Author: wagoal_webmaster3

GOAL Post 2020-10-Final
Legislative Update from Olympia 13 March 2020

SESSION OVER – SINE DIE
FIVE BILLS PASS
AG OPINION – SORT OF
ELECTION 2020
YOU ARE THE GUN LOBBY
REMEMBER OUR FEW DEMOCRAT FRIENDS, TOO
LAST GOAL POST TIL NEXT TIME

Per the state constitution, the 2020 regular legislative session ended late last evening (Thursday). At this time there is little likelihood of the need for a special session. With luck, we will be safe (from overreaching state government, anyway) until next January, when the 2021 105-day regular session convenes in early January.

Of the three dozen or so gun bills considered during the session, only five passed both chambers and are headed for Governor Inslee’s desk. The governor has the option to sign a bill into law, veto the entire bill, veto only certain sections leaving the remainder of the bill to take effect, or let the bill become law without his signature. It takes a 2/3 vote of the House AND the Senate to override a gubernatorial veto.

The bills that passed are HB 2467 (centralized firearm background checks), HB 2555 (background checks for receivers), HB 2622 (firearm surrender on court orders), SB 5434 (day care centers gun free zones) and SB 6288 (Office of Firearm Safety and Violence Prevention).

HB 2467 could be good or bad. 17 other states now conduct all or partial firearm background checks, and most seem to work smoothly (ATF calls them “point of contact” states. The biggest issue here is the $18 authorized for every check. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which conducts all background checks in that state, does it for $5 – more than today’s free FFL:NICS check but much less than $18. HB 2555 essentially mimics federal law – a receiver/frame is already a firearm under federal law. SB 5434, extending gun free zones to day care centers is overreach, but it does allow licensed carry under certain circumstances. And the Office of Firearm Safety and Violence Prevention is long on “firearm” and likely nonexistent on “safety” or “violence prevention” – unless our side gets active and seeks grants for safety education and criminology studies to identify who and where the violence is being committed (don’t hold your breath on that one – the FBI’s annual Uniform Crime Report has been telling you exactly who the “who” is for decades, and it has been ignored just as long).

For a detailed, plain English explanation of the intent of a bill, look for the lowest (final) “bill report” on a given bill’s page by putting the bill number (four digits only) into the box at https://app.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/.

Stealing from Curtis Bingham and M. J. Muehlhans Facebook posting here, you can still ask the governor to veto bills you oppose, such as the $18 fee to conduct a firearm purchase/transfer through the WSP in HB 2467. Information to contact Governor Inslee may be found at https://www.governor.wa.gov/ The fee is far too excessive to simply cover the cost of the program, which will merely be a satellite of the existing FBI NICS program anyway (with the WSP doing the NICS check instead of the FFL). $18 is just another tax that the governor and his cronies love so much!

Reportedly when HB 2240 (magazine ban) died after Republican House members filed more than 100 amendments to effectively block the bill, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson offered the opinion (not a formal “Attorney General Opinion” – an interpretation of existing law, but him just spouting off) that we could “blame the GOP when the next mass shooting occurred.” I hope AG Ferguson is just as quick to give credit to armed citizens who save lives and stop criminals with tools like the AR-15 and “high capacity magazines.” Like the neighbor in Sutherland Springs, Texas, a couple of years ago who grabbed HIS AR-15 and stopped the man shooting up the church next door, or the pregnant woman in Florida who came out of her bedroom, AR-15 in hand, and shot one of the home invaders trying to kill her husband. Guns save lives more frequently than they take them.

(Warning: Waldron political rant follows. If you don’t want to hear it, jump to the next section, “BILL STATUS.”

With the turnover in Congress in the 2018 election, it’s clear many people were unhappy with our president. So they gave full control of the STATE legislature to Democrats. Rural voters and gun owners need to be reminded that the majority of gun control bills that pass, pass at the state level. It’s Democrats IN OLYMPIA that are killing gun owners. Ideally vote Republican to give Republicans control of one or both chambers (and committee chair seats; committee chairs control which bills move and which die in committee) or vote for the small handful of pro-gun Democrat.

You like more taxes? You like “perverts-is-us” taught in your schools? Go ahead and vote liberal Democrat. But please, if you leave Washington because of it’s liberal policies, DO NOT take your liberal attitudes with you.

