No committee meetings or public hearings have been scheduled for most of this week, as the full House and Senate start to debate and vote on more than 150 bills that have been placed on their respective floor action calendars.
The action follows Monday’s deadline for passing fiscal and transportation measures out of committees in their originating chamber. The next key cut-off deadline is Wednesday, March 9th. That is the last day to pass bills in their house of origin.
On Tuesday, the House passed 16 bills, and the Senate passed 21 bills—most by broad margins or unanimous votes. Some key issues, however, passed along sharply divided partisan lines. Democrats control the House by a 57-41 margin, and the Senate by 29-20 votes.
The Senate passed SB 5066, to require law enforcement officers to intervene and try to stop excessive force by fellow officers. Police officers who witness excessive or attempted excessive force by a fellow officer would need to step in, or face suspension or decertification. The bill would also require that officers report any wrongdoing by another officer to that officer’s supervisor.
The bill passed by a mostly partisan 28-21 vote, with all Republicans and one Democrat, Sen. Tim Sheldon (D-Mason County) voting against it. Republicans said they supported the broader intent of the bill regarding police accountability, but said parts of the bill were too subjective. Senate Republicans proposed nine amendments to clarify the bill’s language and to more precisely define terms like “excessive force” or “intervention.” The amendments were rejected by voice vote.
The bill is now headed to the House for further consideration. A bill in the House, HB 1054, to prohibit chokehold and neck restraint actions by police officers, is also currently on the House floor calendar for possible action this week.
Also on Tuesday, the House passed HB 1009, to require student health plans to provide coverage for the abortion of a pregnancy. The bill passed by a strictly partisan 57-40 vote, with all Democrats voting for it. One Republican member was excused.
Under current law, health plans that provide coverage for maternity care or services must also provide coverage to permit abortions. Student health plans are generally exempt from this requirement. The bill would include student health plans in this requirement.
The Senate on Tuesday also passed SB 5021, to provide that pensions for public employees will not be reduced as a result of pandemic-related furloughs or compensation reductions. According to proponents of the bill, employees would not be penalized by being furloughed during the pandemic, which would reduce the amount of compensation used in calculating their pension benefits. They said this would prevent delayed retirements and protect recruitment and retention of public employees.
The bill passed by a 29-20 mostly partisan vote, with one Democrat voting against it, and one Republican voting for the measure.
WashingtonVotes.org is a free service provided by Washington Policy Center and is the go-to tracking tool to keep up with all the action in Olympia, especially during this mostly virtual session. Please check in often and follow us on Facebook and Twitter at #waleg.