Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
OLYMPIA - Would your legislator ever consider decriminalizing heroin possession? Or maybe turning the Supreme Court justices’ elections partisan? What about allowing teenagers to taste alcohol?
The 2015 legislative session is just getting started, but already some proposed bills are likely to turn a few heads.
Sixteen Republicans and three Democrats have sponsored House Bill 1051, which would require Supreme Court justices — but no other judicial officer in the state — to declare a partisan affiliation when running for election. One sponsor, Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, has called the bill more of a poke at the Supreme Court than a genuine attempt to pass legislation.
Sen. Jan Angel, R-Port Orchard, has sponsored Senate Bill 5008, which would amend the state definition of a “beverage” to exclude beer and other malt drinks. The proposal is all about the container, though not the liquid inside. The bill would allow business owners to sell beer in a new type of container with a recyclable lid. That type of bottle is prohibited under current law.
HB 1004, co-sponsored by Rep. Larry Springer, D-Kirkland, and nine others, would allow community colleges and universities to hold alcohol tastings for those over the age of 18. It would also allow people between the ages of 18 and 21 to taste alcohol in relevant courses, such as viticulture.
Rep. Sherry Appleton, D-Poulsbo, co-sponsored HB 1024, which would remove the felony classification from drug possession charges, reducing them to simple misdemeanors. The bill is set to be presented to the House Public Safety Committee on Jan. 16, but Appleton believes it’s too early to predict how the proposal will do.
Appleton’s identical bill last year never made it to the House floor. But proposing the same bill multiple times is not uncommon in the Legislature.
Among other interesting bills is a measure to outlaw breed-based dog bans, which some dog owners believe unfairly target certain breeds without the science to back up the bans. Another proposed bill would create an advisory committee to set East Asian-medicine standards.
The fate or future of any of these proposals rests with the legislative process that opened Monday in Olympia. For the curious, bills filed and their hearing schedule if referred to committee may be accessed at http://app.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/ For Legislature committee schedules, go to http://leg.wa.gov/legislature/pages/calendar.aspx.
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