You think the 2016 presidential election was contentious, you ain’t seen nuthin’ yet. 2020 will be the most hotly contested – and most critical – election in our lifetimes. This is the election that determines what direction the country will take for the next ten or twenty years. Or forever.

Yes, the legislative session is over, but DO NOT take your pack off! There’s a lot of work to be done in the coming eight months. As unhappy as some might be with our president, Donald Trump and the Republican Party offer us as close to “the old days” as we’re likely to see, Whether it’s sleepy, groping Joe Biden or Fidel Castro-praising socialist Bernie Sanders, whatever they promise is nothing but a sharp shift to the left and an end to our republic. It’s the Democrats who are trashing the Constitution with things like “red flag” protection orders and cradle-to-grave welfare – at taxpayer expense.

Political campaigns largely run on volunteer work. Envelope stuffing, door-belling… that’s grassroots politics at its best. Consider having your gun club hold barbecues this summer as the campaign season gets into full swing. Invite candidates to talk face to face, and likely correct many mis-impressions they have about the gun issue. As American humorist and social commentator Will Rogers once observed, “It’s not what we don’t know that gets us in trouble, it’s what we know that isn’t so.” Most candidates learn about guns from the media. It’s your job as a grassroots gun lobbyist to correct that.

We dodged a lot of bullets this session, gun and magazine bans, CPL training, ammunition background checks and ammo excise taxes among them. In large part, that was due to YOUR activism, and to a lesser extent Democrats’ fear of overreaching and paying the price in November. Let’s make them pay that price anyway. You can see by all the anti-gun bills they filed where they want to go – and where they want to drag us with them. Don’t let that happen!

One last point: we DO have some Democrat friends in Olympia. Senators Tim Sheldon, Dean Takko, Steve Hobbs and Kevin Van Dew Wege and Representatives Brian Blake, Mari Leavitt and Dave Paul. They have clearly demonstrated their loyalty to their oath of office despite caucus pressure in the other direction. Remember them in August for the primary and again in November.

THIS IS THE LAST GOAL POST FOR THE 2020 SESSION.

The “BILL STATUS” list below is a complete list of all gun bills considered by the legislature this year. Note I am using the original filed version of the bill number (HB, SB) and not the amended versions (SHB, ESHB, SS< ESSB, etc).

BILL STATUS/GOAL POSITION:
(all bills that received attention during 2020 session)

HB 1010 WSP destruction of firearms Senn (D-41) DIED OPPOSE
HB 1068 Magazine restrictions Valdez (D-43) DIED OPPOSE
HB 1315 CPL training requirement Lovick (D-44) DIED OPPOSE
HB 1374 Repeals state preemption of gun laws Macri (D-43) DIED OPPOSE
HB 1671 Confiscation of firearms Dolan (D-22) DIED NEUTRAL
HB 2196 Raise standard for issue of a “red flag” order Walsh (R-19) DIED SUPPORT
HB 2202 Exempts law enforcement from a/w training Klippert (R-8) DIED OPPOSE
HB 2240 Bans high capacity magazines Valdez (D-43) DIED OPPOSE
HB 2241 Bans assault weapons and magazines Peterson (D-21) DIED OPPOSE
HB 2305 Expands firearm prohibition re: protection orders Doglio (D-22) DIED OPPOSE
HB 2367 Self defense insurance Hoff (R-18) DIED SUPPORT
HB 2467 Centralized firearm background checks Hansen (D-23) TO GOV NEUTRAL
HB 2519 Ammunition background checks Walen (D-48) DIED OPPOSE
HB 2555 Background checks for “other” firearms Goodman (D-45) TO GOV OPPOSE
HB 2569 Pre-trial detention for certain firearm offenses Wylie (D-49) DIED OPPOSE
HB 2622 Court order non-compliance, firearm surrender Kilduff (D-28) TO GOV OPPOSE
HB 2623 Firearm prohibition, certain offenses Walen (D-48) DIED OPPOSE
HB 2767 Recreation shooting areas on public lands Blake (D-19) DIED SUPPORT
HB 2820 Firearms forfeiture/DV court order (correction) Klippert (R-8) DIED NEUTRAL
*HB 2925 Bans firearms on Capitol grounds and buildings Senn (D-41) DIED OPPOSE
HJR 4210 Pretrial detention for certain firearm offenses Wylie (D-49) DIED OPPOSE

