AWSP Blog

The first cut off is occurring as this is being written and next week will be the last cut-off deadline for all fiscal bills. The legislative field will then be winnowed down, and the focus will shift toward floor action and behind the scenes’ discussions over the budget.

Snowmageddon descended on Olympia, and things came to a halt, but now that the worst (we can hope) is over, the process is moving again. Agendas have been lengthened. As cut off dates approach the list of bills for executive action by individual committees grows long. This is a brief summary of bills that are either moving or should be pushed to move. The last section of this report has some suggested actions on bills that need support and advocacy in order to advance before cutoffs.

The session is still flowing toward cut off dates, when an observer can then more closely focus on what would appear to be potential ‘rocks’. Also, energies can be directed more specifically to advance critical bills that have survived the first cut. As a reminder, the cut off dates are: February 22 for policy bills and March 1 for fiscal bills.

The introduction of bills has slowed markedly as committees now focus on having public hearings. Then bills are moved out of their respective committees through action in Executive Session. February 22 (policy bills) and March 1 (fiscal bills) are the cutoff dates. Bills that have not advanced by then, ‘die’.

At the risk of repetition, the legislative session and Governor’s actions have concluded. This was a session that was akin to a sprint to the finish line with the Democrat majorities in both houses pushing many pieces of legislation that had stalled in previous sessions. There were 1,425 new bills introduced and 310 passed during this 60-day session. In 2017, for comparison, for the 193 days of regular and special sessions, 377 bills passed. So, what happened regarding pensions, health care, financials and other issues?