Quote of the Week:“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” --Alice Walker Legislative Actions: Help us get these bills passed! If you complete your daily WILA actions in the TAN Search Alert email, you may have completed most of these actions. If you're new to Take Action Network (TAN):
Sign in PRO Environment Support SB 5104 (Marine shoreline habitat) by Signing in "Pro" DEADLINE: Feb 6 3:00pm SB 5104 informs and prioritizes critical habitat restoration and protection to support juvenile salmon and other fisheries. Law and Justice Support SB 5624 (Overdoses are a public health issue) by Signing in "Pro" DEADLINE: Feb 6 9:30am SB 5624 is the only proposed drug reform bill recognizing that substance use disorder presents a public health issue rather than a criminal justice issue. It ensures that people will get treatment instead of jail time. Support HB 1440 (Raise the age for juvenile court jurisdiction) by Signing in "Pro" DEADLINE: Feb 8 12:30pm Under current law, children as young as 8 years old are subject to juvenile court jurisdiction. This bill raises the age to 13 and also authorizes a study of whether jurisdiction should be extended beyond age 18. Support HB 1428 (Legalize safe jaywalking) by Signing in "Pro" DEADLINE: Feb 8 3:00pm Current jaywalking laws are enforced disproportionately in neighborhoods that lack sufficient infrastructure for pedestrians and are another pretext to stop people of color. This bill allows people to cross the road as long as it's reasonably safe to do so. Housing HOUSE: Support HB 1474 (Undo the Legacy of Racially Exclusionary Covenants) by Signing in “Pro” DEADLINE: Feb 6 12:30pm This bill would charge a small fee on real estate transactions and use the funds to reverse some of the harms caused by redlining and other racially exclusionary housing practices. SENATE: Support SB 5496 Undo the Legacy of Racially Exclusionary Covenants -- by Signing in Pro DEADLINE: Feb 8 12:30pm This bill would charge a small fee on real estate transactions and use the funds to reverse some of the harms caused by redlining and other racially exclusionary housing practices. Support HB 1628 (Increase Funding for Affordable Housing) by Signing in "Pro" DEADLINE: Feb 7 9:30am This bill would expand the Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) which is collected when real estate is sold, and the revenues would be dedicated for affordable housing. HOUSE: Support HB 1517 (Transit-Oriented Development) by Signing in "Pro" DEADLINE: Feb 7 3:00pm Transit and housing go together like peanut butter and jelly! This bill requires cities to allow density around transit hubs and removes parking mandates in those areas. Sign in CON Law and Justice Oppose SB 5536 (Increasing the penalties for drug possession) by Signing in "Con" DEADLINE: Feb 6 9:30am SB 5536 increases the penalties for drug possession and simply "encourages" diversion to treatment programs instead of mandating diversion as current law requires. It represents a continuation of the failed War on Drugs. Oppose SB 5467 (Increasing the penalties for drug possession) by Signing in "Con" DEADLINE: Feb 6 9:30am SB 5467 treats substance use disorder as a criminal justice issue rather than the public health issue that it is by increasing the penalties for drug possession and forcing people into court-ordered treatment that might not meet their needs. Your Work Pays Off:Urgent Fight for Inclusive Schools in Washington Last week we had an urgent Call to Action. A group calling themselves “Conservative Ladies of Washington” had overwhelmed the Pro/Con submissions on two bills. We needed to fight back.
