Here’s a look at the Senate, where they’re currently working through the amendments to the same-sex marriage bill.

Several amendments have been adopted that are aimed at providing stronger protections for churches and religious organizations.

Sen. Swecker asked for an amendment that would have extended those protections to what he described as “blue collar workers,” such as florists or photographers who opposes gay marriage. The amendment was not adopted.

Sen. Hatfield, a previously undecided Democrat who announced shortly before the session that he would be voting yes on the bill, asked for a referendum clause that would send the issue to voters in the fall. Noting that opponents will likely collect enough signatures anyway, Hatfield said he wants to “trust the people of the state and let voters have the ultimate say.”

Sen. Lisa Brown said she doesn’t believe that’s fair. She said she opposes it for several reasons, including a personal one: Her sister has been in a relationship with a woman for 20 years, and she doesn’t think it’s fair to ask voters whether her sister should have the same rights that she has.

Brown said there were “sad times” in history where if people had voted, they would have been “tragically wrong.”

But Sen. Mike Padden said this is a critical issue to send to voters. Marriage is “a basic unit of society,” he said. “One of the reasons we have marriage laws is because of children and the idea that it’s a pretty neat thing for them to have a mom and dad,” he said.

The amendment failed, 26 to 23.

That was the final amendment — now, they’re on to debating final passage of the bill. We’ll write about that in a separate post, so please refresh your browser.

Tags: same-sex marriage, Senate

Sens. Jim Hargrove and Nick Harper are presenting some ideas for government reform right now to the Senate Ways and Means Committee. You can watch live on TVW.

“We wanted to look at the things that were working, because it certainly didn’t make any sense to cut something that’s working and then try some new, experimental ideas out into the future,” Hargrove said.

First: The state’s violent crime rate is below the national average. “We are doing this with about half as many people in prison per thousand as the national average,” he said, thanks to programs like drug court, juvenile offender rehabilitation and more. And that saves the state about a billion per two-year budget cycle.

Hargrove says they spent the holidays poring over reform ideas. “There was no silver bullet,” he said, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t valuable reforms to be made. He says the Senate Democratic caucus has a list of potential reforms and are working with Senate Republicans on reforms they can all agree on.

Watch the hearing now on TVW.

Tags: government reform, Senate

The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a public hearing on the bills to address human trafficking. You can watch live now on TVW and I’ll be updating this post throughout the hearing.

Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles began by saying she’s proud of the work the state has done over the past decade, but there’s still more work to do. Sen. Jerome Delvin said his bill deals with cases where those with developmental disabilities are lured into prostitution. He said the bill originated from a case in his district.

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn was first to testify, on SB 6251. He said Seattle has been working on the issue of underage children being advertised in escort service sections of newspapers — in print and online. “As has been mentioned, $2.1 million a month to Backpage.com and Village Voice Media,” which owns Seattle Weekly. He said he’s had discussions with Seattle Weekly to compel them to check identification of escorts to no avail. “I strongly support this bill,” he said, which would put that requirement into state law.

Jim Pugel, Chief of the Seattle Police Department, says the bill would help reduce the harm to sexually exploited youth.

Tags: human trafficking, Senate

Here’s the full statement from Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen on her vote for gay marriage:

Tags: gay marriage, Senate

The Senate hearing room, overflow rooms and hallways are packed with people who showed up to speak in support or opposition to a bill that would legalize gay marriage in Washington state.

The first group up to speak in support of the bill included a retired two-star admiral who has a son with his partner of 16 years, a Washington state trooper, and a student whose parents are gay and says he is tired of his family being treated as “second-class citizens.”

Fearing he might be killed in the line of duty, state trooper Tim Cowley said he registered in a domestic partnership with his partner – but it wasn’t the same as a marriage. “There was no ceremony,” he said. “It was signed in a bank in front of a notary.”

Steve O’Ban, a lawyer for opponents of the bill, said that it would force faith-based adoption centers to close their doors, and it wouldn’t allow small business owners — such as wedding photographers – to refuse services to gay couples for religious reasons.

Joseph Backholm of the Family Policy Institute of Washington said that gay marriage is “at least as important as sales tax,” and urged lawmakers to send it to voters.

Dozens of people came from across Washington to watch the hearings, including nuns and opponents wearing “One Man. One Woman” buttons, and supporters wearing  “Washington United” stickers.

Update: The hearing has adjourned. Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, who has been an undecided vote, just announced that she will vote yes for the gay marriage bill, meaning it has the votes it needs to pass.

Sen. Craig Pridemore adjourned the committee saying that the committee plans to vote on the bill at the end of Thursday’s hearing.

Tags: gay marriage, hearing, Senate

The Senate has introduced the gay marriage bill requested by Gov. Chris Gregoire — it’s not yet online, but will be soon right here. So far, they have 23 sponsors, just two votes short of passing.

The AP reported earlier this week that the Senate was close to having the votes. Since that article was published, Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe announced her support, bringing the total to 23.

Tags: Gov. Chris Gregoire, same-sex marriage, Senate

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

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 Senate just took up House Bill 2058, which makes about $480 million in fund transfers and cuts.

To kick off debate, Sen. Ed Murray said the state’s unemployment rate has just dropped to 8.7 percent, as reported by the Associated Press. “It’s not low enough, but it’s definitely movement,” he said. Murray said the budget is responsible because lawmakers took time to hear from people around the state. “We are making a significant down payment on the crisis we face,” he said, and it will allow lawmakers to move more quickly during regular session to work on a budget and a jobs package.

 ”I’m happy we’re getting something done,” said Sen. Joe Zarelli. “We’re making a good start on what is a huge problem … I just want to encourage all the members here today,” to vote for the bill, he said. He agreed with Murray that this early action gives the Legislature a jump start on regular session business.

Sen. Jim Hargrove thanked the budget writers, but said it’s too soon to start looking at revenue. He said there’s more work to be done on waste, fraud and abuse. He said over the next few weeks, he and others will be working on finding efficiencies where more cuts can be made.

The bill passed 42 to 6. It has already passed in the House.

Tags: Budget, cuts, Senate, special session

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