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Today, as I write this column, is the 44th day of our 60-day legislative session. The Legislature has a lot of work to do in the next 16 days before session ends on March 12th. Over the upcoming final two weeks, the Legislature needs to pass the supplemental operating, capital and transportation budgets. We have many bills, both good and bad, that must be debated, perhaps amended, and passed off the Senate or House floor.
Current state law requires citizens in Yakima, Benton and other mid-sized counties to elect coroners. We want to change that. We want the elected commissioners in those counties to appoint their coroners. That not only saves money, but — because elected officials will still make the final decision — it preserves accountability. Our legislation offers three immediate benefits: It preserves the right of citizens to vote for policy makers. It reduces election and operating costs.
Like many others, I read the Herald-Republic’s Nov. 21 editorial (“Redrawing legislative districts is a game of inches”) about the state Redistricting Commission’s failure to agree on new legislative and congressional boundaries on time and what happens next.
Unless Washington state complies with the federal government mandates in the REAL ID Act, Washingtonians seeking to board planes will face serious disruptions as thousands of passengers find out their driver’s licenses are no longer enough to get them past security gates. The resulting chaos in our airports and the negative impact on the revenue those airports generate for our state would be widespread, expensive — and totally avoidable. The deadline for compliance is Jan. 22, 2018.
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