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WACOPS Legislative Update – Week 7 – 2/27/15

WACOPS Legislative Update – Week 7 – 2/27/15

WACOPS Legislative Update

Week 7 – 2/27/15

   
Week Seven
The close of week seven brings with it a very important cut-off date: fiscal committee cut-off. If a bill has a fiscal impact, it must be successfully voted out of its fiscal committee by close of business today or it is dead. This week’s update will focus on the status of our bills related to WACOPS, including both bills that we support and bills we oppose.
 
IMPORTANT: While you read through the list, please remember that even if a bill appears dead, there is always the possibility that further along in the legislative process the dead bill will be deemed “Necessary to Implement the Budget”, be resurrected from the dead, and passed into law along with the budget. Nothing is over ’til it’s over, as they say.
Status of Bills

Workplace

 Brady List:  HB 1512 – The Brady List bill is alive and well in the House Rules committee. We are seeking a Rules “pull” that would then allow the bill to have a floor vote. The Senate version did not receive a hearing.

 Fish & Wildlife: HB 1964 – SB 5763 – The bills that would extend binding arbitration and other law enforcement bargaining rights to Fish and Wildlife officers and sergeants passed out of their policy committees. An amended version of the Senate bill is scheduled to be heard this afternoon in the Ways and Means Committee.

CJTC: SB 5982 – The bill that would make local agencies cover 100% of CJTC training costs was heard in the Senate Ways and Means Committee this week. The hearing provided an opportunity for law enforcement to educate the Senate on the history of criminal justice training funding. The bill appears dead.

Criminal Justice

Alicia’s Law: HB 1281 – The House version of Alicia’s Law passed out of Appropriations this afternoon. The Senate version is currently set for Executive Session for this afternoon. The funding mechanism is still being debated.

DOC: SB 5783 – The Senate bill that authorizes officers to assist DOC with supervision of offenders passed out of its policy committee and is alive in the Rules Committee.

Sheena’s Law: HB 1448 – Officially changed from “Sheena’s Law” to “Sheena and Chris Henderson’s Law”, the bill is still alive and was passed out of the Appropriations Committee today.

Pension/Benefits

Spousal Death Benefit:  HB 1194 – SB 5246 – The Senate version of this bill was never heard. The House passed out the the amended version approved by the LEOFF 2 Board today.

Deferred Comp: SB 5435 – The bill that requires all agencies to offer the state’s deferred compensation program to their employees passed out into the Rules Committee.

Retirement Age: SB 5982 – The bill that would change the LEOFF retirement age from 53 to 55 was introduced into the Senate Ways and Means Committee but did not receive a hearing. We are keeping an eye on this bill as it may come into play during budget discussions that will occur later in the session.

Bill Report

  for the bill report. It shows all the priority bills we are currently tracking.

We appreciate your input and welcome suggestions. Please feel free to contact us with questions or comments. We work for you and the greater input we get, the better we can represent you.

 Contact Us

If you have any questions or would like to testify on a bill, please contact us at 1-800-887-2677 or using the information below.

www.wacops.org

200 Union Ave SE
Olympia, WA 98501
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