Washington State bills of interest - 1/20/07

Please note that the following legislative actions have been taken.



House Bill 1383 (Regulating body piercing.):

Introduced by Rep. Sherry Appleton on January 18, 2007, to direct the Secretary of Health to adopt safety requirements for preventing the spread of disease and the sterilization of needles and instruments used by a person who practices body piercing or body art. Anyone practicing body piercing or body art must comply with adopted regulations.

Details and Comments: http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=49365



House Bill 1386 (Designating an official state Christmas tree.):

Introduced by Rep. Jim McCune on January 18, 2007, to declare that any evergreen tree placed in the rotunda of the state capitol building in December is designated as the official Christmas tree of the state of Washington.  Such trees would include any fir, pine, spruce, cedar, or other coniferous species.

Details and Comments: http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=49368



House Bill 1391 (Clarifying that councilmembers are eligible to be appointed to the office of mayor.):

Introduced by Rep. Deborah Eddy on January 18, 2007, to clarify that an incumbent councilmember is eligible to be appointed to the mayor’s office in the event of a vacancy.

Details and Comments: http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=49373



House Bill 1392 (Adding city officials to the list of public agencies eligible for medical insurance coverage outside of compensation.):

Introduced by Rep. Jim Moeller on January 18, 2007, to add city officials to the list of public officials eligible for medical insurance coverage outside of compensation.

Details and Comments: http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=49374



House Bill 1396 (Providing a single ballot proposition for regional transportation investment districts and regional transit authorities at the 2007 general election.):

Introduced by Rep. Dennis Flannigan on January 18, 2007, to modify transportation provisions enacted by the 2006 Legislature. The 2007 general election ballot will include two separate transportation proposals for King, Pierce, and Snohomish County residents – one from the Regional Transportation Investment District (RTID) and one from the Regional Transportation Authority (Sound Transit). Under current law, one measure cannot go into effect unless the other is also approved. This bill would combine the measures into one ballot proposal instead of two.  See companion SB 5282.

Details and Comments: http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=49378



House Bill 1420 (Modifying provisions on primary election ballots.):

Introduced by Rep. Troy Kelley on January 18, 2007, to allow votes in a primary election to be counted even if the voter failed to declare a political party preference on a consolidated ballot. A political party affiliation would be inferred if a voter voted for members of the same party throughout the primary ballot.

Details and Comments: http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=49402



Senate Bill 5387 (Promoting economic development through commercialization of technologies.):

Introduced by Sen. Jim Kastama on January 18, 2007, to require the Washington Technology Center to develop a guide to the technology commercialization process, develop, maintain, and provide access to a database of technologies and inventions developed in the state available for commercialization and licensing, and offer training on the provision of commercialization assistance and report on the impact of commercialization. The bill also allocates $600,000 to the Washington Technology Center .

Details and Comments: http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=49423



Senate Bill 5388 (Authorizing the use of local retail taxes to finance economic development officers.):

Introduced by Sen. Tim Sheldon on January 18, 2007, to allow local retail taxes to pay for economic development officers. "Economic development officer" means a person employed by a county or an associate development organization who promotes economic development purposes within the county.

Details and Comments: http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=49424



Senate Bill 5392 (Increasing the initiative filing fee.):

Introduced by Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles on January 18, 2007, to increase the filing fee for initiatives to $100. The fee is refundable once the Secretary of State certifies the initiative for the general election .

Details and Comments: http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=49428



Senate Bill 5399 (Developing a work group to support industry clusters as an economic development tool.):

Introduced by Sen. Derek Kilmer on January 18, 2007, to require the workforce training and education coordinating board and the economic development commission to convene a working group, consisting of the department of community, trade, and economic development, the employment security department, the state board for community and technical colleges, a representative of local economic development councils and local workforce development councils. The workgroup would create a framework for the identification of economic clusters, as well as service and resource delivery to the clusters.

Details and Comments: http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=49435



Senate Bill 5400 (Aligning the economic development commission and the workforce training and education coordinating board.):

Introduced by Sen. Derek Kilmer on January 18, 2007, to allow better coordination between the Economic Development Commission and the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board. The bill would appoint the director of the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board to the Economic Development Commission as a non-voting member. The bill would also appoint the director of the Community, Trade, and Economic Development as a non-voting member to the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board .

