Rep. Jamie Pedersen, who brought his partner and their children to the hearing, said they were proud to register as domestic partners several years ago — but that this bill represents the final step in the state toward equality.

Jim Justin with Gov. Chris Gregoire’s office said on behalf of the governor that “now is our time” to end discrimination.

Rep. Brad Klippert said if the goal is marriage equality, why limit marriage to just two people? He asked Justin if polygamy might be considered part of marriage equality. Justin said the bill before the committee is what the governor is willing to sponsor.

Rep. Roger Goodman said 96 people are signed up to testify — they’ll each get two minutes, and not all of them will likely be called up, he said.

One student who is the son of two lesbians said no one knows what he means when he says his mothers are “domestically partnered.” He said it sounds more like a business venture than a loving family unit. “Please pass this bill. Your actions will show that Washington state does not discriminate.”

Dan Folden with New Heights Christian Church said redefining marriage is like rerouting the Columbia River. He said if the river were to be rerouted, lawmakers would require an environmental impact statement — but that nothing similar is being done with this legislation. He said he doesn’t approve of passing the bill first to find out what will happen to society.

Another opponent said it’s an abomination and “disgusting.” He said governments don’t determine who can be baptized or saved, and he doesn’t want the government defining marriage, either.

“Simply put, I’d like to get married one of these days,” said Anne Edson. She said she and her partner both served in the military and she is now a minister who spends a lot of her time doing public service, but she’s never been able to get married.

Tags: gay marriage, House

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

Yesterday, I spoke with Rep. Judy Clibborn, chairwoman of the House Transportation Committee. We talked about transportation funding — and she gave me a sneak preview of the $10 to $15 billion transportation funding package that she says the governor will talk about in her State of the State address today.

Tags: House, transportation

The Senate and House just wrapped up opening session. Here’s a scene from the House.

Rep. Frank Chopp outlined his priorities, including education taking early learning “to the next level.” He also said one goal this session is to save the state’s safety net.

“One thing we’ve learned is that an overtaxed industry stifles innovation,” said Rep. Richard DeBolt, in a response. He also said the state has to break it’s dependence on the federal government, move Medicare to block grants and put pressure on the federal government to give the state more flexibility on federal match programs.

Tags: House, Legislature, opening day, Senate

The House Ways and Means committee is getting ready to vote on the bill to make about $480 million in fund transfers and spending reductions.

Before the vote, Rep. Gary Alexander said he was disappointed that lawmakers weren’t doing more. He said the $1.4 billion problem needs to be addressed — and that lawmakers are missing some critical chances to make cuts now.

Rep. Ross Hunter, chairman of the committee, said it has been a difficult process, even for Gov. Chris Gregoire, who only had to worry about one vote — her own — for her proposal.

The bill passed out of committee 24-1 and the House could vote on it as early as this evening. Stay tuned.

Tags: Budget, cuts, House, special session

This week’s Q&A is with Rep. Gerry Pollet, who was just sworn in this week as a member of the House of Representatives. He replaces David Frockt, who moved to the Senate to fill Sen. Scott White’s seat.
Q: Tell me a little bit about what brought you to this position? 

Pollet: I’m a longtime director of the region’s leading group working for the cleanup of the most contaminated area in the western hemisphere, the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, and also work on many other environmental issues around the state. I’ve been an education advocate and volunteer in Seattle public schools for many, many years and those interests have driven me to want to work on behalf of our state and the 46th district here in Olympia. Especially at a time when many people are wondering why would anyone want to serve — but now it’s more important than ever. When difficult decisions have to be made, it’s important to have people who are familiar with the potential impacts in the classroom, for instance, and try to make those difficult choices while also trying to work for a revenue system that is fairer and broader. I don’t think a low-income person in Washington should be paying a higher percentage of their income to taxes than a low-income person in Rick Perry’s Texas.

Q: You mentioned revenue — as you know, Gov. Chris Gregoire proposed a half-cent, three-year sales tax to help solve the budget gap. Are you willing to look at that or have you ruled it out?

