Month: April 2017

GOAL Post 2017-16
Legislative Update from Olympia 21 April 2017

SINE DIE? IT’S OVER, SORT OF
SPECIAL SESSION
HB 1100 SIGNED BY GOV 19 APRIL
HB 1501 REVIVED, PASSES
BILLS AWAITING GOV SIGNATURE
GOAL POST WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE SPECIAL SESSION

The reason for the long (105 day) session is to give legislators time to develop an operating budget for the state. Since 2010, they have not been able to finish this work on time and have had to go into special sessions of 30 days (maximum) each. The major problem here is split control of the legislature – Majority Coalition Senate and Democrat House. One presents a balanced budget, the other wants major tax increases – I’ll let you guess which. (Interesting to note that back in the late 1990s, the Republican Congress and President Bill Clinton worked together to pass balanced budgets. That’s when you had a pragmatic chief executive that was willing to work with Republicans. )

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GOAL Post 2017-15
Legislative Update from Olympia 14 April 2017

SECOND CHAMBER CUT-OFF PASSES
TWO WEEKS LEFT IN REGULAR SESSION
BILLS PASS HOUSE, SENATE
HB 1501 GAMES
KOSTER AMENDMENTS RULED OUT OF ORDER
CONCURRENCE VOTE(S)

For most bills, the legislative session effectively ended Wednesday at 5 p.m. The remaining two weeks focus on budgets and reconciliation between differences in bills as passed by each chamber (e.g. House bill amended in the Senate or vice versa).

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GOAL Alert 2017-14
Legislative Update from Olympia 6 April 2017

HB 1100 PASSES SENATE
SB 5552 PASSES HOUSE
SB 5268 PASSES TO HOUSE RULES
HBs 1501 AND 1612 PASS TO SENATE RULES
TWO DOWN, THREE TO GO
GENERAL CUT-OFF 12 APRIL
SPECIAL SESSION?

Two bills passed out of their respective chamber this week. HB 1100 passed out of the Senate. We’re waiting to see if the counterpart bill (duplicate) passes out of the House. One way or another, unless the governor vetoes either bill, you can expect a postcard or e-mail renewal notice 90 days before your CPL expires.

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