‘None Of The Above’ Not A Winner

On Friday, hundreds of bills that failed to pass from legislative committees began the death march to the recycling bin.

Notable among the dead is a measure that would have given voters the choice of “none of the above” on state ballots.

A bill that would have allowed doctors to prescribe lethal doses of medication to terminally ill patients also did not make it out of committee before Friday’s deadline.

Rep. Dave Quall’s bill for a pilot program for publicly funded, privately operated schools was buried, but two similar bills will reach the floor.

Measures to restrict abortion fared badly. Of the 12 abortion bills introduced, only one will make the House floor.

A proposal to set a new standard for what defines child abuse died after heated debate. The bill would have redefined child abuse as striking a child with enough force to create “a substantial risk of death or serious or protracted disfigurement.”

A bill to restrict lawmakers to introducing only three bills per session at public expense also died.

Other bills that missed the deadline would have imposed a statewide curfew on kids, allowed chain gangs for state prisoners, and banned adoption by gays and lesbians.

A bill to restrict sale and display of material harmful to minors was voted out of committee. But it’s future is dim: Gov. Mike Lowry has vetoed similar bills two years in a row and has promised to do so again.

Also dead was a bill by Rep. Cathy McMorris, R-Colville, to legalize ozone depleting CFC’s.

A bill to break the Department of Social and Health Services into four smaller entities also is going nowhere this session.

A measure to give Spokane County voters the right to initiatives and referendums survived Friday’s deadline.

, DataTimes