The House Judiciary committee is voting on several bills this afternoon, including legislation that would allow same-sex marriage in Washington state. They will also be voting on an adoption bill that would allow adoptees to access their own birth certificates, and a bill supported by Attorney General Rob McKenna that would tighten stalking laws. We will be live with coverage on TVW starting at 1:30 p.m., and we’ll have more on the blog and tonight’s edition of Legislative Review.

Also live on TVW today: At 10 a.m., the Senate Government Ops committee is holding public hearings on bills that would make changes to the state’s Growth Management Act, which was enacted in the early ’90s as a way to limit suburban sprawl. And at 3:30 p.m., the Senate Ways & Means committee is holding a work session on government reform.

Tags: adoption, gay marriage, Growth Management Act, Reform, stalking

Lawmakers tackled gay marriage, the death penalty, human trafficking and other issues in the third week of session. Here’s a round-up of what we covered on the blog and our daily show, Legislative Review.

Monday: Hundreds of people came to the Capitol to voice their opinions on a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in Washington state. The day kicked off with a standing room-only public hearing in a Senate committee. That was followed by a jubilant press conference, where gay marriage supporters celebrated upon hearing news that a 25th Senator has agreed to support the bill, ensuring its passage. The House heard the companion bill later in the afternoon, where an additional 96 people signed up to testify.

Watch Monday’s Legislative Review.

Tuesday: On the show, we looked at recommendations from the state debt commission and a controversial bill that would require anyone arrested for a felony to submit a DNA sample. Also, a bill heard in the House would give extended jail sentences to thieves who knowingly target the homes of deployed military personnel.

Watch Tuesday’s Legislative Review.

Wednesday: Dozens of people showed up for a Senate hearing on a bill that would abolish the death penalty — but not a single person signed in opposed to the measure, causing things to get heated. On the show, we took a look at measures related to teacher evaluations and workplace bullying on the show. We also had a short off-the-set interview with Rep. Dave Upthegrove.

Watch Wednesday’s Legislative Review.

Thursday: The bill to legalize gay marriage was approved by a Senate committee, setting it up for a floor vote. The Legislature considered making some changes to the Discover Pass, including making the passes transferable between vehicles. Also, the Senate Ways & Means committee heard about the cost of the “Toxic Toys” bill, including testimony from one doctor who said he feared it would cause a spike in burn victims.

Watch Thursday’s Legislative Review.

Friday: The Senate Judiciary Committee held a public hearing on several bills to address human trafficking. Friday’s show will air at 6:30 & 11 p.m.

Tags: Discover Pass, gay marriage, human trafficking, toxic toys

The 2012 Legislative session kicked off on Monday, and we covered lots of ground here on the blog and on Legislative Review, our 10-minute wrap-up of the day’s events that airs nightly at 6:30 p.m. on TVW. Here’s a quick look back at what happened this week.

Monday: Opening ceremonies got underway with speeches from Reps. Frank Chopp and Richard DeBolt. TVW aired a two-hour opening day special of “The Impact” with interviews from the Governor and dozens of lawmakers, who touched on everything from the budget to gay marriage and medical marijuana.

Watch Monday’s Legislative Review here.

Tuesday:  Gov. Chris Gregoire gave her final state of the state address, calling for a $3.6 billion transportation package that would include a $1.50 fee per barrel on oil produced in Washington. Sen. Joe Zarelli, R-Ridgefield, delivered the Republican response. That was followed by a news conference where several Republicans said they were concerned that the Governor’s proposed oil fee would cause prices to rise at the gas pump.

Watch Tuesday’s Legislative Review here.

Wednesday: After three years of delivering gloomy economic forecasts, the state’s chief economist Arun Raha announced he was resigning to take a new job in Cleveland — but not without cracking a few of his signature “Arun-ism” jokes first. We kept an eye on two environmental bills — one would ban plastic grocery bags in Washington state, and the other would ban petroleum-based plastic bottles. And, the Senate took a look at a proposal that would consolidate the healthcare benefits of K-12 public school employees under one insurance plan.

