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House approves four
Armstrong bills
12th
District lawmaker's legislation now gets Senate attention
Among the hundreds of
measures under consideration on the House floor since last Wednesday,
lawmakers have approved four of
Rep. Mike
Armstrong's bills and sent them to the Senate.
House
Bill 1880 would allow county auditors to use ballot envelopes
without the additional privacy flap, if they so choose. The flap covers
a voter's signature and optional phone number.
Armstrong, R-Wenatchee,
said envelopes with the privacy flaps are expensive and signatures can
be seen anyway during the counting process.
"This doesn't do away with
the flaps in all of the counties, but it gives county auditors a choice
of which ballot envelope they would like to use -- with or without
flaps," said Armstrong, ranking Republican of the House State Government
and Tribal Affairs Committee. "This is a way to save taxpayer dollars.
The signature and optional phone number under the flap are already
available through the county auditor's office. So all that flap is doing
is protecting people from the mail carrier. I think we can trust the
mailman."
The measure, which was
brought to a vote March 4, passed the House, 93-2. It was sent to the
Senate Government Operations and Elections Committee.
Also under consideration
that day was Armstrong's
House Bill 1996. The measure would require the owner of underground
facilities or utilities to provide reasonably accurate information to an
excavator before a dig occurs. That includes surface marking the
location of the facilities.
"This bill simply
clarifies who is responsible to make sure underground utilities are
marked. That way, the people doing the digging can carry it out safely
without disrupting service or damaging facilities located beneath the
ground," said Armstrong.
The House gave unanimous
approval to the measure. HB 1996 was referred to the Senate Environment,
Water and Energy Committee.
On Thursday, lawmakers
took up
House Bill 1025, a measure prime-sponsored by Armstrong that would
require college bookstores to disclose information on required course
materials at least four weeks before the start of class.
Armstrong noted that
college books are very expensive. Advance notice would allow students to
shop around to get the best prices.
"This is going to save our
college students a lot of money. Middle-class America is having a hard
time sending their kids through college. This bill says once colleges
know the curriculum, they will list the course materials four weeks
prior to the beginning of class. That advance notice would give students
the option of going online and purchasing books at a discounted price.
If new teachers come on board after the four-week minimum period, this
measure would allow them some flexibility on how soon that information
may be disclosed." said Armstrong. "This is about letting citizens get a
break on the cost of books for their college kids."
The measure passed the
House unanimously, and was sent for further consideration to the Senate
Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee.
Armstrong's fourth
measure,
House Bill 1912, was considered by the House on Friday, March 6. The
measure would allow expansion of the McNeil Island special commitment
center to house sexually-violent predators.
"This keeps the housing of
sexually violent offenders at the McNeil Island commitment center, but
allows it to be expanded by up to 60 beds, bringing its total capacity
to 380 beds. That should be sufficient to handle the population at
McNeil Island for the next six to eight years," said Armstrong. "I want
to make sure we have plenty of room to house these offenders. I don't
want them turned loose because we don't have enough bed space. Plus, I
don't want these offenders housed in other locations around the state.
McNeil Island is a good, secure location for them, so let's expand that
facility so we can keep them away from the public."
HB 1912 passed the House,
89-7. It was sent to the Senate, but has yet to be referred to a
committee.
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For more information, contact:
John
Sattgast, Senior Information Officer: (360) 786-7257
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