Pollet: I believe we have to look at all our options for revenue. I have not been amongst those people who have ruled out the governor’s proposal at all. I believe it’s essential that we have everything on the table. (more…)

Tags: 46th district, House, Rep. Gerry Pollett

At the end of session, House Democrats voted on a bill to close tax loopholes to fund education. The bill got the majority of votes, but because it didn’t get a two-thirds supermajority, the bill failed. That raised plenty of speculation that the vote was the foundation of a lawsuit challenging the legality of Tim Eyman’s Initiative 1053, which requires any tax increase — even the closure of a tax exemption — to pass with a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate or a vote of the public.

Today, we learned that 12 House Democrats, along with education advocates and one former Supreme Court justice, are going ahead with that lawsuit. (Check out the link for more on the case and a copy of the legal complaint.)

Tags: Eyman, House, taxes, two-thirds requirement

Lawmakers listen as panelists discuss how to develop an innovation economy.

The economic engine of the Pacific Northwest is driven by clusters of industry — from aerospace to sportswear — and some economists in the region say those clusters are what will eventually tow the rest of the economy out of the ditch.
That’s what I heard this morning at the Pacific Northwest Economic Region summit, where legislators and thinkers from around the region gathered to talk about how to drive the next phase of economic growth. The panel I attended, on the innovation economy, functioned as a joint legislative hearing and was attended by Reps. Maureen Walsh, Ed Orcutt, Norma Smith, Phyllis Gutierrez, Fred Finn, Cindy Ryu and Bob Hasegawa as well as Sens. Jim Kastama and Maralyn Chase.
“Businesses get strategic advantage — they are better able to compete — if they are in an area where there are a lot of other businesses, a lot of other people, doing the same thing,” said Joe Cortright, president of Impresa Consulting, which specializes in cluster analysis. That might seem counter-intuitive: Why would a businesses want many competitors nearby? But Cortright said the businesses that are part of a geographic cluster of other similar businesses are more successful because, for example, skilled workers move to the area, meaning a more educated workforce.
One example: The athletic and outdoor industry in Portland includes giants like Nike, Adidas importers and Columbia sportswear. But it also includes 700 other businesses and 14,000 total employees who work in businesses related to outdoor apparel and shoes. That’s lead to the firms collaborating on sustainability, and Portland is creating a center for design and innovation. Oregon State University even moved its apparel design program from Corvallis to Portland, he said. (more…)

Tags: House, industry, innovation economy, Senate

Remember back on Sine Die (part 2) when Sen. Phil Rockefeller announced he was leaving the Senate — and said he’d like to see Rep. Christine Rolfes replace him? His wish came true.

Brad Shannon based that post on The Kitsap Sun’s story, which you can read here.

Meanwhile, that leaves her House seat open — and the Sun reports that several people are jumping to fill that seat, which will also be filled by the county party.

Tags: House, Rockefeller, Rolfes, Senate

We’re still wrapping up legislative coverage — you can watch our one-hour Legislative Year in Review starting Friday evening — but campaign news is already coming fast and filing week starts in just a few days.

First, if you tuned into TVW’s Sine Die coverage last week, you learned that Sen. Phil Rockefeller will be leaving his seat to take a position on the Northwest Power and Conservation Council (a position he was appointed to by Gov. Chris Gregoire). But you also learned that he’s recommending Rep. Christine Rolfes for his seat. She told the Bainbridge Island Review that she’s interested in the position. The Kitsap County Democratic Central Committee will choose three candidates and the county commissioners will make the choice.

And Denny Heck has decided to run for Congress again — in a yet undetermined district. As Brad Shannon reports, his Thurston County home could end up in a new 10th Congressional District that’s being hashed out now by the bipartisan Redistricting Commission. The Redistricting Commission is traveling the state holding public hearings now, which you can watch on TVW.

And former state Rep. Laura Ruderman has decided that if U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee runs for governor, she’ll run for his seat in Congress. You can read more about that on Jerry Cornfield’s blog here. Cornfield also notes that Rep. Marko Liias announced last month that he’s forming an exploratory committee to consider a run.

Now, what about Gov. Chris Gregoire? Will she be running for re-election in 2012? She said on Sine Die that she’s given it “absolutely zero” thought.

Tags: 2012, campaigns, elections, Governor, House, Senate