Friday, February 27, 2009

GOAL Post 2009-7

{Just received this from our man In Olympia, Col Joe Waldron, USMC RET}

GOAL Post 2009-7
Legislative Update from Olympia 27 February 2009
  • MOST GUN BILLS DIE AT POLICY COMMITTEE CUT-OFF
  • FIVE BILLS REMAIN "IN PLAY"
  • STIMULUS PACKAGE A HIDDEN GUN BILL CARRIER?
  • NO PUBLIC HEARINGS ON GUN BILLS NEXT WEEK
Wednesday, February 25th, was the first policy committee cut-off date. All bills that have not passed out of their original policy committee are technically dead for the session. As noted last week, attempts will be made to insert language from dead bills into bills still under consideration, but doing that is difficult. Unlike bills in Congress, where "riders" (amendments) can be added to almost any bill, under state law, bills are generally limited to a single topic. And any amendment must fit the title of the bill -- a narrow title limits shenanigans.

Focus now shifts to the House and Senate floors, where bills awaiting action in the Rules Committee are pulled to the floor and voted on. March 12th is the last day that bills may be considered in their house of origin: House bills must pass out of the House; Senate bills out of the Senate.

After March 12th, the process begins all over again, with House bills being heard in the Senate, and vice versa.

Five gun-related bills remain in play in the legislature.

There are a couple of state-level "stimulus bills" under consideration by the legislature. Some have expressed concerns that gun control measures, such as the gun show bill, may be rolled into one of these omnibus stimulus bills. As noted above, because of restrictions on amendments to bills, that is unlikely. Which is not to say that we can relax our vigilance. As the old saying goes, it ain't over 'til the fat lady sings. And she won't be singing for another eight weeks.

There are no public hearings on gun bills scheduled in the coming week. Again, all the action will be on the House and Senate floors.

BILL STATUS:

The following bills have been filed for the 2009-10 biennium:

Bill # Subject Sponsor Status
SHB 1052 Alien firearm licenses Moeller (D-49) H. Rules
HB 1114 Youth hunting age requirement Blake (D-19) H Rules
HB 1498 Involuntary commitment Hunter (D-48) H. Rules
HB 1604 Suppressors Condotta (R-12) Died 20 Feb
HB 1832 Firearms during emergencies Herrera (R-18) Died 20 Feb
HB 2011 Firearms safety education Chase (D-32) Died 20 Feb
HB 2065 LEO firearm certification Orcutt (R-18) Died 20 Feb
HB 2226 LEO firearm certificate Orcutt (R-18) Died 20 Feb
HB 2264 Gun show regulation Williams (D-22) Died 20 Feb
HJM 4009 10th Amendment sovereignty Shea (R-4) Died 20 Feb

SB 5095 Lead shot ban Jacobsen (D-46) Died 25 Feb
SB 5193 Alien firearm licenses Delvin (R-8) S. Rules
SB 5559 Youth hunting age requirement Kohl-Welles (D-36) Died 25 Feb
SB 5637 CPL renewal by mail for military Swecker (R-20) Died 25 Feb
SB 5739 CPL renewal by military members King (R-14) S. Rules

Key to abbreviations: S. = Senate, H. = House, HB = House Bill, SB = Senate Bill, SHB = Substitute House Bill, HJM = House Joint Memorial, Jud = Judiciary, Ag/NatRes = Agriculture and Natural Resources, Educ = Education, Gov Ops = Government Operations and Elections, NatRes = Natural Resources, Oceans and Recreation, StGov = State Government and Tribal Affairs

GOAL POSITION ON BILLS

HB 1052 SUPPORT
HB 1114 SUPPORT
HB 1498 SUPPORT
HB 1604 SUPPORT
HB 1832 SUPPORT
HB 2011 SUPPORT
HB 2065 SUPPORT
HB 2226 SUPPORT
HB 2264 OPPOSE

SB 5095 OPPOSE
SB 5193 SUPPORT
SB 5637 SUPPORT
SB 5739 SUPPORT


HEARINGS SCHEDULED:

None

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 "jwaldron@halcyon.com". 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 "jwaldron@halcyon.com" 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.

If you feel you have received this message in error, or if you no longer desire to subscribe to the GOAL Post, e-mail "jwaldron@halcyon.com" and place "unsubscribe GOAL Post" in the subject line.

Upcoming WAC gun show(s):

Monroe 14-15 March
Puyallup 21-22 March

"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 2009 Gun Owners Action League of WA

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