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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Olympia

Dead Senate bills include same-sex marriage, school-funding overhaul…

Today was a critical deadline for many bills to clear their first committees in the Senate. If they didn't, they're probably dead. (A similar deadline fell Friday in the House.)

So what great legislative ideas fell to the cutting room floor this evening? Here -- with great thanks to whoever put this list together in the Senate -- is a list of dead bills. Caveat: In some cases, similar bills may still be alive in the House. If you're worried, try running a keyword search at www.washingtonvotes.org, which tends to be better at finding stuff than the Legislature's own site.

Here are a few of the bills that died. Click on the link below for more.

SB 5338 –     Cloned animal food labeling (Jacobsen)
SB 5188 –     Requiring school districts to provide or pay for any necessary remedial education to college students that they issued high school diplomas to. (Stevens)
SB 5674 –     Recognizes the right of all citizens in Washington state, including same-sex couples, to obtain civil marriage licenses. (Murray)
SB 5476 –     Abolishes the death penalty. (Murray)
SB 5216 –     Criminals would face an enhanced sentence if they wear body armor while committing a crime. (Carrell)
SB 5675 –     A car dealer must disclose any known car defects in writing. If a buyer discovers an undisclosed defect within 6 months of purchase, the buyer can seek remedies and void the transaction – if the buyer can prove the seller knew of the defect. (Murray)
SB 5444 –     Phasing in recommendations of the Basic Education Finance Task Force over a six-year period, beginning in 2011. (Jarrett)
SB 5607 –     Implementing the Full Funding Coalition proposal in regards to the Joint Task Force on Basic Education Finance, including a funding increase this biennium. (McAuliffe)

SB 5329 –     Animal spay/neuter assistance program (Pridemore)
SB 5956 –     Voluntary participation in animal identification systems. (Schoesler)
SB 5112 –     Removing the state requirement for a 180-day school year. (Honeyford)
SB 8004 –     Urging Congress and the President of the United States to increase the number of available H-1B visas and mandate that employers hiring through the H-1B visa program pay a fee of $10,000 into a domestic training fund. (Shin)
SB 5418 –     Promoting electric vehicles by providing tax breaks, directing state agencies to install charging stations and setting a target for state motor pools to become fully electric or biofuel by 2016 (Jarrett)
SB 5578 –     Water resource management regarding stock-water from exempt wells (Schoesler)
SB 5867 –     Assuring water supplies for new sub divisions (Fraser)
SB 5214 –     Requiring the state to erect and maintain monuments outside all military bases in the state displaying the base’s name, branch and insignia. (Carrell)
SB 8005 –     Petitioning President Obama and a host of other federal and state officials to reverse the 9th Circuit Supreme Court’s ruling to protect school children from “a coercive requirement to affirm God” while reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. (Holmquist)
SB 8402 –     Preventing the Legislature from acting on any problems except budgets and matter necessary to implement budgets. (Stevens)
SB 5213 –     Requiring anyone attempting to register to vote provide proof of citizenship (Carrell)
SB 5203-     Requiring each health plan offered to public employees and their covered dependents to include coverage for the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders and treatment of autism spectrum disorders in individuals less than twenty-one years of age. (Hobbs)
SB 5857-     Prohibiting a food establishment operating under a permit issued by a local public health officer from serving food containing artificial trans fat. (Tom)
SB 5784 –       A bill to create a task force to make recommendations about how potentially          to reinstate the Western Washington University football program prior to the 2009 season. (Jacobsen)
SB 5077 –     Creating the historically Black college fund pilot project (Jacobsen)
SB 5405 –     Expanding the definition of "resident student" for the purposes of determining whether a student pays resident tuition rates at Washington institutions of higher education. (Oemig)
SB 5217 –     No public money may be allocated for or expended upon the placement of works of art in any facility operated by the Department of Corrections (Carrell)
SB 5477 –     Grandparent visitation rights (Shin)
SB 5643 –     Grandparent visitation rights (Franklin)
SB 6013 –     Grandparent visitation rights (Carrell)
SB 5183 –     Someone is guilty of possession of child pornography if they intentionally             view it on the Internet. (Hobbs)
SB 5068 –     Known as the “Air Passenger Bill of Rights.” Provides airline passengers with the assurances of food, water, ventilations and sanitary facilities. (Jacobsen)
SB 5362 –     Suspends the voter-approved minimum wage increases tied to the Consumer Price Index. This would keep our state’s minimum wage at its current level -- $8.55. (Parlette)
SB 5336 –    Allows dogs in bars and coffee shops. (Jacobsen)
SB 5389 –     Concerning animal trapping—larger overhaul of the initiative. A House Bill is still alive. (Hatfield)
SB 5559–     Increasing youth hunting safety. A House Bill is still alive. (Kohl-Welles)
SB 5128 –     Addressing natural resource impacts from off-road vehicle use/impact. No House Bill. (Jacobsen)



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