The week of February 19 was one of the busiest of this 60-day session, with the House and Senate releasing their supplemental spending plans for the operating, capital and transportation budgets. Keeping the pedal to the metal, the Senate Ways & Means voted the operating and capital budgets out of committee, while the Appropriations Committee…

Keep up with the bills and committee hearings related to WSPTA member-generated Legislative Priorities and long-term positions – see the attached report for our Bill Tracker for the End of Week 6.

More bills bit the dust this week, bumping up against the February 14 deadline for bills to move from the chamber in which they started. Failing to meet cutoff were the bills to change the threshold to 55% for passing a bond (SB 6246, SJR 8213) and a bill that would have provided free tuition…

Are you looking for a way to make your voice heard without the time and expense of driving to Olympia? Speak with your Senators and Representatives directly at a Town Hall Meeting near you instead! NOW IS THE CHANCE TO MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD! Town hall meetings are a great opportunity to make sure elected…

Advocacy Week kicked of on Monday, January 29, with the annual WSPTA Focus Day, a day for members to come to Olympia. More than 50 advocates, from Arlington to Vancouver, met with legislators, delivered postcards from members not in attendance, and distributed the 2018 WSPTA Legislative Priorities. WSPTA President Michelle Nims, Legislative Director Nancy Chamberlain,…

Keep up with the bills and committee hearings related to WSPTA member-generated Legislative Priorities and long-term positions – see the attached report for our Bill Tracker for the End of Week 5.

Another deadline passed last Tuesday, with bills required to move out of fiscal committees unless they had a direct impact on the budget. Failing to make it out of the House Appropriations Committee were any of the 2242 fix bills. Also failing were the two IB bills in the House (although SB 5917 is still…

Keep up with the bills and committee hearings related to WSPTA member-generated Legislative Priorities and long-term positions – see the attached report for our Bill Tracker for the End of Week 4.

Friday, February 2 marked the first of many deadlines the Legislature has imposed to keep the flow of business moving forward to a March 8th finale. Tuesday, February 6 will be the next cutoff, when bills with a fiscal impact must have passed out of their respective budget committees. After Tuesday, action will turn to…