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GOAL Post    2018-10

Legislative Update from Olympia    9 March 2018

     SINE DIE

     48 GUN BILLS FILED IN 2017-2018 BIENNIUM

     GOV SIGNS BUMP STOCK BAN

      2519, 5553 AND 6298 TO GOV

     PHOTOS ON CPLS?

     MISSED ONE – AMMO BAN

     WHY ONLY FOUR BILLS PASSED

     INITIATIVE

     LAST GOAL POST OF 2018 — HOPEFULLY

It’s over!  The fat lady has done her part and has waddled off the stage, and our legislators are packing up and heading home from Olympia.  At this point there is no talk of the need for a special session, unlike the three special sessions we had last year.  .

The 2017-2018 biennium set a record for the number of gun related bills filed: 48, 25 anti-, 20 pro- and three neutral.  But as foretold in the Book of Matthew, “Many are called but few are chosen.”  Only four of the 48 managed to make it to the governor’s desk:  None of the pro-gun bills made the cut in the Democrat-dominated legislature, surprise, surprise.  HB 2519 and SBs 5553, 5992 and 6248 were the chosen few.  SB 6620, the last minute “assault weapon” bill, failed to get a vote on the last day of the session (given the time allowed, it was unlikely to pass the House anyway). (more…)

GOAL Post    2018-9

Legislative Update from Olympia    2 March 2018

    BILLS MOVE

    SIX DAYS LEFT IN REGULAR SESSION

    RESPONSE TO FLORIDA SHOOTING

    WHAT DO POLICE OFFICERS THINK?

Bills continue to move as the session winds down.  SB 5992 (bump stock ban) has been sent to Governor Inslee for his signature.  HBs 2363 (drone delivery of contraband) and 2519 (return of CPLs) still await a floor vote.  SBs 5553 (suicidal, waiver of rights) and 6298 (DV harassment firearm ban) were both amended in the House and thus require a concurrence vote by the Senate.  HB 3004 (school safety/semi-auto rifles) was assigned to House Judiciary, where it sits without action.

The biggest news this week is that SB 6620, the newly-filed “School security and safety of students” bill, was significantly amended in the Senate Ways & Means committee before passing out to Senate Rules for a floor vote yesterday.  Shotguns were completely removed from the bill, All reference to “tactical features” for semi-auto rifles was removed – meaning it now applies to ALL semi-auto rifles, even your 10-22.  It grandfathers existing legal possession, meaning 18-20 year olds that currently possess semi-auto rifle(s) may keep them.  The requirement for the dealer (FFL) to file a separate background check request to local law enforcement (as is done with handguns) remains, but it eliminates delivery of a copy to the Department of Licensing and prohibits DoL from entering the information into a data base.  While arguably a slight improvement in the bill, it is still an unacceptable violation of both the 2^nd Amendment and Article 1, Section 24. (more…)

GOAL Alert 2018-2
Legislative alert from Olympia 25 February 2018

HOUSE COUNTERPART TO SB 6620

ACTION NEEDED, NOW!

I’d say I’m sorry for the rush of messages, but I’m not. The rush is caused by end-of-session manipulation by Democrat “leadership” in Olympia, and calls for a strong response.

As I have posted frequently, it ain’t over ’til the fat lady sings. And she’s not scheduled to sing until midnight on 8 March (a week from this coming Thursday). While the legislature sets cut-off dates and other procedural processes to keep bills moving and cull out other bills, the bottom line is that these are not written in the state Constitution, they are internal rules adopted by the legislature and may be changed by the legislature at will.

The House has filed a “counterpart bill”, HB 3004, to SB 6620. A counterpart bill is a verbatim duplicate of the bill filed in the other chamber. If both pass unamended, it/they go straight to the governor for his signature. (more…)

GOAL Alert 2018-1
Legislative alert from Olympia 24 February 2018

NRA: NEW ANTI-GUN BILL FILED

ACTION NEEDED

This bill was posted after my cut-off for the Friday GOAL Post. Following information provided by NRA-ILA. Link to text of bill follows.

https://www.nraila.org/articles/20180223/washington-urgent-legislation-to-ban-long-gun-purchases-by-law-abiding-adults-to-be-heard-in-olympia

Today, anti-gun legislators in Olympia have submitted Senate Bill 6620 just two weeks before the end of the current session. SB 6620 includes provisions that would raise the minimum age to purchase a semi-automatic rifle or shotgun to 21 years of age and would also establish a 10 day waiting period. SB 6620 has been referred to the Senate Ways & Means Committee and can be heard as early as 9:00AM tomorrow. Please use the “Take Action” button below to contact committee members and your state Senator and urge them to remove the anti-gun provisions in SB 6620! Click the “Take Action” button below to contact committee members and your state Senator.

