GOAL Post2013-1<\/p>\n
Legislative Update from Olympia 11 January 2013<\/p>\n
WHAT IS GOAL POST?<\/p>\n
LEGISLATURE CONVENES MONDAY, 14 JANUARY<\/p>\n
LEGISLATIVE TUTORIAL<\/p>\n
LEGISLATIVE CALENDAR<\/p>\n
ANTI-GUN RALLY IN SEATTLE<\/p>\n
PRO-GUN RALLY IN OLYMPIA<\/p>\n
HB 1012 PRE-FILED TO LIMIT SELF DEFENSE<\/p>\n
NO PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED ON FIREARMS<\/p>\n
DEMOCRAT CAUCUS DIVIDED ON GUNS<\/p>\n
LEGISLATOR DIRECT TELEPHONE NUMBERS<\/p>\n
We have several new subscribers this year, so I’ll start with a basic
\ndescription of what GOAL is and what GOAL Post is.Formed circa 1992,
\nGOAL is an independent political action committee registered with the
\nWashington state Public Disclosure Commission.It is not a membership
\norganization, although it is managed by five trustees.In addition to
\nsupport for selected WASHINGTON STATE CANDIDATES ONLY during the
\nelection cycle, GOAL publishes a weekly summary (GOAL Post) of
\nlegislative activity in Olympia during the active legislative
\nsession.Depending on workload, GOAL Post normally goes out via e-mail on
\nFriday nights.It provides a narrative summary of the previous week’s
\nactivities, a listing (Bill Status) of firearm-related bills filed and
\nwhere they are in the process (GOAL does NOT cover hunting issues),
\nGOAL’s position on these bills, a notice of public hearings scheduled
\nfor the following week, and information about how to contact your
\nlegislators, and how to follow both live and recorded public hearings
\nand floor sessions via TVWashington.<\/p>\n
GOAL Post does NOT normally cover events in the other Washington,
\nWashington, D.C.Given the Newtown, Connecticut, incident last month, we
\nare facing a massive attack on the rights of gun owners all across the
\ncountry.President Obama has convened a “select committee” of Vice
\nPresident Biden and others to develop an “action plan” to “reduce gun
\nviolence.”It’s all the guns’ fault, you know.I will likely publish
\nindividual alerts as the President’s plan takes shape and moves.<\/p>\n
The 63rd biennial Washington state legislature convenes Monday, January
\n14th for its long (105 day) session.The principal focus of the long
\nlegislative session is supposed to be the biennial budget, but rest
\nassured several other topics, including firearms, will receive
\nattention.The Democrats retained their slight majority in the 2012
\nelection, so they continue nominal control of BOTH chambers (House and
\nSenate), but a funny thing happened during the legislative organizing
\nmeeting in December.<\/p>\n
The Senate is currently split 26 Democrats to 23 Republicans, giving
\nDemocrats a three seat advantage.In December 2012 they held a meeting to
\nprepare for the 2013 session.This is where leadership is
\nelected.Senators Rodney Tom (D-48-Medina) and Tim Sheldon
\n(D-35-Potlatch) joined Republicans to give the GOP de facto control of
\nthe Senate.Senator Tom was electedMajority Leader and Senator Sheldon
\nPresident-pro-tem.Republicans were also given chairmanships and control
\nof several committees, including the major budgetary committees AND
\nSenate Judiciary.Senator Mike Padden (R-4-Spokane Valley) will chair
\nSenate Judiciary, and (presumably) Adam Kline (D-37-Rainier Valley) will
\nbe ranking member.Full committee rosters will not be published until the
\nsession begins.<\/p>\n
However…<\/p>\n
Apparently Democrats have been discussing changing the rules just BEFORE
\nthe new legislature is sworn in, thus preventing the majority coalition
\nfrom taking over the Senate.The DEMOCRATIC PARTY apparently doesn’t like
\na democratic vote for leadership.Maybe they’d like to revisit the
\npresidential election, too?<\/p>\n
For those new to legislative affairs, here’s how the process works:When
\na bill is filed in the House or Senate (or both, simultaneously, called
\n“companion bills”) it is assigned to a policy committee.Most gun-related
\nbills go to the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Senate.In the House
