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Ann Murphy, President	March 18, 2018 Vol. 50, Issue 11

Thank you to our supporters

During this 2018 Legislative Session you all helped to mark many successes for the people of Washington. Thank you for that. Those successes the League championed are chronicled in this Legislative Newsletter and in the accompanying web pages maintained by our Issue Chairs. You will also find ways in which you can continue to be involved starting now so that we will all be ready for the 2019-2020 biennium. That session will start in a few short months. Stay tuned, we are planning some Advocacy Newsletters to keep you up to date on ways you can impact public policy throughout the year.

Thank you, Ann Murphy, LWVWA President

Big Wins for our Priority Issues!

We are excited to celebrate success on some of our top legislative priorities!

To expand opportunities to vote, promote more representative election systems, enable greater civic involvement, empower disenfranchised communities, reduce the influence of special interest money and increase transparency in politics:

ESSB 6002 Washington Voting Rights Act promotes stronger local elections by giving every voter a fair chance to elect leaders of their choice.
HB 2595 Automatic Voter Registration (AVR), will expand the number of registered voters by having state agencies register those who have proven citizenship.
SB 6021 Same Day Voter Registration allows a citizen to register to vote any time before 8pm on the day of an election.
HB 1513 preregistration, will allow for 16 and 17-year-olds to preregister to vote at any location where voter registration occurs or through electronic means.
SB 5991 Washington State Campaign Finance DISCLOSE Act, will increase transparency and accountability, deter corruption, and strengthen confidence in the election process by closing campaign finance disclosure loopholes and requiring the disclosure of contributions and expenditures by nonprofit organizations that participate significantly in Washington state elections.

To ensure equality of opportunity, prevent and reduce poverty and promote fair policies:

HB 1506 Equal Pay Opportunity Act
SHB 1298 the Fair Chance Act or Ban the Box which prohibits an employer from including any question on an application for employment about a criminal record
HB 1783 to reform Legal Financial Obligations (LFOs)
HB 1434 which adds the use of shared leave for employees who are sick or temporarily disabled because of pregnancy disability or for the purposes of parental leave to bond with a newborn, adoptive, or foster child

To ensure access for all residents to comprehensive, uniform and affordable physical and behavior health care and reproductive services:

HB 1523 which requires health plans to cover, with no cost sharing, all preventive services.
SSB 6219 which concerns health plan coverage for reproductive health care and ensures reproductive parity in all Washington state health plans.

To limit accessibility of firearms, including assault-style weapons and high capacity clips along with safe storage requirements:

SB 5992 bans the sale, manufacture, and possession of so-called “bump stocks” which are trigger modification devices.

To ensure the state follows through with its promise of fully funding education:

E2SSB 6362 to “fix” the McCleary funding plan approved last year. The bill addresses payment for K-3 class size and LAP (Learning Assistance Program), regionalization adjustment, increases the special education multiplier and funds salaries in the 2018-19 school year.
2SHB 1896, our Civics Education bill, for professional training for Civics teachers.

You can find more wins and updates on our Issues Pages.

Together We Built a Stronger Democracy this Year

This year was a big one for democracy and Washington state is leading the way forward! Please join us tomorrow, March 19th, for a Democracy Bill Signing & Celebration with Governor Inslee at Foster High School in Tukwila to celebrate the passage of these important bills. The LWVWA will also be celebrating the signing of the DISCLOSE Act; a significant success in campaign-finance reform and transparency. Please wear blue! If you are planning on attending, email Kathy Sakahara at ksakahara@lwvwa.org to let her know.

The Legislative Session is over, now what?

This will be the final newsletter for the 2018 Legislative Session. For bills we supported that didn't pass, we look forward to the opportunity to push them forward next year. You can still follow the issues on our website here and stay in touch! Remember to thank your lawmakers for supporting bills that you supported. Not sure how your Senator or Representative voted? Click here for the Legislative Roll Call to search for specific bill outcomes.

Enter the bill number and scroll to the bottom of the list for the Final Motion actions to see which legislators voted yea, nay or abstained. You can contact your legislator through the House directory, the Senate directory, or you can email them directly.

Wrap-Up for Other Legislative Priorities

Please click on the areas of interest to you to see the status of bills that the Lobby Team worked on. The issue webpages include the Lobby Team contact information, League positions, and history of bills the League is tracking for this legislative session.

Priorities

Democracy: NEW Major success, now what?...(read more here)

Economic and Social Justice: NEW The Governor signed League endorsed Initiative addressing police use of deadly force, I-940..(read more here)

Health Care: NEW The LWVWA board endorsed I-1600, the initiative that would require the establishment of a comprehensive state program to pay for health care for all Washington residents...(read more here)

Reproductive Rights: The Reproductive Parity bill, SSB 6219, is the only bill the League supported which passed into law...(read more here)

Gun Safety: NEW Join us Saturday, March 24th for the Seattle March for Our Lives...(read more here)

Education: NEW Back to the Supreme Court..(read more here)

Civic Education: NEW 2SHB 1896 will be signed by the Governor...(read more here)

Other Issues

Climate Change, Energy, & Transportation: We are looking to the next legislative session...(read more here)

Natural Resources: We celebrate the bills we supported that passed in the Legislature this session...(read more here)

Fair & Adequate Revenue: No new update this week...(read more here)

Click here for a list of Lobby Team members and contact info.