News

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House, Senate supplemental budgets lauded, but some adjustments called for

In concurrent House and Senate hearings late Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 20), AFSCME Council 28 (WFSE) praised each plan for helping vulnerable people.

But we supported the House budget provisos on Department of Corrections and funding of our health benefits.

Outsourcing transparency bill just plain good government, Senate panel told

Our priority bill to bring transparency and accountability to state outsourcing brings front-end scrutiny that may stop a bad decision before it costs taxpayers money.

That’s what 2SHB 1851 would do, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Laurie Dolan of the 22nd Dist., told the Senate State Government Committee Monday night (Feb. 19).

Date-of-birth privacy bill about safety and security, supporters tell a House committee

The bill to keep our dates of birth private, SB 6079, is about protecting the “physical and emotional safety” of state employees, not a restriction on the news media, bill sponsor Sen. Patty Kuderer of the 48th Dist. told the House State Government Committee Tuesday morning (Feb. 20).

Senate first out of gate with supplemental budget proposal

The Senate Democratic majority on Monday (Feb. 19) released its proposed supplemental budget – the off-year budget that tweaks the major two-year operating budget adopted last year.

The House plan is expected tomorrow.

How one DOC member’s story moved his legislator to action

The sponsor of the good bill that already unanimously passed the House said the idea of protecting the integrity of post-incident counseling and peer support came from a new awareness brought to him by one of his constituents.

Rep. Andrew Barkis of the 2nd Dist. said John Tulloch, a Community Corrections specialist and member of Local 443, told him that the dangerous work he and his colleagues do often involves “critical incidents” that may involve use of force.

Big news as two more priority bills pass

It was a late Monday and early Tuesday at the Capitol as the House passed two more of our priority bills – the part-time employees bill and the Taxpayer Protection Act.

The House Monday night (Feb. 12) passed the bill to leave no doubt and add part-time state employees to civil service. HB 2669 passed on a vote of 50-47. It now goes to the Senate.