\nit’s a little more complicated, as it may be sent to House Judiciary,
\nHouse Public Safety, or House Juvenile Justice.Public hearings may be
\nheld, after which the bill may (or may not) be voted out of committee.If
\nthe bill has a fiscal impact (usually an expenditure of more than
\n$50,000), it must then go to Senate Ways & Means or one of a couple of
\nHouse fiscal committees.The bill then goes to the Senate or House Rules
\nCommittee, where it must be voted on to pass out to the floor for a full
\nvote.<\/p>\n
After a bill passes the Senate or House, it then goes over to the
\nopposite chamber (House or Senate), where the whole process starts over
\nagain.If the bill passes the second chamber in the same form it passed
\nthe first, it goes to the governor for signature (or veto or partial
\nveto).If changes are made in the second chamber, it goes back to the
\nfirst for concurrence.It may also go to a conference committee from both
\nchambers to resolve differences.The final version must pass both chambers.<\/p>\n
The bill then goes to the Governor, who may sign it into law, veto
\n(kill) the bill, or sign a partial veto (killing just selected
\nsection(s) of the bill).The governor may also allow a bill to become law
\nwithout his (or her) signature.Most signed bills take effect on 1 July,
\nalthough bills with an “emergency clause” (considered immediately
\nnecessary for public safety) take effect upon signature by the governor.<\/p>\n
One of the first items of business in each session is the adoption of
\nthe session calendar, identifying dates by which bills must clear
\nvarious hurdles.A bill that fails to clear the policy committee or
\nchamber floor by the designated date is generally considered dead for
\nthe year, although they may be “resurrected” by parliamentary
\nprocedure.I’ll post the cut-off dates for the 2013 session in the next
\nissue of GOAL Post.<\/p>\n
Bills from the last session are dead.New bills must be filed for
\nconsideration by the 63nd Legislature, with new bill numbers.<\/p>\n
Washington Ceasefire, with several church groups, will conduct a march
\nin downtown Seattle at 1:30 on Sunday, 13 January, to demand a ban on
\nsemi-automatic firearms in Washington.(Semiautomatic rifles and shotguns
\nare commonly used by hunters and target shooters all across the U.S.,
\nand semiautomatic handguns are the choice of a majority of Americans for
\npersonal protection and sport.)The march will start at Westlake Park and
\nproceed to the Seattle Center.IF you decide to visit as a counter to
\nthis event, dress properly and mind your manners.Both Ceasefire and the
\nSeattle media would love to see an “angry mob of gun toters” turn out to
\nreinforce THEIR case.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, 19 January, a PRO-GUN “Gun Appreciation Day” rally will be
\nheld in Olympia on the Capitol Campus in the “diagonal” area (open lawn
\nwest of Capitol Way S.)Further details will be published in a GOAL Alert
\nin a few days.<\/p>\n
In early December, legislators are allowed to “pre-file” bills for the
\nupcoming session.Rep. Sherry Appleton (D-23-Kitsap) filed HB 1012, a
\nbill that would emasculate “stand-your-ground” (AKA no duty to retreat),
\nrequiring an individual to retreat from any threat before resorting to
\nforce in response.Unlike more than 20 states, Washington does not have a
\nstand-your-ground statute — it’s the result of decades of court
\ndecisions, usually referred to as “black letter law” (i.e. judges
\neffectively made and follow that practice).<\/p>\n
Earlier this week Appleton announced she is pulling her bill after
\nreceived angry telephone calls and e-mails — and even threats — from
\ngun owners across Washington.That she received communications
\ncriticizing her bill I have no doubt.Threats?Did she report them to police?<\/p>\n
There are NO gun-related bills scheduled for a public hearing the first
\nweek of the session.Weekly schedules are published on Wednesday evening
