GOAL Post2013-1
Legislative Update from Olympia 11 January 2013
WHAT IS GOAL POST?
LEGISLATURE CONVENES MONDAY, 14 JANUARY
LEGISLATIVE TUTORIAL
LEGISLATIVE CALENDAR
ANTI-GUN RALLY IN SEATTLE
PRO-GUN RALLY IN OLYMPIA
HB 1012 PRE-FILED TO LIMIT SELF DEFENSE
NO PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED ON FIREARMS
DEMOCRAT CAUCUS DIVIDED ON GUNS
LEGISLATOR DIRECT TELEPHONE NUMBERS
We have several new subscribers this year, so I’ll start with a basic
description of what GOAL is and what GOAL Post is.Formed circa 1992,
GOAL is an independent political action committee registered with the
Washington state Public Disclosure Commission.It is not a membership
organization, although it is managed by five trustees.In addition to
support for selected WASHINGTON STATE CANDIDATES ONLY during the
election cycle, GOAL publishes a weekly summary (GOAL Post) of
legislative activity in Olympia during the active legislative
session.Depending on workload, GOAL Post normally goes out via e-mail on
Friday nights.It provides a narrative summary of the previous week’s
activities, a listing (Bill Status) of firearm-related bills filed and
where they are in the process (GOAL does NOT cover hunting issues),
GOAL’s position on these bills, a notice of public hearings scheduled
for the following week, and information about how to contact your
legislators, and how to follow both live and recorded public hearings
and floor sessions via TVWashington.
GOAL Post does NOT normally cover events in the other Washington,
Washington, D.C.Given the Newtown, Connecticut, incident last month, we
are facing a massive attack on the rights of gun owners all across the
country.President Obama has convened a “select committee” of Vice
President Biden and others to develop an “action plan” to “reduce gun
violence.”It’s all the guns’ fault, you know.I will likely publish
individual alerts as the President’s plan takes shape and moves.
The 63rd biennial Washington state legislature convenes Monday, January
14th for its long (105 day) session.The principal focus of the long
legislative session is supposed to be the biennial budget, but rest
assured several other topics, including firearms, will receive
attention.The Democrats retained their slight majority in the 2012
election, so they continue nominal control of BOTH chambers (House and
Senate), but a funny thing happened during the legislative organizing
meeting in December.
The Senate is currently split 26 Democrats to 23 Republicans, giving
Democrats a three seat advantage.In December 2012 they held a meeting to
prepare for the 2013 session.This is where leadership is
elected.Senators Rodney Tom (D-48-Medina) and Tim Sheldon
(D-35-Potlatch) joined Republicans to give the GOP de facto control of
the Senate.Senator Tom was electedMajority Leader and Senator Sheldon
President-pro-tem.Republicans were also given chairmanships and control
of several committees, including the major budgetary committees AND
Senate Judiciary.Senator Mike Padden (R-4-Spokane Valley) will chair
Senate Judiciary, and (presumably) Adam Kline (D-37-Rainier Valley) will
be ranking member.Full committee rosters will not be published until the
session begins.
However…
Apparently Democrats have been discussing changing the rules just BEFORE
the new legislature is sworn in, thus preventing the majority coalition
from taking over the Senate.The DEMOCRATIC PARTY apparently doesn’t like
a democratic vote for leadership.Maybe they’d like to revisit the
presidential election, too?
For those new to legislative affairs, here’s how the process works:When
a bill is filed in the House or Senate (or both, simultaneously, called
“companion bills”) it is assigned to a policy committee.Most gun-related
bills go to the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Senate.In the House
it’s a little more complicated, as it may be sent to House Judiciary,
House Public Safety, or House Juvenile Justice.Public hearings may be
held, after which the bill may (or may not) be voted out of committee.If
the bill has a fiscal impact (usually an expenditure of more than
$50,000), it must then go to Senate Ways & Means or one of a couple of
House fiscal committees.The bill then goes to the Senate or House Rules
Committee, where it must be voted on to pass out to the floor for a full
vote.
After a bill passes the Senate or House, it then goes over to the
opposite chamber (House or Senate), where the whole process starts over
again.If the bill passes the second chamber in the same form it passed
the first, it goes to the governor for signature (or veto or partial
veto).If changes are made in the second chamber, it goes back to the
first for concurrence.It may also go to a conference committee from both
chambers to resolve differences.The final version must pass both chambers.
The bill then goes to the Governor, who may sign it into law, veto
(kill) the bill, or sign a partial veto (killing just selected
section(s) of the bill).The governor may also allow a bill to become law
without his (or her) signature.Most signed bills take effect on 1 July,
although bills with an “emergency clause” (considered immediately
necessary for public safety) take effect upon signature by the governor.
One of the first items of business in each session is the adoption of
the session calendar, identifying dates by which bills must clear
various hurdles.A bill that fails to clear the policy committee or
chamber floor by the designated date is generally considered dead for
the year, although they may be “resurrected” by parliamentary
procedure.I’ll post the cut-off dates for the 2013 session in the next
issue of GOAL Post.
Bills from the last session are dead.New bills must be filed for
consideration by the 63nd Legislature, with new bill numbers.
