February 21, 2011

Dear Neighbors,

This session of the legislature has now moved through committee cutoff dates, which means that hundreds of bills which did not make it out of committee are stalled for the rest of the session.  We will now be spending more time in floor debate working through the bills which are still moving.

This is also a time of intense work on the budget.  As a member of the House Education Appropriations and Oversight Committee, I am prioritizing our commitment to basic education and making sure that we follow through on the education reforms which were started over the past few years.

What I’m working on

· HB 1864, my bill to protect debtors from unfair practices and make them less likely to end up in jail, was approved by the Business & Financial Services Committee by a 13-0 vote.  I am proud of this unanimous vote, because it reflects extensive bipartisan negotiations to craft a bill which is practical and focused. Click here to watch the committee testimony. I will keep you updated as this important bill moves through the process.

· HB 1422 is a bill I sponsored which would authorize a program to convert byproducts from the lumber industry into aviation biofuel.  This bill pushes forward on technology for renewable energy.  Using sources of fuel which are grown here will reduce our need for imported oil, and efficient conversion of biomass to fuel dramatically cuts pollution from the current practice of burning wood waste in open piles. Yesterday, the bill passed out of the House, and it now goes to the Senate.

· I have been working on many other issues: click here for a full list of bills that I have sponsored, and here for my latest video update, which includes Unemployment Insurance reform and a bill to help out homeowners who are struggling with foreclosure.

The “Brian Walsh Act” advances out of committee

When is a duty-related death not a duty-related death?  For the family of Officer Brian Walsh, the answer turned out to be when you die of a heart attack while securing a crime scene.  Walsh, a Federal Way police officer, died last year in the midst of responding to a call.  Although the federal government found that Walsh – who was a 34-year-old healthy non-smoker – died a duty-related death, the state of Washington did not see it that way.

In order to help Officer Walsh’s widow and three children, as well as spare other families from being denied survivor benefits in these situations, I cosponsored the “Brian Walsh Act”.  It clearly establishes a nexus between the onset of a heart attack or stroke, and the duty that an officer or firefighter was performing for his or her job at the time.  At the recent public hearing for the bill, the testimony of Officer Walsh’s widow moved many committee members to tears.  The Brian Walsh Act passed the Labor and Workforce Development Committee and is now awaiting action in the House Ways and Means committee.

1^st District Town Hall Meetings

Next month, the citizens of the first district will have the opportunity to have their voices heard through one of our country’s greatest civic traditions: town hall meetings. I will join my seatmates, Senator Rosemary McAuliffe and Representative Luis Moscoso, for three town hall meetings on Saturday, March 12. The times and locations are as follows:

10:00 am – 11:30 am       Northshore Senior Center (Bothell)

12:30 pm – 2:00 pm         Cathcart Elementary School (Snohomish)

3:00 pm – 4:30 pm           Mountlake Terrace Library

These meetings will be a great opportunity for you to share your opinion and hold your elected officials accountable. I encourage you to come and make your voice heard.

In the meantime, please do not hesitate to email me at Derek.Stanford@leg.wa.gov or call my office at (360) 786-7928.

Sincerely,

Derek Stanford