Details and Comments: http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=49436



Senate Bill 5401 (Licensing Christmas tree growers.):

Introduced by Sen. Marilyn Rasmussen on January 18, 2007, to requires Christmas tree growers to obtain a State license to operate. The licenses shall be administered by the Department of Agriculture. Any fees created from this act must be deposited into the State’s Christmas Tree Account and can only be spent on the Washington Christmas Tree Program.

Details and Comments: http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=49437



Senate Bill 5406 (Revising state employee whistleblower protection definitions.):

Introduced by Sen. Adam Kline on January 18, 2007, to clarify certain definitions in the employee whistleblower protection provision. The new definitions include “gross mismanagement,” and “abuse of authority”.

Details and Comments: http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=49442



Senate Bill 5407 (Changing certificate of discharge requirements.):

Introduced by Sen. Debbie Regala on January 18, 2007, to modify certificates of discharge requirements, including a requirement that all discharge certificates be filed with the county clerk of the sentencing county. The county is also required to send copies of the discharge certificates to the Department of Corrections and enter into a database the names of all felons with discharge certificates. See companion HB 1431 .

Details and Comments: http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=49443



Senate Bill 5408 (Modifying provisions on primary election ballots.):

Introduced by Sen. Darlene Fairley on January 18, 2007, to allow votes in a primary election to be counted even if the voter failed to declare a political party preference on a consolidated ballot. A political party affiliation would be inferred if a voter voted for members of the same party throughout the primary ballot. See companion HB 1420.

Details and Comments: http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=49444



Senate Bill 5414 (Authorizing local option motor vehicle fuel taxes to provide additional funding sufficient to complete certain highway construction projects.):

Introduced by Sen. Jim Kastama on January 18, 2007, to allow counties to impose a 15% excise tax on fuel. The money would provide funding to complete certain highway construction projects. The authority would extend to both incorporated and unincorporated areas of the county. The bill also defines several conditions that would qualify or disqualify an eligible county .

Details and Comments: http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=49450



Senate Bill 5415 (Creating health advisory councils.):

Introduced by Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles on January 18, 2007, to create the State School Health Advisory Council. The Council shall submit an annual report to the legislature. Among others, the council shall have the responsibility of modeling collaboration and coordination of all aspects of school health program, identifying and recommending model policies and procedures that result in efficient uses of resources to improve student and school health, developing model program guidelines, sample policies, resource lists, and position papers to further the work of school district health advisory councils, including obesity prevention strategies and promoting the coordinated school health approach.

Details and Comments: http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=49451



Senate Bill 5417 (Providing for temporary management in boarding homes.):

Introduced by Sen. Karen Keiser on January 18, 2007, to allow for the State to provide temporary management in boarding homes that have been closed by the State due to health and safety concerns. The purpose of the temporary management is to mitigate dislocation and transfer trauma of residents, to facilitate the continuity of safe and appropriate resident care and services, to protect the health, safety, and welfare of residents, and to preserve a residential option that meets a specialized service need or is in a geographical area that has a lack of available providers. See companion HB 1447.

Details and Comments: http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=49453



Senate Bill 5418 (Requiring ballot titles to indicate tax consequences of the ballot measure.):

Introduced by Sen. Pam Roach on January 18, 2007, to require a ballot title to include a statement describing how much it will increase or decrease taxes .

Details and Comments: http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=49454



Senate Bill 5419 (Requiring a public hospital district's proposed annexation to be published in a voters' pamphlet.):

Introduced by Sen. Pam Roach on January 18, 2007, to require a public hospital district to publish information about its proposed annexation in a voters’ pamphlet. If the county in the areas of the proposed annexation does not print a voters’ pamphlet, the hospital district shall be require to .

Details and Comments: http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=49455



Senate Bill 5420 (Requiring public agencies to post certain information to their web sites.):

Introduced by Sen. Pam Roach on January 18, 2007, to require all public agencies that manage a website to post certain information. The information includes all ordinances, rules, regulations, orders or directives and minutes of all regular and special meetings of the governing body. The website must also contain meeting dates and names of the governing body .

Details and Comments: http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=49456



Senate Joint Memorial 8002 (Requesting that Election Day be changed to coincide with the Veterans Day holiday.):

Introduced by Sen. Eric Oemig on January 18, 2007, to request from Congress Election Day should be changed to fall on the Veterans Day holiday.

Details and Comments: http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=49458