Washington Ceasefire, with several church groups, will conduct a march
in downtown Seattle at 1:30 on Sunday, 13 January, to demand a ban on
semi-automatic firearms in Washington.(Semiautomatic rifles and shotguns
are commonly used by hunters and target shooters all across the U.S.,
and semiautomatic handguns are the choice of a majority of Americans for
personal protection and sport.)The march will start at Westlake Park and
proceed to the Seattle Center.IF you decide to visit as a counter to
this event, dress properly and mind your manners.Both Ceasefire and the
Seattle media would love to see an “angry mob of gun toters” turn out to
reinforce THEIR case.
On Saturday, 19 January, a PRO-GUN “Gun Appreciation Day” rally will be
held in Olympia on the Capitol Campus in the “diagonal” area (open lawn
west of Capitol Way S.)Further details will be published in a GOAL Alert
in a few days.
In early December, legislators are allowed to “pre-file” bills for the
upcoming session.Rep. Sherry Appleton (D-23-Kitsap) filed HB 1012, a
bill that would emasculate “stand-your-ground” (AKA no duty to retreat),
requiring an individual to retreat from any threat before resorting to
force in response.Unlike more than 20 states, Washington does not have a
stand-your-ground statute — it’s the result of decades of court
decisions, usually referred to as “black letter law” (i.e. judges
effectively made and follow that practice).
Earlier this week Appleton announced she is pulling her bill after
received angry telephone calls and e-mails — and even threats — from
gun owners across Washington.That she received communications
criticizing her bill I have no doubt.Threats?Did she report them to police?
There are NO gun-related bills scheduled for a public hearing the first
week of the session.Weekly schedules are published on Wednesday evening
for the following week, although changes may be made, supposedly with
proper advance notification, but it doesn’t always happen that way!
We still have a solid bloc of Democrat pro-gun Senators and
Representatives who will vote on our side of the issue.This bloc will
surely be put to the test in this session.The so-called “road kill”
caucus, joining with Republicans on gun issues, is what has saved us in
Olympia, so far.If you live in a rural or even suburban district with
Democrat Representatives or a Democrat Senator, it is important that you
call their office and express concern about your gun rights.Ask them to
keep you informed of any gun-related legislation.This lets them know
that you are watching them on this issue.
The Legislature has not yet published new telephone and office
directories because legislators are not sworn in until Monday, 14
January.The following links can be used at that time to identify direct
contact information:
http://www.leg.wa.gov/Senate/Senators/
http://www.leg.wa.gov/House/Representatives/
BILL STATUS:
All bills filed during the 2011-12 biennium are dead.The following bills
have been pre-filed for the 2013-14 biennium:
Bill #SubjectSponsorStatus
HB 1012Limits self-defenseAppleton (D-23)H. Jud
Key to abbreviations:SB = Senate Bill, HB = House Bill, Jud = Judiciary,
Fish/Ecol = Fisheries, Ecology & Parks, JuvJust = Juvenile Justice, Educ
= Education, LocGov = Local Government, NatRes = Natural Resources,
Ecology & Parks, PubSaf = Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness, W&M =
Ways and Means
GOAL POSITION ON BILLS
HB 1012OPPOSE
HEARING(S) SCHEDULED:
None
LEGISLATIVE HOT LINE:You may reach your Representatives and Senator by
calling the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000.Toll free!!!The
hearing impaired may obtain TDD access at 1-800-635-9993.Also toll free!!!
1-800-562-6000TDD 1-800-635-9993
OTHER DATA:Copies of pending legislation (bills), legislative schedules
and other information are available on the legislature’s web site at
“www.leg.wa.gov”.Bills are available in Acrobat (.pdf) format.You may
download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from Adobe’s web site
(http://www.adobe.com).You may also obtain hard copy bills, initiatives,
etc, in the mail from the Legislative Bill Room FREE OF CHARGE by
calling 1-360-786-7573.Copies of bills may also be ordered toll free by
calling the Legislative Hotline at (800) 562-6000.You may also hear
floor and committee hearing action live at http://www.tvw.org/ (you need
“RealAudio” to do this, available free at the TVW web site).
By reading the House and Senate “bill reports” (hbr, sbr) for each bill,
you can see how individual committee members voted.By reading the “roll
call” for each bill, you can see how the entire House or Senate voted on
any bill.The beauty of the web site is that ALL this information is
available, on line, to any citizen.
GET THE WORD OUT:If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail,
send a message to “[email protected]“.Please pass GOAL Post on to
anyone you believe may have an interest in protecting our rights.Better
yet, make a couple of copies of this message, post it on your gun club’s
bulletin board, and leave copies with your local gun shop(s).PERMISSION
IS HEREBY GRANTED TO DUPLICATE OR REDISTRIBUTE GOAL POST PROVIDED IT IS
REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION AND CREDIT IS
GIVEN TO GOAL. I can be reached at “[email protected]” or by
telephone at (425) 985-4867.Unfortunately, I am unable to mail hard copy
GOAL Post to individuals.Limited numbers of hard copies MAY be available
at the Second Amendment Foundation book table at WAC gun shows.
If you believe you have received this e-mail in error, please e-mail me
at “[email protected]” with the words “Unsubscribe GOAL Post” in the
subject line.I will remove your name immediately.Keep in mind GOAL Post
is also published on several gun lists.If you received GP via a lit, you
must contact that list’s admin to unsubscribe.
Upcoming WAC gun show(s):
Monroe12-13 January
Puyallup19-20 February
“The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself,
or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall
be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize,
maintain or employ an armed body of men.”
Article 1, Section 24
Constitution of the State of Washington
Copyright 2013 Gun Owners Action League of WA