March 13th was the last day to consider bills in the house of origin, and many, many bills died on that date, some good, some bad. Those that had been passed in one house of the Legislature now go on to the other house for consideration. They now have until April 17th to hold hearings and take action in committee and get them to the floor for a vote.
The big exception to these deadlines is any bill that impacts the budget. Any so-called "policy" bill can be resurrected later if it impacts the budget. And the budget is one giant policy bill made up of numbers. They have all been waiting for the economic forecast on state tax revenue, that came out March 20th, and now will be getting budget bills together.
Here's an overview.
But let's not get distracted with the budget now — that's a rabbit hole from which we may never escape. I'll try to make some sense of it in a future post.
Meanwhile, below are some significant bills that have survived cut-off and will be moving through (or not) the other chamber.
Continue reading →
One teacher's plea for adequate school funding
Note: Holly Koon attended the 42nd District Legislators' Town Hall meeting on March 16, 2013, and presented these remarks to those in attendance.
by Holly Koon
Senator Erickson, Representatives Overstreet and Buys, thank you all very much for taking the time to come and meet with us today. I truly do appreciate it. My name is Holly Koon and I am a National Board Certified science teacher from Mt Baker High School in Deming.
Over the past 4 years,
declining revenue and increased operating costs have impacted my school with the loss of our district curriculum director, loss of our assistant superintendent, loss of a principal, part of a math teacher, part of a science teacher, a reading support teacher, loss of money for new curriculum and materials that support changing standards and assessments, lost staffing to support our collaborative planning time, loss of all of our state funded professional development time, and the loss of our entire alternative program for very at risk students; putting those students back into the regular classrooms with 30+ other kids while simultaneously decimating the wrap-around support services we've provided in the past. Continue reading →
Write a Letter
The work of the Legislature is almost invisible to the average citizen and voter. Local media cover a tiny fraction of what is going on. Help your fellow citizens understand want's going on by writing a letter to the editor. Here's the info you'll need.
--Natalie
2013 Cutoff Calendar
http://www.leg.wa.gov/legislature/pages/cutoff.aspx
January 14, 2013 First Day of Session
February 22, 2013 Last day to read in committee reports in house of origin, except House fiscal committees and Senate Ways & Means and Transportation committees.
March 1, 2013 Last day to read in committee reports from House fiscal committees and Senate Ways & Means and Transportation committees in house of origin.
March 13, 2013 Last day to consider bills in house of origin (5 p.m.).
we are here
April 3, 2013 Last day to read in committee reports from opposite house, except House fiscal committees and Senate Ways & Means and Transportation committees.
April 9, 2013 Last day to read in opposite house committee reports from House fiscal committees and Senate Ways & Means and Transportation committees.
April 17, 2013 Last day to consider opposite house bills (5 p.m.) (except initiatives and alternatives to initiatives, budgets and matters necessary to implement budgets, differences between the houses, and matters incident to the interim and closing of the session).
April 28, 2013 Last day allowed for regular session under state constitution.
