WHAT I’VE BEEN UP TO THESE PAST SIX YEARS

SB 6142, passed in 1998, while the Democrats were in the minority, creates an administrative process by which a DUI results in the revocation of a driver’s license. It has proven effective in convincing an increasing percentage of defendants to seek alcohol treatment in order to get their licenses back. A couple of days in jail isn’t enough of a “hammer” to force that change in behavior, but the prospect of losing a license for 90 days is quite adequate.

1999-2000 Sessions:

When we Democrats took the majority of the Senate in the 1999-2000 sessions, I was made Vice-Chair of the Judiciary Committee, by vote of my Democratic colleagues. It was both an honor and a challenge, since the Committee is responsible for legislation dealing with our courts, the criminal justice system, the laws regarding civil liability, and the civil liberties guaranteed by our state and federal constitutions. Needless to say, this is a job I take seriously.

SB 5152, filed in 1999 but passed in 2000, amends the definition of “public employee” for determining the right of collective bargaining. Among other changes, it allows prosecuting attorneys to bargain collectively. I filed it in response to a situation in which the Spokane County Prosecutor had claimed the right to fire several deputy prosecutors without so much as a hearing.

SB 5442, passed in 1999, was a way to help fund the Housing Trust Fund, which is used to finance low-income housing. It uses the interest on realtors’ trust funds, the money deposited by buyers while waiting for escrow transactions to close. The interest is aggregated statewide, and paid to the Fund for use in low-interest loans to developers of low-income housing.

SB 5509, also in the 1999 session, was a legislative triumph. It creates a right of Holocaust survivors to make claims on their life and/or property insurance, claims which were routinely denied by European insurance companies in the postwar years. It operates directly against the American insurance companies which, like most insurers worldwide, are subsidiaries of the seven European insurance conglomerates. It allows the Insurance Commissioner to deny a license to any US-based subsidiary unless the European parent company publishes the names of its policyholders of unclaimed European policies. (The bill is explained in greater detail,  under the page on Legislative Accomplishments.)

SB 5671, another 1999 bill, repealed almost all of the pre-World War I laws against the I.W.W. (the “Wobblies,”) laws which had prohibited free speech and the right of assembly to all persons who identified themselves as members of “an anarchist organization,” which term was applied to the I.W.W. The old law also had sections which prohibited acts of “industrial sabotage,” but these sections were considered duplicative of other laws and therefore unnecessary by the Prosecutors, who supported the bill.

SB 5672, a 1999 amendment to the Whistleblower Act, was filed in response to the difficulties of state employees who had reported inefficiency, waste, or other wrongdoing on the job, and had been disciplined or fired for their efforts. Most of these were employees who had reported violations of environmental laws by the Department of Ecology, the Department of Natural Resources, and the State Parks. The bill makes it necessary for the agency to prove that the discipline was due to some other cause, by reversing the burden of proof. In other words, when a State employee who has been active in reporting fraud, waste, legal violations, or mismanagement by a State agency suddenly finds himself or herself facing discipline, it’s no longer the employee’s burden to prove that he or she was disciplined for “blowing the whistle,” but rather the agency’s burden to show that the discipline was for some separate reason.. In the years since this became law, State employees and their advocacy organization report greater freedom in speaking out about environmental violations.

SB 5954 clarifies the right of a state assistance recipient in the event of an injury which leads to the recipient’s claim or lawsuit. He or she can recover from the wrongdoer, but must pay the state back for a portion of the benefits received.

SB 6351, passed in 2000, helps fight court congestion, an increasing problem as counties fall behind in funding the Superior and District Courts. It expands the types of civil motions that may be decided by Court Commissioners, in lieu of Judges. This frees up the Judges to hear trials, and thus increases the efficiency of the Courts.

2001-2002 Legislature:

In the 2001-2002 Legislature, I was responsible for nine bills. I was elected by my colleagues to be Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is where seven of the nine originated.

SB 5331 expands the freedom of small businesses to employ debt-collectors to collect debts from other businesses, just as they already do from consumers. (It does not expand the use of collection agencies against consumers.)

SB 5369 was a piece of legislation long sought by women’s groups. It made it much easier to collect back child-support from “deadbeat dads,” by expanding the jurisdiction of Superior Courts to hear child-support cases, whether or not stemming from a divorce.

SB 5491 streamlined the procedure used in appealing a District Court judgment in a “small claims” case to Superior Court. Instead of allowing a new trial in a small claim, the new law allows the Superior Court to enter its decision based on a review of the testimony and written evidence introduced in the District Court.

SB 5790 re-defined the felony offense of Vehicular Assault, in more specific language that satisfied the courts, the prosecutors, and the defense lawyers. The old law had been the subject of several appeals claiming that it was vague, and therefore unconstitutional.

SB 6076 answered a request from the rural counties, whose law-enforcement budgets have been stretched thin by the recent economic decline and the truly asinine tax-cutting initiatives. It allows State Fish and Wildlife officers, acting in the course of their duties, to make arrests for violations of all state laws, not just the wildlife laws. This reduces the need for more police, which rural cities and counties can ill afford.

SB 6292 requires District and Municipal Court judges to be attorneys admitted to the bar, except in small counties with populations less than 5,000. Even in those counties, an exam similar to the bar exam must be passed. Previously, the Justice of the Peace system had been in effect, in the sense that the JP’s had been “grandfathered” as judges without a testing requirement, and those judges were not required to have legal training. This upgrades the ability and expertise of our courts.

SB 6293 allows the Municipal and District Courts to use video for witnesses located outside the court’s jurisdiction at the time of trial. As the King County Jail closes its doors to misdemeanor arrestees scheduled to appear in Seattle Municipal Court, and the City is forced to contract with adjacent counties, there will be trials in which the defendant is in custody elsewhere.

SB 6401 was filed at the request of low-income housing advocates, as a way to give notice to the public when owners or developers of “Section 8” low-income housing prepare to allow their federal designation to expire. They must give notice a year ahead to the city or county clerk, which makes it a public document. These documents may be obtained by non-profit or other groups interested in maintaining low-income housing, who may then offer to purchase the property or make other arrangements to replace the soon-to-be-lost units.

SB 6748, filed in response to a request from the South Seattle Crime Prevention Council, makes it easier to remove abandoned “hulk” vehicles from neighborhoods. These hulks are typically bought at auto-auctions, by mechanics looking for one or more parts to use in repair work, and then are stripped and abandoned. The new law requires that the buyer register his name and the vehicle’s identification number with the Dept. of Licensing on a verified form. This information is made available to the police by radio, so the owner of a hulk can be identified and fined heavily. The South Seattle Crime Prevention Council is encouraged by the results.

Copyright © 2001-2002 Senator Adam Kline   All Rights Reserved.
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