GOAL Post 2010-13

An ill wind, etc.  Budgetary impasse in Olympia continues to mean that at least they don't come for the guns, etc.  OTOH, being in Overtime they are burning through a lot of money the State does not have, to try and figure out a budget...

GOAL Post 2010-13

Legislative Update from Olympia  2 April 2010
 
     NO CHANGE IN OLYMPIA

     HOUSE AND SENATE LEADERSHIP CONTINUE TO DISAGREE

     GOVERNOR SIGNS SHB 2226

On day 19 of the Special Session, House and Senate leadership are still agreeing to disagree about how to resolve the budget shortfall.  Most of the legislators are at home, while the fiscal committee members meet to discuss the relative merits of THEIR solutions.  Any way you spell it, the end result is tax increases.   (You'd better get used to THAT one.)

Under proposals being pushed by the Democrat-led Senate, everyone in the state would pay an increased sales tax to generate $800 million in additional revenue.  The Democrat-led House "solution" is to focus the same amount in tax increases on specialized items such as Business & Occupation taxes, higher cigarette and other "sin" taxes (to include a tax on bottled water), and increased taxes on some food items.  Meanwhile, Republican proposals to close the shortfall by cutting spending were dismissed without consideration.  (Just as Republican proposals in Congress for health care reform were ignored by Democrat leadership.)

(If this looks like I'm Democrat-bashing, that's just the way I see it.  And for the record, I was raised in an FDR-Democrat, union household whose family voted only Democrat...  until 1968 when the party abandoned the little guy in favor of left-wing special interests.)
 
Again, the one bright spot in the Special Session is that revenue-raising has occupied ALL of their attention.  Gun control is NOT on the table. 

SHB 2226, the bill that would standardize procedures whereby retired peace officers could qualify to carry concealed firearms all across the U.S. under the provisions of HR 218, the Law Enforcement Officers' Safety Act of 2004, was signed by Governor Gregoire in a ceremony on 31 March.  Several of the bills she signed that day toughened rules on parole and parolees. 
 
BILL STATUS / GOAL POSITION ON BILLS:

Bill #        Subject                                               Sponsor                    Status

SHB 2226  Retired peace officer qualification  Orcutt (R-18)       Gov. signed

Key to abbreviations:  SHB = Substitute House Bill

GOAL POSITION ON BILLS: Not applicable
 
PUBLIC 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.

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Upcoming WAC gun show(s):

           Monroe                    10-11 April
           Puyallup                   24-25 April

"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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