GOAL Post 2011-6

From:    Joe Waldron [jwaldron@halcyon.com]
Sent:    Friday, February 11, 2011 8:24 PM
Subject:    GOAL Post 2011-6

GOAL Post 2011-6

Legislative Update from Olympia 11 February 2011

TWO NEW GUN BILLS FILED THIS WEEK

HB 1016 PASSES OUT OF THE HOUSE

SB 5112 PASSES OUT OF SENATE JUDICIARY

HB 1455 PASSES OUT OF HOUSE JUDICIARY

PUBLIC HEARING SCHEDULED ON SB 5634

INTERESTING DEVELOPMENT REGARDING HBs 1638 AND 1923

MOST PRO-GUN BILLS NOT MOVING

Two new bills were filed this week. SB 5607, by Senator Jim Hargrove (D-24), is a counterpart (duplicate( to HB 1729 dealing with standards for firearm security devices issued by state agencies. HB 1923, by Rep. Roger Goodman (D-45) duplicates the language contained in HB 1638, but with a much narrower title. See the item below addressing partisan games being played.

HB 1016, authorizing the use of legally possessed firearm suppressors (silencers), passed out of the House on 7 February on an 88-4 vote. It went to the Senate where it was assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The four individuals voting AGAINST the bill were Representatives Darnielle (D-27), Hudgins (D-11), Hunter (D-48) and Springer (D-45).

SB 5112, the counterpart bill to HB 1016, passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on 9 February on a unanimous vote. It now goes to Senate Rules awaiting a floor vote. The bill could be voted on by the entire Senate sometime next week.

HB 1455 passed out of the House Judiciary Committee on 10 February. It now goes to House Rules awaiting a House floor vote.

A public hearing has been scheduled for SB 5634. The hearing will be conducted in the Senate Human Services and Corrections Committee at 10 a.m. on 17 February.

The games begin: Differences currently exist between state and federal law regarding who can possess a firearm. Federal prohibitions are slightly broader than state prohibitions. For that reason, a Concealed Pistol License application contains a warning notice that even if an individual qualifies for a CPL, he or she may still be prosecuted under federal law for illegal possession of a firearm. HB 1638 was filed to harmonize state and federal law to prevent this jeopardy. Earlier this week, HB 1923 was filed, with the same language as HB 1638, but with a much narrower title, thus preventing pro-gun amendments from being offered. Despite the fact that no public hearing was conducted on HB 1923, it is scheduled for a vote in committee on 17 February. No vote is scheduled for HB 1638. This is clearly an attempt to block one or more pro-gun amendments that had been prepared for HB 1638 by Rep. Matt Shea(R-4) and possibly others.

Most of the pro-gun bills filed in the House are still sitting in the House Judiciary Committee with no favorable action taken. Given solid Seattle Democrat control of both the House and Senate Judiciary committees this is not surprising. You might want to contact your representatives and ask them to push for public hearings or executive action, as appropriate, on HBs 1066, 1238, 1400 and 1638.

BILL STATUS:

The following bills have been filed so far for the 2011-12 biennium:

Bill # Subject Sponsor Status
HB 1006 Knife blade length Appleton (D-23) H. Jud
HB 1016 Suppressor use Blake (D-19) S. Jud.
HB 1066 Black powder storage and transport Bailey (R-10) H. Jud.
HB 1238 CPL age requirement lowered Orcutt (R-18) H. Jud.
HB 1400 Firearms on snowmobiles Ross (R-14) H. Jud.
HB 1455 Restoration of rights McCune (R-2) H. Rules
HB 1508 Range protection Takko (D-19) H. Jud.
HB 1628 CPL background checks Kirby (D-29) H. Jud.
HB 1638 Harmonize state/federal law for CPLs Goodman (D-45) H. Jud.
HB 1729 State agency gun security devices Hurst (D-31) H. Jud.
HB 1923 CPL qualification Goodman (D-45) H. Jud.

SB 5112 Suppressor use Hatfield (D-19) S. Rules
SB 5313 Juvenile weapon possession Kline (D-37) S. Jud.
SB 5418 No duty to retreat Becker (R-2) S. Jud.
SB 5592 College weapon prohibition Shin (D-21) S. Jud.
SB 5634 CPL background checks Hargrove (D-24) S. HumSer.
SB 5697 State agency gun security devices Hargrove (D-24) S. Jud.

Key to abbreviations: S. = Senate, H. = House, HumSer = Human Services and Corrections, Jud = Judiciary, PubSaf = Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness, W&M = Ways and Means

GOAL POSITION ON BILLS

HB 1006 OPPOSE
HB 1016 SUPPORT
HB 1066 SUPPORT
HB 1238 SUPPORT
HB 1400 SUPPORT
HB 1455 SUPPORT
HB 1508 SUPPORT
HB 1628 SUPPORT
HB 1638 OPPOSE UNLESS AMENDED
HB 1729 NEUTRAL
HB 1923 OPPOSE

SB 5112 SUPPORT
SB 5313 NEUTRAL
SB 5418 SUPPORT
SB 5592 OPPOSE
SB 5634 SUPPORT
SB 5697 NEUTRAL

HEARING SCHEDULED:

17 Feb SB 5634 Senate Human Services and Corrections 10:00 a.m. Senate Hearing Room "1" John A. Cherberg (JAC) Bldg

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.

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Upcoming WAC gun show(s):
Monroe 12-13 February
Puyallup 26-27 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

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