SB 5434 Expands gun free zones to day cares Wilson, C (D-30) TO GOV OPPOSE
SB 5782 Spring-blade knives Zeigler (R-25) DIED SUPPORT
SB 6043 Self defense insurance Wilson, L. (R-17) DIED SUPPORT
SB 6076 Bans assault weapons and hi cap magazines Kuderer (D-48) DIED OPPOSE
SB 6077 Bans high capacity magazines Kuderer (D-48) DIED OPPOSE
SB 6161 Excise tax on ammunition Dhingra (D-45) DIED OPPOSE
SB 6163 Unlawful possession BEFORE conviction Dhingra (D-45) DIED OPPOSE
SB 6288 Office of firearm violence prevention Dhingra (D-45) TO GOV OPPOSE
SB 6289 Restoration of firearm rights Dhingra (D-45) DIED OPPOSE
SB 6294 CPL training requirement Saloman (D-32) DIED OPPOSE
SB 6347 CPL validity seven years with training Wagoner (R-39) DIED SUPPORT
SB 6402 Use of a stolen firearm Rivers (R-18) DIED SUPPORT
SB 6406 Concerning firearms Wilson, L (R-17) DIED SUPPORT
SB 6584 Unlawful purchase of a firearm Zeiger (R-25) DIED SUPPORT
SB 6673 Removes many existing firearm restrictions Fortunato (R-31) DIED SUPPORT

PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED:
It’s over!

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 “http://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 “g[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 list, you must contact that list’s admin to unsubscribe.

Upcoming WAC gun show(s):
Monroe 28-29 March
Puyallup Pavilion 4-5 April

“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

DownloadGoal-post-2020-10 for easy printing, take a copy to friends.

Copyright 2020 Gun Owners Action League of WA

GOAL Post 2020-9
Legislative Update from Olympia 6 March 2020

LAST WEEK OF THE REGULAR SESSION
BILLS MOVE
SB 6288 TRUE INTENTION EXPOSED
SB 6288 VEHICLE FOR GUN SAFETY?
RIGHTEOUS DEMOCRATS EMERGE

This is the last week of the 2020 regular legislative session. No later than midnight, Thursday, 12 March, the gavel comes down for the last time. The only bills remaining under consideration are those bills affecting the budget (amazing how many of those there are), and bills that were amended in the second chamber, and thus must be concurred in by the first chamber or a conference committee of both chambers reaches a compromise. Most of the time over the next few days will be spent on conference meetings and floor votes – along with committee meetings to discuss planning between now and the next scheduled session (interim planning).

HBs 2467 (centralized background checks), 2555 (background checks “other”), and 2633 (court order/firearms surrender) all passed the Senate this week, but all were amended in the Senate and must receive a concurrence vote by the House. SB 5434 (day care center gun ban) and 6288 (firearm violence prevention) both passed the House, but again with amendments. So they go back to the Senate for concurrence.

HB 2947 (magazine ban) still sits in House Finance. Because it contains fiscal provisions (magazine buyback), it can still be acted on at any time.

SB 6288 is supposed to create a committee to address gun VIOLENCE prevention measures. But the language in the bill says a grant may be made to “implement an evidence-based firearm reduction initiative.” Section 6, paragraph (4)(b). That’s FIREARM REDUCTION, not FIREARM VIOLENCE REDUCTION. Convenient slip of the tongue. And therein lies the true intent of the bill. Look for gun control groups to file for grants.

WE NEED TO DO THE SAME, to promote gun safety training. The good guys can apply for grants as well.

Several righteous Democrats showed their true loyalty to their oath of office during the votes on SB 6288. In the Senate, Senators Sheldon, Hobbs, Takko and Van De Wege remained true to their oath. In the House vote, Representatives Brian Blake, Dave Paul and Mari Leavitt all held firm with gun owners. Paul and Leavitt are new to me. But I used to work with Sheldon, Takko, Hobbs, Van De Wege and Blake when all were in the House many years ago.

