GOP lawmakers managed quiet victories
OLYMPIA – With Democrats running the show in Olympia, 2006 was a tough year for the Spokane Republican lawmakers from the 6th Legislative District, a 20-mile-long crescent that encompasses much of western Spokane County.
“It’s one of those years where if you want something to go through, the last thing you want is to have your name on it,” said Sen. Brad Benson, R-Spokane.
But the district’s three GOP lawmakers eked out some quiet victories – and one pretty noisy one – during the recently ended 60-day legislative session.
The big win, of course, was Rep. John Ahern’s 11th-hour passage of a bill allowing felony charges against chronic drunk or drugged drivers. Under the bill, which Gov. Chris Gregoire recently signed into law, a fifth DUI in a decade could be a felony, earning the driver an average of 22 months in state prison. Ahern’s repeated pitch to reluctant lawmakers was simple: “Get the drunks off the highway.”
Here’s how Benson, Ahern and Rep. John Serben did this session.
Benson: Benson faces a strong re-election challenge from Spokane businessman Chris Marr, so he said Democrats were reluctant to grant him many wins in Olympia this year.
Several bills he sponsored – a sales tax break for home medical equipment, a weight-fee exemption for vans and cars for the disabled, allowing more time to take school officials to court – died immediately. He did get a couple of uncontroversial bills passed, including one that makes it easier for state troopers to enforce bans on truckers’ noisy compression braking.
Still, Benson said he was pleased that the Legislature passed a sweeping plan to store Columbia River water for crop, human and fish use during dry months. He’s glad that the transportation budget includes $32 million more for the North Spokane Corridor and nearly $3 million for local rail projects.
He was disappointed at the passage of a bill banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and hopes that a ballot measure to reverse that law will pass in November.
Serben: Most of Serben’s bills also died quietly this year, many without even getting a hearing. Among them:
“House Bill 3012: Would have created a special weeklong deer and elk hunt for any military members who missed the previous hunting season because they were deployed.
“HB 3130: Would have allowed “smoking rooms” in veterans homes, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and similar facilities. Under the state’s new Initiative 901, indoor smoking is banned in most such settings.
“HB 3129: Would have required a 60 percent “supermajority” vote of lawmakers to allow future off-reservation tribal gambling.
Serben did get a courts-backed bill passed that forces military dependents – not court officials – to confirm their status in order to qualify for special protections from lawsuits.
Like Benson, Serben said from the outset of the session that his priorities were things that didn’t necessarily have his name on them. Serben quietly pushed for tougher sex offender penalties and economic development in border communities, both of which passed.
Ahern: Ahern focused largely on crime this year.
He proposed a bill to toughen sentences for drug crimes – like cooking meth – that damage a home or building. He called for mandatory life in prison without parole for some sex crimes against children.
“The public wants toughness,” he said at the start of the session.
Both bills failed.
But he lobbied Democratic leaders daily for the felony DUI bill. They worried about the cost of incarcerating scores more people at $26,000 a year; Ahern argued that imprisoning people would save lives. “Get the drunks off the highway,” he said. The measure’s also intended to give chronic drug or alcohol abusers enough time in prison treatment programs that they have a better chance at not reoffending.