Today's Loser: Stalking victims. 

The Olympian reports that, under heavy lobbying from state judges, legislators decided not to move forward with Rep. Roger Goodman's (D-45) bill that would have strengthened anti-stalking protections for victims, mostly women,  particularly those who were not in a family or dating relationship with their stalker. (In better news for women's rights, Goodman's legislation barring courts from disclosing information about the whereabouts of domestic violence victims passed the state house yesterday).

The judges argued that they were already overburdened with cases, and that stalking victims could simply get an anti-harassment order from a local court.

Proponents of the law noted, however, that victims have to pay for anti-harassment orders (the legislation would waive the fees for anti-stalking orders in higher courts), and that the punishment for violating an anti-stalking order would be much more severe than the penalty for violating an anti-harassment order.

Today's winner: Birds and small animals. 

Meanwhile, Goodman's seatmate, Larry Springer (D-45), passed a bill today.

From his press release, titled "House passes Springer bill to save Washington industries from birds and small animals":

It seemed to make sense in 2009:  protect sensitive waters by mandating rigid numerical limits on how much bacteria businesses can discharge into sensitive waters under the rules governing industrial storm-water permits.

The problem is that the Department of Ecology failed to factor in the bacteria that birds and other small animals deposit on industrial properties.  Follow-up investigations found that the critters’ deposits were preventing the vast majority of affected industries from meeting the state standard, despite their best management and water-treatment efforts.

The bill, which replaces numeric limits on bacteria with the requirement that industries use "best practices" to comply with water quality standards, passed the house unanimously, 97-0.