Learning & Human Services Committee on March 14. The committee scheduled a vote for March 15 but no vote was taken.
Informed Consent for End-of-Life Decisions - SB 5433: The bill would revise the state's "Death with Dignity Act" to require an attending physician to inform the patient of feasible alternatives, including the treatment for the purpose of cure and the treatment for the purpose of extending the patient's life, to ensure that the patient is making an informed decision. On March 7, SB 5433 passed the Senate by a 26-23 vote. The bill is in the House Health Care & Wellness Committee, where it awaits a hearing.
Preventive Health Services (Mandating Contraceptives) - ESHB 1523: This bill would require all health plans in the state to provide contraceptives at no cost. The contraceptives covered include those that are abortifacients. This constitutes a direct threat to the life and dignity of the human person. Following passage in the House by a 70 to 28 margin, the bill was assigned to the Senate Health Care Committee, which heard it on March 14. The WSCC opposes this bill. |
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USCCB Addresses Moral Dimension of Federal Budget
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On March 16, President Trump sent his budget request to Congress. Ten days earlier, the USCCB sent a letter to each member of Congress and articulated three moral criteria to guide their budget decisions:
- Every budget decision should be assessed by whether it protects or threatens human life and dignity.
- A central moral measure of any budget proposal is how it affects "the least of these" (Matthew 25). The needs of those who are hungry and homeless, vulnerable and at risk, without work or in poverty should come first.
- Government and other institutions have a shared responsibility to promote the common good of all, especially ordinary workers and families who struggle to live in dignity in difficult economic times.
The Bishops emphasized that "a just framework for the federal budget cannot rely on disproportionate cuts in essential services to poor and vulnerable persons; it requires shared sacrifice by all, including raising adequate revenues, eliminating unnecessary military and other spending, and addressing the long-term costs of health insurance and retirement programs fairly. ... Severe cuts to non-defense discretionary spending, which includes many domestic and international poverty-reducing and refugee-assisting programs, would result in millions of people being put in harm's way, denying access to life-saving and life-affirming services.
The voices of people who live in poverty and are vulnerable "are too often missing in these debates, but they have the most compelling moral claim on our consciences and our common resources."
The letter was signed by Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, chair, Committee on Pro-Life Activities, Bishop Christopher J. Coyne of Burlington, chair, Committee on Communications, Bishop Frank J. Dewane of Venice, Florida, chair, Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, Bishop Oscar Cantú of Las Cruces, chair, Committee on International Justice and Peace, Bishop George V. Murry, SJ, of Youngstown, chair, Committee on Catholic Education, and Bishop Joe S. Vásquez of Austin, chair, Committee on Migration. To read the complete letter, click here. |
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Bishops Welcome Congressional Resolution Addressing Climate Change
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Bishop Frank J. Dewane of Venice (Florida) and Bishop Oscar Cantú of Las Cruces welcomed a new resolution introduced in Congress on March 15 by a group of Republican legislators. "The U.S. bishops welcome the commitment of a group of members of Congress to engage in constructive dialogue to protect our common home and to recognize the impact of climate change," said Bishop Dewane in response to the announcement of the Congressional resolution sponsored by several members in the House of Representatives.
Bishop Dewane chairs the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Bishop Cantú chairs USCCB's Committee on International Justice and Peace. "The Catholic Church has consistently been an advocate for environmental stewardship and Pope Benedict XVI presciently called care for creation a 'sign of the times'", says Bishop Dewane. "Environmental challenges are not going away and it is a sign of hope to see political leaders rise to meet a challenge that is the common responsibility of all."
"The co-sponsors of this resolution add their voices to an important conversation, and are demonstrating that stewardship of creation is an issue that rises above political partisanship. The dialogue is about what Pope Francis has called "one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day, climate change", said Bishop Cantú.
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