\nfor the following week, although changes may be made, supposedly with
\nproper advance notification, but it doesn’t always happen that way!<\/p>\n
We still have a solid bloc of Democrat pro-gun Senators and
\nRepresentatives who will vote on our side of the issue.This bloc will
\nsurely be put to the test in this session.The so-called “road kill”
\ncaucus, joining with Republicans on gun issues, is what has saved us in
\nOlympia, so far.If you live in a rural or even suburban district with
\nDemocrat Representatives or a Democrat Senator, it is important that you
\ncall their office and express concern about your gun rights.Ask them to
\nkeep you informed of any gun-related legislation.This lets them know
\nthat you are watching them on this issue.<\/p>\n
The Legislature has not yet published new telephone and office
\ndirectories because legislators are not sworn in until Monday, 14
\nJanuary.The following links can be used at that time to identify direct
\ncontact information:<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.leg.wa.gov\/Senate\/Senators\/<\/a><\/p>\n http:\/\/www.leg.wa.gov\/House\/Representatives\/<\/a><\/p>\n BILL STATUS:<\/p>\n All bills filed during the 2011-12 biennium are dead.The following bills Bill #SubjectSponsorStatus<\/p>\n HB 1012Limits self-defenseAppleton (D-23)H. Jud<\/p>\n Key to abbreviations:SB = Senate Bill, HB = House Bill, Jud = Judiciary, GOAL POSITION ON BILLS<\/p>\n HB 1012OPPOSE<\/p>\n HEARING(S) SCHEDULED:<\/p>\n None<\/p>\n LEGISLATIVE HOT LINE:You may reach your Representatives and Senator by 1-800-562-6000TDD 1-800-635-9993<\/p>\n OTHER DATA:Copies of pending legislation (bills), legislative schedules By reading the House and Senate “bill reports” (hbr, sbr) for each bill, GET THE WORD OUT:If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail,
\nhave been pre-filed for the 2013-14 biennium:<\/p>\n
\nFish\/Ecol = Fisheries, Ecology & Parks, JuvJust = Juvenile Justice, Educ
\n= Education, LocGov = Local Government, NatRes = Natural Resources,
\nEcology & Parks, PubSaf = Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness, W&M =
\nWays and Means<\/p>\n
\ncalling the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000.Toll free!!!The
\nhearing impaired may obtain TDD access at 1-800-635-9993.Also toll free!!!<\/p>\n
\nand other information are available on the legislature’s web site at
\n“www.leg.wa.gov”.Bills are available in Acrobat (.pdf) format.You may
\ndownload a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from Adobe’s web site
\n(http:\/\/www.adobe.com<\/a>).You may also obtain hard copy bills, initiatives,
\netc, in the mail from the Legislative Bill Room FREE OF CHARGE by
\ncalling 1-360-786-7573.Copies of bills may also be ordered toll free by
\ncalling the Legislative Hotline at (800) 562-6000.You may also hear
\nfloor and committee hearing action live at http:\/\/www.tvw.org\/<\/a> (you need
\n“RealAudio” to do this, available free at the TVW web site).<\/p>\n
\nyou can see how individual committee members voted.By reading the “roll
\ncall” for each bill, you can see how the entire House or Senate voted on
\nany bill.The beauty of the web site is that ALL this information is
\navailable, on line, to any citizen.<\/p>\n
\nsend a message to “jwaldron@halcyon.com<\/a>“.Please pass GOAL Post on to
\nanyone you believe may have an interest in protecting our rights.Better
\nyet, make a couple of copies of this message, post it on your gun club’s
\nbulletin board, and leave copies with your local gun shop(s).PERMISSION
\nIS HEREBY GRANTED TO DUPLICATE OR REDISTRIBUTE GOAL POST PROVIDED IT IS
\nREPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION AND CREDIT IS
\nGIVEN TO GOAL. I can be reached at “jwaldron@halcyon.com<\/a>” or by
\ntelephone at (425) 985-4867.Unfortunately, I am unable to mail hard copy
\nGOAL Post to individuals.Limited numbers of hard copies MAY be available
\nat the Second Amendment Foundation book table at WAC gun shows.<\/p>\n