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Weekly Summary
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This past week the House released its 2017-2019 operating budget. The House budget increases some spending for social services, and contains $3 billion in tax increases. The revenue increases would come mainly from a capital gains tax and increasing the business & occupation (B&O) tax rate on large companies.
The Senate has passed its budget, and after the House has passed its budget, serious negotiations will commence to resolve the differences between the two budgets. When a budget is agreed upon and passed by both Chambers, it will be sent to the Governor.
The Senate also released its capital budget for the next two years. Of particular interest to WSCC was the amount allocated for the Housing Trust Fund (HTF). The Senate budget includes less than $100 million for the HTF, whereas participants at Catholic Advocacy Day asked for $200 million. The Senate unanimously passed its capital budget on March 30.
This next week another major cutoff date looms - Tuesday, April 4. If those bills assigned to one of the fiscal committees (Appropriations in the House and Ways & Means in the Senate) are not passed by the end of the business day on April 4, they will likely be dead for the 2017 session (unless they are considered to be necessary to implement the budget (NTIB).
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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ACTION ALERT
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TANF Resource Limits - ESHB 1831: ESHB 1831 would raise asset limits for public benefit programs. Currently, applicants are ineligible if they possess a car worth more than $5,000 or greater than $1,000 in liquid assets. These limits were set in 1996 and have not been adjusted since that time. ESHB 1831 which passed the House 75-22 provides for modest increases more reflective of today's cost of living - $10,000 limit for car value and $6,000 in liquid assets. The bill has not been scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Ways & Means Committee. Sen. John Braun is chair of the committee. The bill will die unless it is heard and passed before 5:00 pm on Tuesday, April 4.
Click here to send a message to your State Senator and urge him or her to ask Sen. Braun to have the Ways & Means Committee hear and pass ESHB 1831 before Tuesday, April 4. |
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Update on Bills 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 passed the Senate and is in the House Rules Committee, where it awaits a vote to put it before the entire House.
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. SSB 5272 passed the Senate and is in the House Rules Committee, awaiting a vote to put it before the entire House.
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, and is in the Senate Rules Committee awaiting a vote to put it before the entire Senate.
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. ESSB 5312 passed the Senate by a slim 25-24 margin. The House Appropriations Committee has scheduled a vote for April 1. A similar bill, SHB 1298, passed the House and was voted on by the Senate Commerce, Labor & Sports Committee on March 9, but remains in Committee and is presumed dead.
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 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, as amended by the Senate Law & Justice Committee, decreases the interest rate to 4% for those who prove an inability to pay. After passing the House, E2SHB 1783 was amended and passed by the Senate Law & Justice Committee on March 29. It is in the Senate Ways & Means Committee.
ACTION ALERT: Urge your Senator to encourage the Ways & Means Committee to hold a hearing and pass E2SHB 1783 before the April 4 cutoff. Call toll-free 1-800-562-6000.
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 and SSB 5046 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. 2SHB 1540 was heard by the Senate Ways & Means Committee on March 30, but no vote has been scheduled. The Senate version of the bill, SSB 5046, was amended and passed by the House Public Safety Committee on March 28 and has been referred to the House Appropriations Committee, where it must pass by April 4.
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. ESHB 1508 was amended and passed by the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee on March 27. The bill is in the Senate Ways & Means Committee, where it must pass by April 4. |
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Bills Not Surviving the March 29 Cutoff Deadline
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Safe Surrender of Newborn Children -SSB 5522: The legislation would have required 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. The House Early Learning & Human Services Committee scheduled a vote on SSB 5522 on March 28 but no vote was taken. The bill is likely dead for the 2017 session.
Informed Consent for End-of-Life Decisions - SB 5433: The bill would have revised 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 did not receive a hearing and died in the House Health Care & Wellness Committee.
Preventive Health Services (Mandating Contraceptives) - ESHB 1523: This bill would have required all health plans in the state to provide contraceptives at no cost. The contraceptives covered would have included those that are abortifacients. This constituted a direct threat to the life and dignity of the human person. Following passage in the House, the bill had a hearing in the Senate Health Care Committee on March 14, but no vote was taken before the March 29 cutoff. Thus, it is likely dead for the 2017 session. The WSCC opposed this bill. |
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Pope Renews Call for "A World without Nuclear Weapons"
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Pope Francis has sent a message to the first session (March 27-31) of the "United Nations Conference to Negotiate a Legally Binding Instrument to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons, Leading Towards their Total Elimination." The following are a few excerpts:
"International peace and stability cannot be based on a false sense of security, on the threat of mutual destruction or total annihilation, or on simply maintaining a balance of power. Peace must be built on justice, on integral human development, on respect for fundamental human rights, on the protection of creation, on the participation of all in public life, on trust between peoples, on the support of peaceful institutions, on access to education and health, on dialogue and solidarity.
"In this context, the ultimate goal of the total elimination of nuclear weapons becomes both a challenge and a moral and humanitarian imperative. ... Achieving a world without nuclear weapons involves a long-term process, based on the awareness that "everything is connected" within the perspective of an integral ecology (Laudato Si', 117, 138).
"This Conference ... is an exercise in hope and it is my wish that it may also constitute a decisive step along the road towards a world without nuclear weapons."
To read the entire text of the Holy Father's message, click here. |
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USCCB Chair Opposes Environmental Executive Order
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President Donald J. Trump issued an Executive Order on March 28, 2017, that rescinds and weakens numerous environmental protections, and effectively dismantles the Clean Power Plan (CPP), the national program designed to reduce carbon emissions from power plants by 32% in relation to 2015 levels by the year 2030. Fossil fuel-fired power plants are the largest pollution emitting sector, making up just under one-third of U.S. total greenhouse gas emissions."
"The USCCB, in unity with Pope Francis, strongly supports environmental stewardship and has called consistently for 'our own country to curtail carbon emissions,'" said Bishop Frank J. Dewane of Venice, Florida, chair of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, in response to the order. "This Executive Order places a number of environmental protections in jeopardy and moves the U.S. away from a national carbon standard, all without adopting a sufficient plan for ensuring proper care for people and creation."
Bishop Dewane also said, "Pope Francis' encyclical, Laudato si', focuses on both the 'the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.' With this recent order, the Administration risks damage to our air, our waters and, most importantly, our people, particularly the poor and vulnerable, without proposing a concrete and adequate approach to meet our stewardship obligations as a nation."
To read the full statement, click here.
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