We thank you for your hearty responses to these important actions. Good news! HB 1131, the Washington Recycling and Packaging (WRAP) Act, received a “do pass” from the majority of members of the House Committee on Environment & Energy. Rep. Beth Doglio, who chairs this Committee, shared this news on Friday, Feb. 3rd. “I received so many emails, postcards and calls asking that we pass this bill out of committee and we did just that yesterday!” OI members have been advocating for passage of HB 1131 through Take Action Network (TAN). Let’s keep up the good work! FYI: The Washington Recycling and Packaging (WRAP) Act will modernize our recycling system by making producers of packaging and paper products responsible for the full lifecycle of their products. This will incentivize producers to reduce unnecessary packaging and make packaging more sustainable; provide equitable uniform recycling access for residents across the state; reduce confusion by developing a clear common list of what can be recycled statewide; mandate post-consumer recycled content in certain plastic containers; and establish a redeemable deposit on beverage containers. Local Actions:Thurston Conservation District Board of Supervisors Election  Voting for a TCD Supervisor The Thurston Conservation District (TCD) has a governing board of five supervisors, of whom three are elected and two are appointed. The District 3 position, currently held by Dave Iyall, is up for election. Dave is again running for re-election. There is one other candidate running for this position. Dave Iyall was first appointed to the Thurston Conservation District Board of Supervisors by the Washington Conservation Commission in 2019 to replace disgraced Supervisor Richard Mankemeyer, who was removed from office by the Washington Conservation Commission for neglect of duty and malfeasance. Mankemeyer’s seat was up for election in January of 2020. Consequently, Dave Iyall had to run as a candidate in order to remain on the TCD Board of Supervisors. Olympia Indivisible Steering Committee asked OI members to support Iyall, whom they knew to be trustworthy and respected by the TCD staff and his fellow progressives on the Board. Olympia Indivisible’s Endorsement team does not do formal endorsements for TCD Board of Supervisor elections because the TCD electoral deadlines are too compressed. However, the OI Endorsements Team has heard from trusted individuals currently involved with the Thurston Conservation District that the present Board of Supervisors, which includes Dave Iyall, is working effectively and collaboratively as a team. Important: Please be aware that you must request a ballot from the Thurston Conservation District in order to vote in this election. You cannot request, pick up, or return a ballot with the Thurston County Auditor’s Offices. Action 1: Request Your Ballot (Beginning February 6th) Option A: Take this action with one click in Take Action Network (TAN) Ask for Your Thurston Conservation District Ballot Option B: Get a ballot mailed to you by requesting your ballot by March 7 at 4:30 pm from elections staff at [email protected] or 564-669-4929. When requesting a ballot, please include your name, telephone number, and address. OR Get your ballot in person March 7-10 & March 13-14 between 8 am and 4:30 pm from elections staff at the Thurston Conservation District Office (2918 Ferguson St. SW, Suite A, Tumwater, WA 98512) Action 2: Return Your Ballot
Postage is provided and there’s a ballot drop box outside the TCD Offices M-F between 8 am and 4:30 pm through March 14th. Preliminary election results will be shared on March 24th and certified at the May WA State Conservation Commission’s meeting. Have You Scheduled These Events?The Legislature Is Determining YOUR Future. How Can You Participate? Join TAN. The Legislature is Determining YOUR future: Let’s get together for Cookies and Conversation and talk about it. Can you influence what the Legislature is doing? You BET you can. Here in the state of Washington, members of local Indivisible chapters are working hard to make it easy for constituents to submit Pro or Con or written testimony regarding proposed legislation. The result is TAN (Take Action Network). There is a bill HB 1176 and companion bill SB 5247 that will get more people into the Clean Energy workforce. Bill 1176 had 187 Pro and 10 Con sign-ins sent in by constituents. Bill 5247 had 47 Pro and 6 Con. Most of those Pro sign-ins are from TAN users spending 5 or less minutes clicking on their keyboard. The process for letting legislators know whether you agree or disagree is daunting if you are not very familiar with the legislative process. For YOU it need not be complicated at all. The tool TAN will do 99% of the work. On February 8 at 2 PM you can find out how. Action: Find out how to use TAN. When: Wednesday February 8, 2PM to 3PM Where: At Glen Hubbard’s home Protocol: Masks optional but please be symptom-free and fully vaccinated. RSVP to: [email protected] Address will be sent after RSVP. We will do a quick overview of what the legislature is doing and how it is basically monitored. Then a quick demonstration of TAN on a 40” tv screen. To build confidence in the tool, a behind the scenes demo of how the actions are created (I recently joined one of the teams creating bill actions) will be shown. TAN users create a profile of issues you are juiced up for. Activity presented is narrowed to your level of interest. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO GET OVERWHELMED! Action Cafe 2023, |
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