Roll Call Report | March 11

Y = Yes, N = No, E = Excused, X = Not Voting

ESHB 1018: Modifying when a special election may be held

ESHB 1018 passed the House by a vote of 67 to 29. This bill changes the dates on which a county may hold special elections. The new dates include the second Tuesday in February, the fourth Tuesday in April and the third Tuesday in May. The bill eliminated the date in March and also would limit the May special election to tax levies that had previously failed in the same calendar year or new bond issues. ESHB 1018 is now in the Senate Government Operations and Elections Committee for further consideration.

41st District: Rep. Judy Clibborn, (D-Mercer Island), Y; Rep. Marcie Maxwell, (D-Renton), Y

48th District: Rep. Deborah Eddy, (D-Kirkland), Y; Rep. Ross Hunter, (D-Medina), Y

ESHB 1956: Authorizes a church to provide shelter or housing to homeless persons on property owned or controlled by the church. ESHB 1956 also would prohibit a county, city, or town from enacting an ordinance or regulation that unreasonably interferes with the decisions or actions of a church regarding the location of housing or shelter for homeless persons on property the church owns or controls. In addition, housing of homeless persons on church property cannot be prohibited based upon the property’s proximity to a school or day care center. ESHB 1956 passed the House by a vote of 56 to 41 and is now before the Senate Human Services and Corrections Committee.

41st District: Rep. Judy Clibborn, (D-Mercer Island), Y; Rep. Marcie Maxwell, (D-Renton) Y

48th District: Rep. Deborah Eddy, (D-Kirkland), Y; Rep. Ross Hunter, (D-Medina), Y

ESHB 1978: Economic Stimulus through transportation funding, passed the House by a vote of 67 to 28 and the Senate by a vote of 45 to 4. It adjusts the 2007-2009 Transportation Budget by reducing it from $7.4 billion down to $7.1 billion. In addition ESHB 1978 places $341.4 million in federal funding into the Transportation Budget. The $341.4 million was provided through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as part of the federal economic stimulus package that passed on February 17, 2009. ESHB 1978 was delivered to the governor and signed into law.

41 District: Sen. Fred Jarrett, (D-Mercer Island), Y; Rep. Judy Clibborn, (D-Mercer Island), Y; Rep. Marcie Maxwell, (D-Renton), Y

48th District: Sen. Rodney Tom, (D-Medina), Y; Rep. Deborah Eddy, (D-Kirkland), Y; Rep. Ross Hunter, (D-Medina), Y

SSB 5561: Requires the State Building Code Council to develop rules, including exemptions, for all residential housing to be equipped with carbon monoxide alarms. SSB 5561 gives authority to the Building Code Council to phase in the carbon monoxide alarm requirements on a reasonable schedule, so long as the rules require all newly constructed buildings classified as residential occupancies be equipped with alarms by January 1, 2011, and all other buildings classified as residential occupancies be equipped with alarms by January 1, 2013. SSB 5561 passed the Senate by a vote of 31 to 17 and is now before the House Local Government and Housing Committee.

41st District: Sen. Fred Jarrett, (D-Mercer Island), Y

48th District: Sen. Rodney Tom, (D-Medina), Y

ESSB 5768: Funding and study for the replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, which passed the Senate by a vote of 43 to 6, requires the state to take the necessary steps to expedite the environmental review and design processes to replace the Alaskan Way viaduct with a deep bore tunnel under First Avenue from the vicinity of the sports stadiums in Seattle to Aurora Avenue north of the Battery Street tunnel. ESSB 5768 sets funding limits at $2.4 billion state funds with $400 million from tolling and directs the Washington State Department of Transportation to conduct a traffic and revenue study for a SR 99 deep bore tunnel for the purpose of determining the facility’s potential to generate toll revenue. The study results are due to the governor and the Legislature by January 2010. ESSB 5768 is now before the House Transportation Committee for further consideration.

41st District: Sen. Fred Jarrett, (D-Mercer Island), Y

48th District: Sen. Rodney Tom, (D-Medina), Y

SOURCE: WashingtonVotes.org, a free, non-partisan website to find plain-English explanations of bills and a record of each legislator’s votes.