Senate Bill 6620, sponsored by Senator David Frockt (D-46), (more…)

GOAL Post 2018-8
Legislative Update from Olympia 23 February 2018

BILLS MOVE
NO PUBLIC HEARINGS NEXT WEEK
CONFERENCE COMMITTEES
TWO WEEKS LEFT IN SESSION
FLORIDA SHOOTING

HB 2363 (drone delivery of contraband) passed out of Senate Law & Justice to Senate Rules awaiting a floor vote. HB 2519 (return of CPLs) also passed out of Senate Law & Justice to Rules, but not before they amended the bill to it’s original form, removing the language that allowed current and former military members aged 18-20 to apply for and receive a concealed pistol license (several states with age 21 CPL requirements have opened them up to military members over 18). ed on the House floor to reimburse those owners who surrender them to police. SB 5553 (suicidal, waiver of firearm rights) passed out of the House on a77-20 vote with one excused. SB 5992 (bump stock ban) passed out of the House on a 56-41 vote also. The bill was amended to create a buyback program for banned bump stocks. Seven other amendments to limit the impact of the bill failed. SB 6298 (DV harassment firearms ban) passed out of the House Judiciary committee with an important amendment. Back in 1994, when many DV-related misdemeanors were made firearm disqualifiers, it was retroactive – a listed DV-related conviction at any time in the past prohibited future possession of firearms. SB 6298 was amended to allow only DV harassment convictions after this law takes effect to act as a disqualifier. (more…)

GOAL Post 2018-7
Legislative Update from Olympia 16 February 2018

IMPACT OF FLORIDA SCHOOL SHOOTING
DEMOCRATS WHINE ABOUT GUN CONTROL
MEDIA, TOO
CHAMBER CUT-OFF PASSES
BILLS MOVE, BILLS DIE
BILL STATUS COLUMN CHANGING
PUBLIC HEARINGS NEXT WEEK
THREE WEEKS LEFT IN THE SESSION

At this point it is difficult to assess the impact of the school shooting in Florida on Wednesday – another Valentine’s Day Massacre. 17 people lost their lives to an individual who had been sending clear signals that he was a very disturbed person, yet no action was taken. According to some reports the FBI was informed of his threat, but no results of that warning are known.

Of immediate concern is the possible impact in Olympia THIS session. While bills are technically dead following the designated cut-off dates, exceptions can be made and bills can be revived. It’s rare, but it happens. (more…)

GOAL Post 2018-6
Legislative Update from Olympia 9 February 2018

CHAMBER CUT-OFF NEXT WEDNESDAY
ACTION ON BILLS
PUBLIC HEARING ON SBs 5553 AND 5992
NO PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED
TEN BILLS REMAIN UNDER CONSIDERATION
TITLE ONLY BILL

The mid-session chamber cut-off occurs next Wednesday, 14 February. House bills that have not passed out of the House, and Senate bills that have not passed out of the Senate, are supposed to be dead for the session. That’s true in almost all cases, but on rare occasions, a bill can be resurrected.

SB 6298 (DV harassment) passed out of the Senate late Friday afternoon. It will now go to House Judiciary for consideration. SB 5444 (“assault weapon” background checks) and HB 1270 (encouraging voluntary use of firearm safety products) both died in the fiscal committee cut-off this week. (more…)

GOAL Post 2018-5
Legislative Update from Olympia 2 February 2018

CHAMBER POLICY COMMITTEE CUT-OFF TODAY – GUN BILLS DIE
FISCAL COMMITTEE CUT-OFF NEXT TUESDAY
ONE NEW GUN BILL INTRODUCED
ACTION ON BILLS
PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED

Today, 2 February, is the first chamber policy committee cut-off date. All bills that have not passed out of their original policy committee this session (for most gun bills Senate Law & Justice, House Judiciary and Public Safety) are considered dead for the remainder of the session. Theoretically – exceptions can be made — but those exceptions are rare. (more…)

GOAL Post 2018-4
Legislative Update from Olympia 27 January 2018

SB 5992 PASSES SENATE
NEW BILLS FILED
ACTION ON BILLS
PUBLIC HEARING CONDUCTED
PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED

(Quick and dirty this week. I just got back on the redeye from the SHOT (Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trades) Show in Las Vegas. All kinds of new toys that our Dave Workman will be covering in future articles.)

SB 5992 (“bump stock ban) passed the Senate on a 29-20 vote. It now goes to House Judiciary for their consideration. Given that the bill had a couple of Republican co-sponsors and four Republican Senators voted “aye” on final passage, it will likely sail through the House and go to the governor. The impact of this is very limited, and if this is all that passes the legislature this session, we will be very lucky indeed. (more…)

GOAL Post 2018-3
Legislative Update from Olympia 19 January 2018

LEGISLATIVE CALENDAR CORRECTION
1/15 SENATE GUN BILL HEARING
NEW GUN BILLS FILED
PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED
ACTION ON GUN BILLS
KIRO TV POLL
NOT ALL DEMOCRATS ARE OUR ENEMIES

The correct date of the Fiscal committee cut-off is 6 February, not 5 February as reported last week.

The first big gun bill hearing was conducted by Senate Law & Justice on Monday, 15 January. There was a turnout of several hundred on both sides, with two overflow rooms filled with attendees (unfortunately the pro-gun lobby doesn’t have a billionaire sugar daddy who provides neat highly visible t-shirts – but most of us DO have gun-related ball caps, club badges, pins, etc.) It was an amazing display of ignorance about guns and gun laws by the pro-gun control side. But that doesn’t stop them and their billionaire allies from pushing for every restriction they can get through the system. The bills heard in public testimony included SBs 592 (trigger devices), 6049 (magazine ban), 5444 (modern sporting rifle registration), 5463 (safe storage) and 6146 (preemption repeal). The entire hearing can be viewed on TVWashington at https://www.tvw.org/watch/?eventID=2018011154. (more…)