Month: February 2014

GOAL Post                                                                                             2014-7
Legislative Update from Olympia                                                               21 February 2014

CHAMBER CUT-OFF PASSES; BILLS DIE

TWO PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED

NEXT HURDLE NEXT FRIDAY

DEAD BILLS DELETED FROM “BILL STATUS” LIST

BACKGROUND CHECKS USED FOR CONFISCATION?

Tuesday, 18 February was chamber cut-off day, the day when all House bills must move out of the House or die, and all Senate Bills out of the Senate (with a limited exception for fiscal/budget bills).  Then the whole process starts over again, with House bills in the Senate and Senate bills in the House.  The number of bills to be processed has shrunk significantly, though.  Only those bills that passed out of their original chamber will be considered in the other.  Of the nearly three thousand bills filed over the biennium, only a few hundred remain in play.  And from 46 gun bills, we’re down to five.    Legislators have until next Friday to pass bills from the opposite chamber out of their policy committee.  The train is moving pretty fast now, but it ain’t over ’til the fat lady sings.

A couple of bills that passed their original chamber were quickly scheduled for a public hearing that I missed on the weekly round-up.  At this point, two of the five remaining bills is scheduled for a public hearing next week:  SB 5956 (short-barreled rifles) in House Judiciary and HB 1840 (restraining orders), in Senate Law & Justice, both on Wednesday, 26 February.  HB 2164 (juvenile firearm possession), and SBs 6025 (use of body armor) and 6199 (incendiary devices) had public hearings yesterday or today, and will be voted on in committee next week.

Next cut-off:  second chamber policy committee, next Friday, 28 February.

As I reported previously, I’ve cleaned up the “Bill Status” section to reflect only those bills still under consideration.   To paraphrase Matthew 22:14,  For many are filed, but few are chosen.  Typically in a biennium, three to four thousand bills are filed.  Most of these never even get a hearing.  Some of these are “hero” bills, bills that make the individual sponsoring the bill look good in the home district, or to keep a promise to a constituent or a group.  Others are bills with good policy ideas, but are not in line with what leadership wants, or what the party in power likes (many good gun bills fall in this category).  Bills with good policy ideas that have consensus across party lines are typically the bills that move.  This is true at both the state and federal levels.  Congress is much the same, although with 535 total members, more bills get filed!  And most go nowhere.

A little drama is underway in Connecticut right now regarding newly-banned “assault weapons.”  Under the new law, sales or transfers are banned, but individuals who already own such firearms are grandfathered and allowed to keep them — PROVIDED they register them with the state.  The registration date passed with very limited compliance, so the Hartford Courant, Connecticut’s newspaper of record, opined that the state has a crisis on its hands that can only be met with confiscation of the firearms in question.  And they suggest “Authorities should use the background check database as a way to find assault weapon purchasers who might not have registered those guns in compliance with the new law.“  (The editorial closes with, “If you want to disobey the law, you should be prepared to face the consequences.”  And what about those, including elected officials, who choose to disobey the Constitution?)

I’ve already heard from gun owners who have no problem with background checks, and who characterize linkage between background checks and gun confiscation as irresponsible scare-mongering.  I myself am not particularly concerned about background checks… in and of themselves.  I’ve held the highest security clearances, hold concealed carry licenses from five states…   I’ve even offered legislators ways to conduct background checks WITH NO RECORD KEEPING (they rejected it, as I knew they would).  It’s about what ELSE might be done with the records created, especially with federally mandated dealers’ records.

Key to abbreviations: S. = Senate, H. = House, Ag/NatRes = Agriculture/Natural Resources, HS&C = Human Services & Corrections, Jud = Judiciary, L&J = Law & Justice, , W&M = Ways and Means

* = status change this past week

HEARING(S) SCHEDULED:

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!!!1-800-562-6000 TDD 1-800-635-9993

You can also use the direct link available on each bill’s web page to contact your legislators by clicking on “Comment on this bill.”

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]” or to “[email protected].”. Please pass GOAL Post on to anyone you believe m ay 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.

Upcoming WAC gun show(s):

Puyallup 22-23 February

Puyallup 22-23 March

“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 2014 Gun Owners Action League of WA

GOAL Post                                                                                             2014-6
Legislative Update from Olympia                                                               14 February 2014

FIRST FISCAL CUT-OFF PASSES

BILLS DIE, BILLS MOVE

CHAMBER CUT-OFF NEXT TUESDAY

INITIATIVES DORMANT IN COMMITTEE

GOVERNOR DECLARES MORATORIUM ON EXECUTIONS

Bills requiring fiscal/appropriations action are given a few more days to pass out of those committees.  That cut-off passed earlier this week.  A few more bills died at that time.

A few bills changed status over the past week.  HBs 1840 (restraining orders/guns) and 2164 (juvenile firearms/counseling) passed out of the House and now sit in Senate Law & Justice awaiting action.  The GOAL position on HB 1840 changed from OPPOSE to NEUTRAL after an NRA-approved amendment was adopted to limit its impact.  HB 2459 (hunter safety) and SB 6416 (delivery to LEOs) passed out of committee to House and Senate Rules, respectively, awaiting a vote of the full chamber.

Reminder:  next week I’ll drop off the Bill Status list all of the bills that died over the past two cut-off dates.  That will cut the list down to a manageable number and not distract you with bills no longer in play.