BILL STATUS/GOAL POSITION:
(only bills still in play are listed)

HB 1010 WSP destruction of firearms Senn (D-41) S. RULES OPPOSE
HB 2305 Expands firearm prohibition re: protection orders Doglio (D-22) S. RULES OPPOSE
HB 2467 Centralized firearm background checks Hansen (D-23) S. PASSED NEUTRAL
HB 2555 Background checks for “other” firearms Goodman (D-45) S. PASSED OPPOSE
HB 2622 Court order non-compliance, firearm surrender Kilduff (D-28) S. PASSED OPPOSE
HB 2623 Firearm prohibition, certain offenses Walen (D-48) S.. RULES OPPOSE
HB 2947 Ban high capacity magazines/buy back Valdez (D-43) H. Finance OPPOSE

SB 5434 Expands gun free zones to day cares Wilson, C (D-30) H. PASSED OPPOSE
SB 5782 Spring-blade knives Zeiger (R-25) H. RULES SUPPORT
SB 6288 Office of firearm violence prevention Dhingra (D-45) H. PASSED OPPOSE

HB = House bill, SB = Senate bill. L&J = Law & Justice, CR&J = Civil Rights & Judiciary, PubSaf = Public Safety, HC = Health Care, H. K-12 = House Early education, Aprop = Appropriations, Fin = Finance, W&M = Ways & Means “S” before a bill number indicates Substitute (amended).

PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED:
None 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

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 (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 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 list, you must contact that list’s admin to unsubscribe.

Upcoming WAC gun show(s):
Monroe 28-29 March
Puyallup Pavilion 4-5 April

“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

Download GOAL-Post-2020-9 PDF for easy printing, take a copy to friends.

Copyright 2020 Gun Owners Action League of WA

GOAL Post 2020-8
Legislative Update from Olympia 28 February 2020

TWO CUT-OFF DATES APPROACH
SESSION ENDS MIDNIGHT, THURSDAY, 12 MARCH
MOVEMENT ON SEVERAL BILLS
SB 5782 (KNIVES) ADDED TO ACTIVE LIST
HB 2947 (MAGAZINE BAN/BUYBACK) STALLED?
BILL LIST CLEANED UP – DEAD BILLS GONE (FOR NOW)
NO PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED — YET

Thirteen days left in the regular session and two important cut-off dates approaching (we already know how the Democrat majority honors cut-off dates). By Monday, March 2nd, all bills still in committee must pass out of committee (most gun bills have already done so). By Thursday, March 6th, all bills must have passed out of their second chamber (House bills out of the Senate, Senate bills out of the House), however… bills with budget impact are exceptions, as well as bills that were amended in the second chamber and must be agreed to in the first chamber. The last week of the session is supposed to be devoted to initiatives and those bills still in conflict between the chambers. But we all know how the games are played now.

(more…)

GOAL ALERT 2020-1
Legislative Update from Olympia 22 February 2020

PUBLIC HEARING ON HB 2947 (MAGAZINE BAN)

Last night they posted a public hearing in the House Finance Committee at 8 a.m. on 25 February (Tuesday morning).

If at all possible, try and get to Olympia to speak in opposition to the bill and to the underhanded way the Democrats are manipulating the process to pass an unconstitutional bill (“The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired… “)

(more…)

GOAL Post 2020-7
Legislative Update from Olympia 21 February 2020

HB 2947 (MAGAZINE BAN) APPEARS OUT OF NOWHERE
CALL YOUR SENATOR AND REPRESENTATIVES NOW!
CHAMBER CUT-OFF
BILLS LIVE, BILLS DIE
THANK THE HOUSE REPUBLICAN CAUCUS
20 DAYS LEFT IN SESSION
PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED
INITIATIVE 1672, 1673, 1674, 1675, 1687, 1688
VIRGINIA GUN BAN BILL DIES

MAG BAN REVIVED!

ALERT! THE DAY AFTER THE CHAMBER CUT-OFF, “GHOST” HOUSE BILL 2947 SURFACED, BANNING “LARGE CAPACITY MAGAZINES” (OVER 15 ROUNDS), WITH A BUYBACK INCLUDED, MAKING IT A FISCAL BILL NOT SUBJECT TO THE CUT-OFF. BILL IS NOW IN HOUSE FINANCE COMMITTEE. NOTE MY COMMENT BELOW ABOUT DEMOCRAT PAYBACK.

