Morning Fizz
Under the Radar
1. The state senate transportation committee held a follow-up hearing Monday afternoon on committee chair Senator Mary Margaret Haugen's controversial bill to require applicants for state driver licenses to provide a social security number or prove they are in the U.S. legally.
As we reported, last Friday's hearing got heated (and adjourned early) when some opponents of the bill who didn't get to testify shouted out that Haugen's bill was an attack on undocumented immigrants. Sen. Haugen slammed her gavel, adjourned the hearing, and said, "do you want to see my grandchildren? Half of them are brown.”
Opponents of the bill, however, were not aware of Monday afternoon's follow-up hearing—where there was testimony from the Department of Licensing and the state patrol—and say the hearing was rushed through under the radar without the proper five-day public notice. (The committee voted to waive the rule at the top of Monday's hearing.)
Immigrant rights group OneAmerica, which has been lobbying against the bill, wouldn't comment on this issue specifically, but said having a clear, democratic process when forming legislation was important.
We have a call in to Sen. Haugen's office.
2. Fizz ran into liberal state Sen. Craig Pridemore (D-49, Vancouver) in the Capitol snack bar yesterday. We had called the senator last week about his surprise vote —against labor and with big business—on unemployment insurance, and we wanted to hear why he voted the way he did.
Pridemore—who last year made a brief run in the Democratic primary for U.S. congress from the populist union left (and who has a progressive state ledge voting record)—did not demur: "Business in my district can't afford higher insurance rates," he said. "It was good for business in my district."
Asked if a particular Vancouver-area business had lobbied him, he simply said with a smile that the local chamber supported his vote .
3. Speaking of Pridemore, he was also on the anti-environmental side of a big deal government operations committee vote yesterday. (Pridemore chairs the committee.)
Environmentalists are freaked out about a bill, sponsored by Republican Sen. Dan Swecker (D-20, Rochester), that would allow cities to delay implementation on the Growth Management Act, density goals, fuel efficient fleet standards, shoreline management plans, and stormwater guidelines.
The bill was set to get voted out of committee yesterday when progressive Sen. Sharon Nelson (D-34, W. Seattle) stalled Swecker's bill with an amendment calling for more study. The amendment failed on a three to three deadlock, but it was enough to keep the bill in limbo.
Nelson was joined by ultra liberal Sen. Maralyn Chase (D-32, Shoreline) and committee vice chair, Sen. Margarita Prentice (D-11, Renton). Pridemore voted with Swecker and Sen. Pam Roach (R-31, Auburn) against Nelson's amendment.
The potential tie-breaker, Republican Sen. Don Benton (R-17, Vancouver) was absent.
4. As for that unemployment insurance bill mentioned above: The house is set to vote on it today. Ha. Let's hope they do. Supposedly there was a February 8 deadline for business to get the tax break . Guess not. But the urgency certainly skewed the negotiations to get the $300 million break in the bill.
What's not in the bill? A children's benefit that labor wanted. (It was in the version that passed out of committee, but it's no longer in the deal.)
The house version does include some temporary extra federal money for workers that's not in the senate version. But labor had wanted the children's benefit ($15 a week per child up to $50 a week)—which would have been a permanent add on to UI benefits. Instead, along with the extra one-time money ($98 million)—the bill tweaks UI law to make it easier for unemployed workers to still receive their UI check while going to school for retraining.
No money for retraining, though, labor grouses.
5. State Rep. Eric Pettigrew's (D-37, S. Seattle) controversial education bill (it uses teacher evaluations rather than seniority to guide layoff decisions) is tentatively scheduled for a hearing next Tuesday, Feb. 15, in the house education committee.
