GOP faces uphill battle in Statehouse

OLYMPIA – Here’s the easiest way to sum up the Statehouse fate of the three lawmakers that represent the Spokane Valley region: Outnumbered and often overruled.

With Democrats in firm control of the House, Senate and Governor’s Office, the Fourth District’s three Republicans often face uphill battles.

“It’s been a frustrating year – and I think I say that every year,” sighed Rep. Lynn Schindler, R-Otis Orchards, sitting in her office overlooking the Capitol dome.

Nonetheless, she, Rep. Larry Crouse and Sen. Bob McCaslin keep coming back and making their case. Much of what they work on is local – a sewer exemption targeted at a local mobile home park, more money for nursing homes, a tax package intended to help draw a Cabelas store, making it easier to prosecute child rapists years after the offense.

With less than two weeks to go in the legislative session, here’s how the three are faring:

Sen. Bob McCaslin, R-Spokane Valley: A long-retired Kaiser Aluminum manager and real estate broker, McCaslin, 79, has been in the Senate for 26 years. With a reputation as both a Statehouse joker and a man who can hold a grudge, McCaslin is also a pragmatist. This year, for example, he promised to vote for the Democrat-written budget – if it includes money to fix up Avista Stadium and the state’s other four minor-league baseball parks. “I made a commitment,” he said. “They really need to be repaired.”

Most of his bills died this year, some without even a hearing. “When you’re in the minority, you can voice your opinion, but they (Democrats) have got the votes,” McCaslin said.

Among his proposals:

• SB 5042: To delay the statute of limitations for sex-crimes cases until one year after DNA testing identifies a suspect.

• SB 5966: Banning property owners from attaching a locking wheel “boot” or otherwise immobilizing a car.

• SB 6131: Requiring political parties, instead of taxpayers, to pick up the tab for partisan primary elections.

• SB 6667: Reducing the 25-foot no-smoking zone around doorways and windows to 10 feet.

All four bills failed. So far this year, McCaslin has the third-highest number of missed votes in the Senate: 254. He cites health problems, including a painful hip problem. He said he plans to have hip replacement surgery after the session concludes in early March.

Rep. Larry Crouse, R-Spokane: Crouse, a business-oriented conservative, is taking some surprising positions this year. He’s backing bills to expand state pensions for some public employees, supporting an environmental bill to ban phosphates in dishwasher detergent, and voted to let day care workers unionize and collectively bargain. “I’m feeling pretty good,” the 61-year-old former Kaiser Aluminum supervisor said.

Among his bills this year:

• HB 1318: Allowing some teachers and public employees to collect their pension while still working, so long as they’re over age 70. “Maybe you can call it double-dipping, but the point is they’ve worked and they’ve earned that,” said Crouse. The bill failed.

• HB 2690 and HB 2691: Permitting teachers, public workers and judges to pay for additional years of pension credits, to avoid penalties if they retire early. “It allows them to come out with a decent retirement,” Crouse said, “but it’s not going to cost the taxpayers any money.” The idea, he said, is to make it easier to recruit experienced workers who might otherwise be reluctant to leave retirement plans elsewhere. Both bills passed the House overwhelmingly.

Rep. Lynn Schindler, R-Otis Orchards: A mother of 10 and co-manager of a real estate business, Schindler spends much of her time in Olympia calling for government restraint in budgeting and regulations, particularly for small businesses.

On the budget side, she’s a longtime advocate for more money for the North Spokane Corridor highway project. “I don’t have very many bills, because that’s not what I’m here for,” she said. “I’m here mainly to get rid of them.”

For years, she’s also championed the cause of local mobile home parks who, with working septic systems, don’t want to pay sewer charges. Three years after the Legislature passed a bill intended to prevent such charges, she said, the Valley’s Pinecroft mobile home park faces the prospect of a $409,000 sewer charge even though the park has a septic system. Schindler said she worries about the costs to the park’s low-income residents.

Among her bills:

• HB 2717: Restricting mobile-home-park sewer charges. Passed the House, but is struggling in the Senate.

• HB 2139: Requiring parental consent for students to participate in sex education. Failed.

• Four bills to ease requirements under the Growth Management Act, including HB 2708, which would do away with growth management hearings boards. Instead, complaints would be sent to Superior Court judges. All failed.

• HB 2755: Increasing sentences for sex offenders. This bill failed, although lawmakers are pushing through other sex-crimes legislation. Schindler wanted mandatory life in prison for rape of a child under 12.

“The public has had it,” she said.