TEXT OF THE BILL: http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2019-20/Pdf/Bills/House%20Bills/2947.pdf?q=20200221133228

TIME TO CALL YOUR SENATOR AND REPRESENTATIVES AND DEMAND THEY VOTE “NO” ON THIS SKULDUGGERY. IT APPEARS ADAM SCHIFF AND CHUCK SCHUMER ARE ADVISING THE OLYMPIA DEMOCRATS.

The chamber cut-off passed Wednesday afternoon, by which point any House bills that did not pass out of the House, or Senate bills out of the Senate, are officially dead for the remainder session. (Subject to rules changes by the majority (Democrat) party. Not common, but possible.) Of the nearly three dozen gun-related bills we started the session with, only eight (8) remain in play. (more…)

GOAL Post 2020-6
Legislative Update from Olympia 14 February 2020

GOAL POST POSTED ON WEB SITES
H FISCAL COMMITTEE CUT-OFF PASSES
FOCUS ON FLOOR ACTION
BILLS PASS HOUSE, SENATE
CHAMBER CUT-OFF NEXT WEDNESDAY
LIBRARIES OMITTED FROM SB 5434 PROHIBITION
NO GUN BILL HEARINGS NEXT WEEK… MAYBE
REPEAT: SUBMIT COMMENTS ON BILLS TO OLYMPIA

Given my continuing e-mail problems, GOAL Post is being posted on the Gun Owners Action League of Washington Facebook page, and in the legislative activity drop-down link at the top of the Washington Arms Collectors home page.

The fiscal committee cut-off passed earlier this week and three bills (HBs 2467, 2555, and 2622) moved from House Appropriations to House Rules, awaiting a floor vote.

Not quite four weeks left in the session… (more…)

GOAL Post 2020-5
Legislative Update from Olympia 7 February 2020

NEW BILLS FILED/FOLLOWED
FIRST POLICY COMMITTEE CUT-OFF
BILLS MOVE, BILLS DIE
PUBLIC HEARING SCHEDULED
REPEAT: ONLINE ACCESS FOR BILL COMMENTS
STILL NEED VOLUNTEERS

Well, they noticed you at the capitol rally! Rep. Senn (D-41) has filed a bill (HB 2925) prohibiting firearms on the Capitol Campus. This has been tried before and failed, but this year is different. They’re more afraid of citizens with guns this year than they have been in the past. On the other hand, (more…)

GOAL Post 2020-4
Legislative Update from Olympia 31 January 2020

ANOTHER 2019 BILL RESURRECTED
PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED
BILLS MOVE OUT OF COMMITTEE
DIRECT ACCESS FOR BILL COMMENTS
POLICY COMMITTEE CUT-OFF 7 FEBRUARY
WAC SEEKS VOLUNTEERS

SB 5434 (Wilson, C. D-30, bans guns in parks and day cares) was a 2019 bill that didn’t make it through last year. It was pulled up this week and sent straight to Senate Rules for a floor vote.

Public hearings are scheduled on several gun bills next week. Senate Law & Justice will take public testimony on 3 February at 10:00 am on SBs 6289 (Dhingra D-45, restoration of firearm rights) and 6584 (Zeiger R-25, unlawful purchase of a firearm) In House Civil Rights & Judiciary at 10:00 am on 4 February on HBs 2767 (Blake D-19, recreational shooting on public lands) and 2820 (Klippert R-8, firearms forfeiture DV court order). Also on 4 February I n House Public Safety, at 3:30 pm, HBs 2569 (Wylie D-49, pre-trial detention for certain firearm offenses) and HJR 4210

(more…)

GOAL Post 2020-2
Legislative Update from Olympia 17 January 2020

RALLY
CUT-OFF DATES ADOPTED
NEW GUN BILLS FILED
FOUR PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED

Suppose they held a gun rights rally and everyone came? Well, almost everyone. According to the Seattle Times, about 500 gun owners showed up, much better than in previous years. But Dave Workman tells me the WSP – who has far more experience estimating crowd size than the Times – told him the number was closer to 1,000. Great going guys. Keep it up! (more…)

GOAL Post                                                                                             2020-1
Legislative Update from Olympia                                            10 January 2020

RALLY IN OLY FRIDAY 17 JANUARY

LEGISLATURE CONVENES MONDAY, 13 JANUARY (60 DAY SESSION)