Watch Wednesday’s Legislative Review here.

Thursday: A bipartisan group of lawmakers held a press conference to announce their plans for education reform, including a bill that would authorize charter schools in Washington state. Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, D-Burien, held a press conference to promote his version of a bill that would ban plastic bags. The employment department and chief economist Arun Raha gave an update on how the state’s economy is doing.

Watch Thursday’s Leglative Review here.

Friday: The Sandusky scandal prompted the Senate to hear a bill that would hold certain higher education employees responsible for reporting suspected child abuse. Also, the Senate honored Sen. Scott White, who died in October of a heart attack. Friday’s edition of Legislative Review airs at 6:30 p.m. on TVW.

Tags: Arun Raha, Environment, gay marriage, Gov. Gregoire, Legislative Review, Schools

This week: Senate Democrat Leader Lisa Brown and House Republican Leader Richard DeBolt share their views on the state budget, possible tax hikes, and other key issues facing the 2012 State Legislature. Enjoy.

Tags: Budget, House, Inside Olympia, Reform, Senate, taxes

If you miss Arun Raha already, don’t worry: He gives an economic outlook in today’s show. Also: We’ve got details on the education reform package and one of the programs that replaced Disability Lifeline.

Tags: Disability Lifeline, economic outlook, education reform

On this week’s edition of The Impact, host Jessica Gao outline the major themes of the opening days of the 2012 session, including the various job creation proposals. Plus, why the state’s Supreme Court Chief Justice is doing temp work in county court.

Tags: education reform, jobs package, supreme court, The Impact

Gov. Chris Gregoire will be delivering her State of the State address at 10:15 a.m. in a joint session, immediately followed by the Republican response. TVW will be live with both speeches — and live blogging here, too.

We’ll also be following the 1:30 p.m. education hearing in the House, where they’ll be discussing the recent Supreme Court decision that said that the state isn’t doing its duty to fully fund education. They’ll also be looking at innovation in schools. Catch the full recap of today’s events on tonight’s edition of Legislative Review at 6:30 p.m. on TVW.

At 3:30, we’re watching the House Transportation Committee. They’re scheduled to hold a work session on the governor’s supplemental transportation budget.

Tags: education, Gov. Gregoire, supreme court, WA House

TVW launched a new service today to help you track the bills and issues you care about: Scout.

Scout is a free service that allows you to decide what you want to track, from gay marriage to levy equalization to the budget. Type the search into your account, then Scout will let you know whenever there’s new content on the subject. It’s not just limited to TVW video and webcasts — Scout also looks at legislative documents like bills and bill reports. And it allows you to share videos and content with others and keep them in the loop, too.

For more information on Scout, go here. Or register for a free account and get started right away here.

Tags: Scout, TVW

In case you missed today’s special opening day edition of “The Impact,” here’s the 20-minute interview with Gov. Gregoire in which she discusses the half-cent sales tax proposal, gay marriage, medical marijuana and education reform.

TVW interviewed nearly two dozen lawmakers as part of the 2-hour special, which will be rebroadcast tonight at 7 p.m. on TVW. You can also watch all of the clips from the special on the web.

Tags: Gov. Gregoire, TVW

In just a few minutes TVW will be on air with legislators with discussions spanning the topics of the budget, jobs, and higher education.

So far, we’ve spoken with Senators Ed Murray and Mark Schoesler about the budget and Senator Derek Kilmer about job creation.

In our discussion about higher education with Representative Larry Haler, he said “we have reached the breaking point,” regarding cuts to higher education. He said he is in talks with higher education officials and has called for a “zero percent increase” in tuition, or as close to that as is feasible, he added.

All of the interviews today will be on air at 7 p.m. as well.

Tags: Derek Kilmer, Ed Murray, Higher Education, job creation, Jobs, Larry Haler