Next Tuesday, 18 February, is the chamber cut-off.  All House bills must pass out of the House, Senate bills out of the Senate, to remain under consideration.  Exceptions are allowed, especially for fiscal bills.

Both Initiatives 591 (pro-gun) and 594 (anti-gun) remain in the House Judiciary and Senate Law & Justice Committees, where they will likely remain for the remainder of the session — then automatically go on to the public in the November general election.     http://wagunrights.org/

Earlier this week, Governor Inslee announced a moratorium on carrying out the death sentence on the small number of inmates on Washington’s death row.  Inslee claims he has reservations about the criminal justice system.  It is fully within his authority as governor to sign execution warrants or decline to do so.  The question to be asked is, is this a belief he has held for some time.  He swore an oath as governor to “faithfully execute the laws of the state.”  That includes signing death warrants.

I doubt if the governor’s “reservations” developed overnight.  In that case, it should have been brought up during the campaign.  I also note that the governor declined to consult with most County Prosecutors before making this decision.  If he thought the state’s criminal justice system was broken, maybe he should have run for Attorney General rather than Governor.   The way he did it looks like simple pandering to his liberal base.

BILL STATUS/GOAL POSITION:
The following bills remain under consideration in the 2014 session:

Key to abbreviations: S. = Senate, H. = House, Ag/NatRes = Agriculture/Natural Resources, Fin = Finance, Jud = Judiciary, K-12 = Education, L&J = Law & Justice, NatRes = Natural Resources & Parks, Trans = Transportation, W&M = Ways and Means

* = status change this past week

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!!!

1-800-562-6000 TDD 1-800-635-9993

You can also use the direct link available on each bill’s web page to contact your legislators by clicking on “Comment on this bill.”

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]” or 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.

Upcoming WAC gun show(s):

Monroe 15-16 February

Puyallup 22-23 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 2014 Gun Owners Action League of WA

GOAL Post                                                                   2014-5
Legislative Update from Olympia                                     7 February 2014

POLICY COMMITTEE CUT-OFF PASSES; BILLS “DIE”

A FEW BILLS MOVE

NO ACTION ON INITIATIVES

ASTERISK TO DENOTE STATUS CHANGE

NEXT MAJOR CUT-OFF:  CHAMBER CUT-OFF 18 FEBRUARY

GUN CONFISCATION IN CALIFORNIA

The first policy committee cut-off in the legislature was at close-of-business today.  At least theoretically, all bills that had not passed out of their original policy committee (for gun bills, mostly House Judiciary and Senate Law & Justice) are considered dead for the session.  Keep in mind that “dead” doesn’t always mean dead if leadership wants to bring a bill back to life.  But barring unusual circumstances, once the cut-off passes, no further action will be taken on those bills.  Note the new “Bill Status” update in this GOAL Post.

This is the first opportunity to cull the list of bills under consideration.  As of tonight. most of the 46 bills and two initiatives we are tracking will die.  I’ll carry the full list one more week, then cut it back to the small handful still in play for 2014.  But remember, no bill is really dead until the fat lady sings on 13 March (last day of the session).

HB 2459 (hunter safety), and SBs 5956 (short-barreled rifles), 6025 (use of body armor in a crime), 6199 (use of incendiary ammunition and exploding targets) have moved from their original committees, along with SB 6245  Position on SB 6245 changed to neutral; all it does is repeat existing procedure regarding surrender of CPL if convicted or committed.

Initiatives 591 and 594 remain in both the House Judiciary and Senate Law & Justice committees.  The initiatives are not subject to the cut-off calendars and may be acted on at any time.  The unofficial word is that the legislature will decline to act on either initiative, sending both to the voters in November.

I-591 needs the support and help from every gun owner in Washington.  Additional information about the initiative and a link to made donations is available at http://wagunrights.org/

One more format change — an addition, actually.  I’ve added an asterisk in front of the bill number in Bill Status to identify a change in status during the reporting period, most commonly passage from a committee or chamber.  A quick scan down the list will alert readers to action taken on a bill.

The next major cut-off date, when bills still in play may die, is Tuesday, 18 February, when all bills must pass out of their original chamber (House bills out of the House, Senate bills out of the Senate).

A few people have asked me about reference I made in Olympia to gun confiscation currently underway in California.  A short explanation is available from an NRA-ILA Daily Alert message several days back.  The report is available at http://www.nraila.org/legislation/state-legislation/2014/1/california-apps-protect-yourself-if-the-government-comes-for-your-guns.aspx

The bottom line here is that while many people who support various gun control schemes do so with the honest intent of reducing “gun violence,” the ultimate goal of the leadership of that movement is the abolition of the private ownership of firearms.  Any time you hear the term “background checks” being used, think “gun registration,” which is a necessary first step to any effective gun confiscation program.  We have offered ways of conducting background checks without record retention; they have been rejected.  It’s not about background checks.  20 years ago California did away with “private transfers” of guns, and required all transfers to go through licensed dealers.  It is those lists they are now using to confiscate guns from newly-identified prohibited persons.

Key to abbreviations: S. = Senate, H. = House, Ag/NatRes = Agriculture/Natural Resources, Fin = Finance, Jud = Judiciary, K-12 = Education, L&J = Law & Justice, NatRes = Natural Resources & Parks, Trans = Transportation, W&M = Ways and Means

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!!!

1-800-562-6000 TDD 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]” or 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.

Upcoming WAC gun show(s):

Monroe 15-16 February

Puyallup 22-23 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 2014 Gun Owners Action League of WA