The battle rages on as we embark on week 9 of the legislative session. The first half of this week is continued floor action, which means bills are being voted on in their chambers of origin (either the House or the Senate). After they pass they then move to the opposite chamber to go through the committee and public hearing process again. This gives us another opportunity to continue to influence the legislation – most often opposing bad bills.
This week, our Top 5 consists of 3 bills we need you to take 30 seconds to sign in on and we’ve also put our House 2A bills on there for you to email your reps if you haven’t already or want to do so again. These two bills, HB 1143 and HB 1240, we emailed you about yesterday and will likely see a floor debate & vote between now and Wedneday.
And don’t forget: you can always find more calls to action at our LEGISLATIVE ACTION CENTER
HB 1143 – This is a bill that would require you to seek government’s permission (via a license) BEFORE you can exercise a Constitutional Right. If you removed “purchase a gun” from this bill and substituted “vote” or “go to church” you would see the absurdity of requiring Government’s permission to exercise a right. While those who support this bill often times liken this to a driver’s license, remember that a license is a privilege that the State is not required to bestow upon you. A right is something that the government is forbidden to take from you. This bill will essentially require you to get the State’s permission BEFORE you can exercise a right. It is unconstitutional on its face and will be struck down if enacted into law.
HB 1240 is at the request of AG Bob Ferguson – an “assault weapons” ban. “Assault weapon” is a made-up term by anti-gun politicians and activists. They have created a long list of firearms that they want to ban the sale of in Washington state. This bill is unconstitutional and will undoubtedly face challenges in court if it is passed. There are currently other cases pending that would set precedence for shutting down this legislation altogether.
SB 5019 – This bill removes “classified staff providing student and staff safety” from the definition of physical, social, and emotional support staff (SEL/CRT/”agenda pushing staff”) and the specific funding considerations for that group. Schools would not be able to use “SEL” funding to pay for safety personnel, such as crossing guards, hall monitors or uncertified nurses. Mostly this bill is aimed at making sure these funds are not used to pay for “school resource officers” – that is the primary intent of this bill. We believe that districts who choose not to use funding on SEL/CRT staff and want to increase safety personnel should be able to do so.
SB 5082 Would abolish advisory votes. Advisory votes allow the voice of the public to be heard.
Testimony in committee stated that 75% of advisory votes on tax increases have been rejected. Advisory votes reflect the will of the people and this is an underhanded way to weaken the voting process. The advisory votes create accountability, checks and balances, and an opportunity for public opinion. We do NOT support abolishing advisory votes. Sign in CON by 7AM Friday, March 10th.
HB 1340 This bill is to protect health care providers who perform abortion services – this is already protected in our state and just last session HB 1851 was passed to protect providers even further. The inclusion of “gender affirming” care in this bill is very dangerous and will have great consequences for the people of Washington. In this state, it is legal to perform gender transition procedures on minor children under age 18. These procedures are very new and very controversial. They are irreversible and we have many “de transitioners” who have bravely spoken out about the permanent damage and health care problems they have incurred as a result. We cannot continue to experiment with the lives of Washington citizens – especially our children.
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