May 20, 2009

Dear friends and neighbors,

Mark Twain once said, "No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the Legislature is in session."  Now that the 2009 legislative session is over (adjourned April 26) and we've had some time to reflect on the actions/inactions of the past four months, I've compiled a thumbs-up/thumbs-down list of session wins and losses.

As always, I welcome your comments. Please click here to contact my office through our e-mail service.

It is an honor to serve you.

Sincerely,

Dan Kristiansen
State Representative
39th Legislative District

P.S. - When e-mailing me, please do not hit reply to this e-mail as I will not receive the response. Instead, I invite you to click here and e-mail me. Thank you!

2009 Legislative session - Wins and losses
By Rep. Dan Kristiansen

Thumbs up: Eryk's Law - HB 2279
Named after a Lake Stevens boy who was nearly beaten to death by a family friend who was babysitting him, this measure prohibits convicted child abusers from working with children under the age of 13 in a paid or volunteer capacity.

Thumbs down: Felon voting rights - HB 1517
Gives felons voting rights once they have been released from jail, but before they have paid restitution and court fees.

Thumbs up: College textbooks - HB 1025
Requires college-affiliated bookstores to provide a four-week advance notice of course material requirements, giving students additional time to find the best price of the books and instructional materials they need.

Thumbs down: Tuition increases - SB 5734
Removes the 7 percent annual limit in tuition increases. It's expected the four-year universities will now hike tuition by 30 percent over the next two years. That's an additional $601 at Western Washington University.

Thumbs up: Farm structures permitting - SB 5120
Reduces permitting fees on agriculture structures

Thumbs down: Fee increases (numerous bills)
New fees totaling $435 million were added, including a vehicle license tab "opt-out" box if you don't want to pay an additional $5 for parks, an increase in the costs of document recording fees from $10 to $30, and new recreational hunting and fishing license surcharges.

Thumbs up: Farm tax exemptions - HB 1733
Adds horse boarding to open space property tax exemptions.

Thumbs down: Operating budget - HB 1244
Punts hard decisions to the future. The budget uses $4.8 billion in one-time money for on-going programs, and spends more than the last one. It transfers $777 million from the capital budget and adds $8 million in new programs. Consequently, this sets up Washington for another huge deficit when the next budget is written in 2011.

Thumbs up: Right to grow and harvest - SB 5562
Provides protection under the state's "Right to Farm" laws for the passive growing of timber.

No special session - Levy equalization funding stays intact - HB 1776
On the session's final day, House Republicans fought hard against House Bill 1776, a measure that sought to cut $60 million from levy equalization, money sent from the state to local school districts with too little valuable property to tax. Had this measure passed, it would have reduced funding for schools throughout the 39th District by hundreds of thousands of dollars. (Click here to view how our schools would have been affected.) The bill would have also allowed schools to lift their property tax levy lids by 4 percent, helping mostly property-rich districts. The bill was deferred and time ran out before a vote could be taken. The governor and majority leaders discussed a special session to vote on this bill, but later reconsidered. It was a victory for our local school districts who will now continue to receive full levy equalization dollars.

These are a sampling of the bills that have passed. For a full thumbs up/thumbs down list, go to my Web site at: www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/Kristiansen and click on 2009 Best and Worst Bills.

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