GOAL Post 2014-2
Legislative Update from Olympia 20 January 2014
LEGISLATIVE CALENDAR ADOPTED
FOUR NEW BILLS FILED
NEW METHOD TO CONTACT LEGISLATORS
COMPETING RALLIES
INITIATIVES TO BE HEARD
One of the first orders of business for the legislature is adopting internal controls called “cut-off dates.” These cut-offs force action on bills or allow them to die for the session. If a bill fails to pass the specified cut-off, it is nominally dead for the session (subject to revival if the chamber – House or Senate – want it). The cut-off dates for the 2013 session:
February 7 Bills must pass original policy committee
February 11 Bills with fiscal impact must pass first chamber fiscal committee
February 18 Bills must pass original chamber (House bills out of House, Senate bills out of
Senate)
February 29 Bills must pass second chamber policy committee
March 3 Bills with fiscal impact must pass second chamber fiscal committee
March 7 Bills must pass second chamber (except initiatives and alternate bills)
March 13 Legislature adjourns
Five new gun-related bills have been filed for this session. HB 2324, by Rep, Matt Shea (R-4) codifies Washington’s “stand your ground” law and provides both criminal and civil immunity for individuals exercising their rights under the law, up to and including the use of lethal force if the situation warrants. HB 2502, by Rep. Brad Klippert (R-8), waives the waiting period for handgun purchase for commissioned, full-time peace officers, just as the period is waived for CPL holders.
SB 6025, by Sen. Steve O’Ban (R-28), makes it a separate offense to use body armor during the commission of certain felonies. SB 6066, by Sen. Jim Honeyford (R-15), provides for restoration of rights in some domestic violence misdemeanor cases. SB 6198, by Sen. Pam Roach (R-31), provides immunity to established shooting ranges from nuisance noise-related lawsuits.
The Legislature has created a new means of input on bills directly to your legislators. On the “Bill Information page at www.leg.wa.gov, type the bill number into the “search by bill number” block. That will take you to the information about that particular bill… a link to the bill itself, a list of sponsors, a bill analysis when available, and the current status of the bill. There is a new, dark green block just to the right of the bill number that reads “Comment on this bill.” Clicking on that box takes you to a format page that allows you to identify your district’s legislators, state a position on the bill (support, oppose or neutral), and leave comments. This can be a very useful tool in communicating directly with your elected officials.
Moms Demand Action, a gun control groups founded after the Newtown, CT, school shooting, held a rally in Olympia on Friday, 17 January. Approximately 50 individuals participated. The group claims statewide membership[ of about 1,200. Washington Ceasefire, our state’s longtime gun control advocacy group, claims 5,000+ members. On Sunday, approx imately 200 individuals fell out for a pro-gun rally on the Capitol Campus. Washington has more than 400,000 CPL holders, NRA membership approaches (or surpasses — I don’t have current figures) 100,000, and the Washington Arms Collectors alone boasts 20,000 members.
Although next week’s schedule has not been published yet, we have been informed Initiatives 591 and 594 will be the subject of public hearings in the House Judiciary and Senate Law & Justice Committees on Tuesday, 28 January and Wednesday, 29 January, respectively. MOre information on this as it becomes available. If you can make it to Olympia on either or both of these days, please plan to do so. In 2007, when SB 5197 (a “gun show loophole” bill) was heard in Senate Labor & Commerce, about 60 supporters of the bill showed up — versus more than 350 opponents. We forced them to open three overflow rooms to accommodate the participamnts.
BILL STATUS:
The following 28 bills filed in 2013 remain under consideration in the 2014 session:
|
Bill # |
Subject |
Sponsor |
Status |
GOAL Position |
| HB 1096 | Juvi illegal firearm possession | Hurst (D-31) | H. Rules | Concerns |
| HB 1147 | 1st degree juvenile unlawful possession | Goodman (D-45) | H. Jud | Concerns |
| HB 1184 | Range protection | Takko (D-19) | H. Jud | Support |
| HB 1318 | CPL renewal notice | Taylor (R-15) | H. Jud | Support |
| HB 1371 | WA Firearms Freedom Act | Taylor (R-15) | H.Jud | Support |
| HB 1561 | Short barreled rifles | Blake (D-19) | H. Jud | Support |
| SHB 1588 | Background checks | Pedersen (D-43) | H. Rules | Oppose |
| HB 1676 | Mandatory safe storage | Kagi (D-32) | H. Jud | Oppose |
| HB 1703 | Gun “safety” training and tax | Jinkins (D-27) | H. Jud | Oppose |
| HB 1729 | Street gangs | Warnick (R-13) | H. Jud | Support |
| HB 1788 | Firearms/school employees | Pike (R-18) | H. Jud | Support |
| SHB 1839 | Background checks | Goodman (D-45) | H. Rules | Support |
| HB 1840 | Firearms/restraining orders | Goodman (D-45) | H. Rules | Oppose |
| HB 1908 | Firearms on school property | Scott (R-39) | H. Jud | Support |
| HB 2020 | Firearms-related jobs | Shea (R-4) | H. Jud | Support |
| HB 2164 | Juvenile firearm possession | Orwall (D-33) | H. Jud | Evaluating |
| HB 2324 | Use of Force. | Shea (R-4) | H. Jud | Support |
| HB 2502 | Delivery to Peace Officers. | Klippert (R-8) | H. Jud | Support |
| SB 5376 | Juvenile illegal firearm possession | Kline (D-37) | S. W&M | Concerns |
| SSB 5452 | Stalking protection orders | Conway (D-29) | S. Rules | Concerns |
| SB 5478 | Firearms/mental health court | Keiser (D-33) | S. L&J | Concerns |
| SB 5479 | Safekeeping of firearms | Keiser (D-33) | S. L&J | Oppose |
| SB 5485 | Mandatory safe storage | Kline (D-37) | S. L&J | Oppose |
| SB 5604 | NRA license plates | Hatfield (D-19) | S. Trans | Neutral |
| SB 5625 | Background checks | Kline (D-37) | S. L&J | Oppose |
| SB 5635 | Restoration of firearm rights | Kline (D-37) | S. L&J | Oppose |
| SB 5660 | Firearm safety education | Chase (D-32) | S. K-12 | Support |
| SB 5710 | Mandatory safe storage | Kohl-Welles (D-46) | S. L&J | Oppose |
| SB 5711 | Background checks | Kline (D-37) | S. L&J | Oppose |
| SB 5737 | Ban on sale of “assault weapons” | Murray (D-43) | S. L&J | Oppose |
| SB 5739 | Ban on guns in parks | Murray (D-43) | S. L&J | Oppose |
| SB 5831 | Prohibits double tax on clay pigeons | Rivers (R-18) | S. Rules | Support |
| SB 5956 | Short-barreled rifles | Hatfield (D-19) | S. L&J | Support |
| SB 6025 | Use of Body Armor | O’ban (R-28) | S. L&J | Neutral |
| SB 6066 | Restoration of Rights | Honeyford (R-15) | S. L&J | Support |
| SB 6198 | Protecting Sport Shooting Ranges. | Roach (R-31) Hargrove (D-24) |
S. L&J | Support |
Key to abbreviations: S. = Senate, H. = House, Jud = Judiciary, K-12 = Education, L&J = Law & Justice, Trans = Transportation, W&M = Ways and Means
HEARING(S) 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 (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