DEMOCRATS IN COMPLETE CONTROL

NEW FACES

BILLS HELD OVER FROM 2019

NEW GUN BILLS PRE-FILED

LEGISLATIVE TUTORIAL

LEGISLATIVE CALENDAR

NO GUN BILL HEARINGS NEXT WEEK

LEGISALATOR CONTACT INFORMATION

HOW TO TESTIFY AT A PUBLIC HEARING

PUBLIC HEARING VERSUS EXECUTIVE SESSION

PUBLIC HEARING ON HB 1671 FRIDAY 17 JAN

(This will be a long GOAL Post as I have to describe the environment and the processes involved for new readers.  Future issues will be shorter.  Also keep in mind that GOAL Post focuses on gun law only, we do not cover hunting issues.  The Hunters Heritage Council does that well.  I normally post GP on Friday evenings to summarize that week’s activities and provide a forecast for the next.)

First business first:  a gun rights rally will be held on the Capitol Campus next Friday, January 17^th,.  It will begin at 9 a.m. and continue likely for an hour or more, with both outside and legislative speakers.  (Yes, it’s a Friday, and unlike the people bussed in to attend many liberal rallies, gunnies have to work.  Are your gun rights worth a day off?)  After the formal presentation, attendees are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the campus layout (the Capitol, or “legislative” building where floor sessions are conducted, as well as the John L. O’Brien House Office Building, the John A. Cherberg Senate Office Building, and the Irv Newhouse Senate Office Building.  This is a great opportunity to locate your two representatives’ and one senator’s office and introduce yourself to their legislative aides.  Hopefully over the coming two months they’ll become familiar with your name and maybe even your face!  WE MUST FLEX OUR MUSCLES IN OLY EARLY ON.

A public hearing will be held on HB 1671 (confiscation of forfeited firearms) in House Civil Rights & Judiciary at 1000, Friday, right after the rally.  The hearing will be held in House Hearing Room “A” in the John L. O’Brien House Office Building.  The bill makes technical corrections to existing law.

The legislature convenes on Monday, January 13^th, for its “short” (60 day) session.  This is a continuation of the 66^th biennium, which started in January 2019.  If their work is not completed, they can be called back by the governor for a 30-day special session.

Democrats now hold clear majorities in both the Senate and House. Democrats  chair all of the committees in both House and Senate, and have at least a one (Senate Law & Justice) to three seat (House Civil Rights & Judiciary) majority in each committee.  And while a small handful of individual Democrat legislators are pro-gun, party policy is definitely anti-gun, anti-rights.

Speaker Frank Chopp (D-43) announced his resignation from the speakership last summer, after nearly 20 years as Speaker of the House.  He is keeping his House seat, however.  The new Speaker is former Civil Rights & Judiciary committee chair Laurie Jinkins. She will assume the speakership on the 13^th.  The new Civil Rights & Judiciary committee chair is Christine Kilduff (D-28).  Neither Speaker Jinkins nor Chair Kilduff are friends of gun owners.

Because this is simply “part 2” of a two-year legislative period, all bills filed and not passed in last years’ session are up for play this year, as well as new bills filed.  Most old bills will not likely be touched (especially the pro-gun bills), but any or all COULD be brought into play.  A complete list of gun bills run last year may be found at https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsbytopic/Results.aspx?year=2019&subject=FIREARMS  I am not going to put them on the Bill List below unless they receive action this time around.

In addition, since early December several new gun-related bills have been filed for action this session.  In the House, SB 2196 (Walsh R-19) would make it more difficult to have a “red flag” protection order (gun confiscation order) issued; HB2202 (Klippert R-8) exempts law enforcement officers from training requirements for modern sporting rifle (semi-automatic assault rifles) training; HB2240 (Valdez D-46) bans magazines with a capacity over ten rounds, with exceptions; HB 2241 (Peterson (D-21) bans sale, possession of assault weapons and large capacity magazines, with exceptions.  In the Senate, SB 6076 (Kuderer, D-48) bans assault weapons and large capacity magazines) and SB 6078 (Kuderer D-48) bans large capacity magazines, with exceptions, SB 6161 (Dhingra D-45) excise tax on ammunition.

It is a common practice to file duplicate versions of a bill (“companion” bills) in the House and Senate.  Each will carry it’s own House (HB) or Senate (SB) bill number.  At least one version of the bill must pass both chambers before going to the governor.

New bills and active holdover bills from 2019 are included below in the “BILL STATUS” section.  It also contains the bill’s prime sponsor, the current status of the bill (committee location) and the GOAL position on the bill.  Committee abbreviations are provided at the bottom of that section.  As this is written, there are seven new bills awaiting action, plus any recalled from last year.  All active bills will be listed in the Bill List.

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 Law & Justice Committee in the Senate.  In the House it’s a little more complicated, as it may be sent to House Civil Rights &Judiciary or House Public Safety (most will go to Civil Rights & Judiciary).  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 floor vote, it then goes over to the opposite chamber (House or Senate), where the whole process starts ove r 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 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.  Essentially, it tells you how fast the train will move – and in a short session year, that’s pretty fast.  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 2020 session in the next issue of GOAL Post.

The following links can be used to contact legislators:

http://www.leg.wa.gov/Senate/Senators/

http://www.leg.wa.gov/House/Representatives/

Legislative e-mail addresses are available at http://app.leg.wa.gov/MemberEmail/Default.aspx

The link contains a quick tutorial on providing testimony at public hearings on bills under consideration.  I would urge you to read it and consider visiting Olympia to let YOUR voice be heard.  http://leg.wa.gov/legislature/Pages/Testify.aspx

A few points on public testimony: keep your comments brief, typically three minutes or less; limit it to two or three main points; do not attack or insult opponent testimony or question others’ motives; it helps to have a written copy of your testimony prepared and drop off with committee staff in the event you are not called on to testify (committee chair has complete control over who is called to testify and time is limited – they are typically very even-handed).  As with letters or e-mail to your legislators, always be polite and courteous.

Public hearings are committee meetings open to the public, where the public is allowed to testify on bills, to give their views on the bill.  But all votes on bills taken by a committee are conducted in what are called “executive sessions.”  They are typically part of a public session, with a few minutes set aside to vote on bills previously heard by the committee.  Public testimony is just that, open to the public for comment.  On the other have, no public input is allowed during executive session.  You are welcome to sit there, and to count votes, but silence from the public is the rule.  Just FYI for those of you who have not attended legislative public meetings before.

At this time, no gun bills are scheduled to be heard the first week of the session.

Legislative committee schedules are posted on the legislative web site on Wednesday evenings for the coming week.. Beware, sometimes unscheduled bills pop up the night before.  Semper vigilans!

Whatever I didn’t cover here can be found at leg.wa.gov   The legislative web site is extremely helpful and easy to use (even for this 73 year old Marine!).

A public hearing will be conducted on Friday, 17 Jan at 10:00 a.m. in House Civil Rights & Judiciary on HB 1671 (confiscation of forfeited firearms).  The bill makes technical changes only.,

(FYI: I am not able to respond to individual messages.)

BILL STATUS/GOAL POSITION:

(Bill committee assignments will be made on session day 1.)

HB 1671   Confiscation of firearms                                 Dolan (D-22)       NEUTRAL  H. CR&J
HB 2196   Raise standard for issue of a “red flag” order   Walsh (R-19)       SUPPORT
HB 2202   Exempts law enforcement from a/w training     Klippert (R-8)      OPPOSE  H.PubSaf
HB 2240   Bans high capacity magazines                        Valdez (D-43)      OPPOSE
HB 2241   Bans assault weapons and magazines             Peterson (D-21)    OPPOSE

SB 6075   Bans assault weapons and hi cap magazines    Kuderer (D-48)     OPPOSE
SB 6076   Bans high capacity magazines                         Kuderer (D-48)     OPPOSE
SB 6161   Excise tax on ammunition                               Dhingra (D-45)     OPPOSE

HB = House bill, SB = Senate bill.  L&J = Law & Justice, CR&J = Civil Rights & Judiciary, PubSaf = Public Safety, HC = Health Care, H. K-12 = House Early education, Aprop = Appropriations, Fin = Finance, W&M = Ways & Means  “S” before a bill number indicates Substitute (amended).

PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED:

17 Jan              House Civil Rights & Judiciary, House Hearing Rm “A”
10:00 a.m.       HB 1671

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] “.  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 list, you must contact that list’s admin to unsubscribe.

Upcoming WAC gun show(s):

Puyallup              01-02 February
Monroe               28-29 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

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