Quote of the Week: “For those who want democracy and the rule of law in the United States after 2024, I would only add: now is the time to organize, to prepare to win locally and nationally, and to talk not only about what is to be lost but what can be gained.I wrote On Tyranny in a defensive mode; but freedom is something not only to be defended but to be defined and to be celebrated. As for me, I believe that if we can get through the next year, things could get better. Much better.” Timothy Snyder, “Thinking About” substack, Jan. 6, 2024. Sign up to Mobilize for Democracy! Don’t Despair, It’s Not Too Late!  Photo Credit: Friedrich Rehberg, Wikimedia You can make a difference in 2024. Join us at Olympia Indivisible’s Electoral Season Inaugural Event, 2024: Mobilize for Democracy! Sign up now: it will take you all of one minute (or less!). On Monday, January 15th (MLK Day), we’ll be gathering at the St. John’s Episcopal church to share news about how you can protect and strengthen democracy in this historic election cycle of 2024. You can join one of our new teams or you can join one of our experienced teams. We know how to get this work done and make it fun! And your help is what will ensure that we will celebrate a victory for democracy in November. Doors open at 12:30pm. Meeting starts promptly at 1pm. St. John’s Episcopal Church is located at 114 20th Avenue SE in downtown Olympia. Overflow parking available on side streets and at Lincoln Elementary School. Please let us know you are coming: Register here. Legislative Actions:  If you're new to Take Action Network (TAN):
Oppose Oppose by sending a comment and an email to your Senator Oppose SB 6026 - Requiring Teachers to use a student's given names (Senate: Prefiled) DEADLINE: Feb 5 • 11:00pm SB 6026 requires public schools in Washington state to call students by the name on their birth certificates unless they have received the permission of parent/guardian. LGBTQ+ youth are suffering from high rates of mental health stress and suicide. This bill would certainly add to that. Sign in CON Sign in Con to Oppose HB 2126 - Prevent Sprawl by Not Allowing ADUs in Rural Areas DEADLINE: Jan 16 • 3:00pm Protect rural farms and forests. Don't allow sprawl! ------------ Support these bills by signing in PRO Environment Support HB 2070 (Cumulative Risk Burden (CURB) Pollution Act): Sign in "Pro" for House Environment & Energy's Public Hearing DEADLINE: Jan 16 • 3:00pm Stop pollution in overburdened communities. Sign in "Pro" to Support HB 1185 (Reducing environmental impacts associated with lighting products) DEADLINE: Jan 18 • 7:00am Broken mercury lights (fluorescent) release toxic mercury to the air, which accumulates in the environment. This bill addresses a phase out of mercury light bulbs and an update of the existing light-cycle law. Ending Gun Violence Sign in "Pro" for Restricting gun possession in risk-based and sensitive places - SB 5444 DEADLINE: Jan 15 • 9:30am Keep guns out of libraries, parks, transit stations, zoos and aquariums Sign in "Pro" for Creating a Gun Dealer Code of Conduct - HB 2118 DEADLINE: Jan 16 • 9:30am Require gun dealers to secure their inventory against theft, have general liability insurance, and maintain sales records to aid investigations of gun crimes. Sign in "Pro" to Restrict Bulk Purchases of Weapons - HB 2054 DEADLINE: Jan 16 • 9:30am Limiting the number of firearms purchased at a given time is a straightforward approach to prevent gun trafficking. Sign in "Pro" for Report Lost and Stolen Firearms - HB 1903 DEADLINE: Jan 16 • 9:30am Requires firearm owners to report lost or stolen guns within 24 hours or face a $1000 civil fine. Sign in "Pro" for Enhancing the requirements on a Permit to Purchase Firearms - HB 1902 DEADLINE: Jan 16 • 9:30am Enhances the requirements for purchasing a firearm by requiring a permit and safety training programs Sign in "Pro" to Allow WA State Patrol to destroy confiscated firearms - HB 2021 DEADLINE: Jan 16 • 9:30am Give WA State Patrol authority to destroy firearms after they've been confiscated so they stay out of circulation This closes a loophole and allows WSP to make that decision Healthcare Support SB 5960 (Protect abortion care providers from harassment .): Sign in "Pro" for Senate Health & Long Term Care's Public Hearing DEADLINE: Jan 16 • 7:00am This bill would replace the prescribing provider's name on prescription bottles with their provider number or their practice name at their request to reduce harassment. Sign in Pro and support HB 2145 Concerning medically necessary treatment of a mental health or substance use disorder DEADLINE: Jan 19 • 7:00am HB 2145 defines medically necessary treatment for mental health and substance use disorders. This bill requires health plans to follow standards, prohibits discretionary authority and sets penalties for non-compliance. Support HB 2066 (Addressing affordability through health care provider contracting.): Sign in "Pro" for House Health Care & Wellness's Public Hearing DEADLINE: Jan 17 • 12:30pm The legislature intends to prohibit the use of certain contractual provisions often used by providers, hospitals, health systems, and carriers with significant market power. Justice Support HB 1325 (Second Chances for Young Adults): Sign in "Pro" for House Community Safety, Justice, & Reentry's Public Hearing DEADLINE: Jan 15 • 12:30pm Current law allows people convicted of crimes committed before age 18 to seek review of long sentences. This bill extends the age to 25 to account for new developments in brain science and racial disparities in juvenile sentencing. Support HB 2030 (Free the Vote Act): Sign in "Pro" for House State Government & Tribal Relations's Public Hearing DEADLINE: Jan 16 • 12:30pm Denying the vote to people who are in prison has its roots in the racial discrimination of the Jim Crow era. People who are in prison should have a voice and should be able to hold elected officials accountable for the policies that impact them directly. Housing Sign in "Pro" to Make the RETT Tax More Progressive: Support HB 2276 (Affordable Homes Act) in House Finance Hearing DEADLINE: Jan 18 • 12:30pm Make the Real Estate Transfer Tax more progressive by making it more affordable for lower-priced homes. Sign in Pro to Support HB 2012 (Property Tax Exemption for Nonprofit Affordable Housing) for House Finance's Public Hearing DEADLINE: Jan 18 • 12:30pm Make nonprofit affordable housing more affordable! Support SB 5770 (Raise Property Tax Growth Cap): Sign in "Pro" for Senate Ways & Means's Public Hearing DEADLINE: Jan 18 • 3:00pm Undo Tim Eyman's 2001 initiative that cut state and local services! Sign In Pro to Support HB 2113 (Compliance for Growth Management Act / "Builder's Remedy") at House Housing's Public Hearing DEADLINE: Jan 15 • 12:30pm "Builder's Remedy" - Add more state oversight to counties' and cities' adoption of housing requirements of Growth Management Act Sign in "Pro" to Support HB 2071 (Streamline Residential Zoning) for House Housing's Public Hearing DEADLINE: Jan 15 • 12:30pm Cut the fat from zoning regulations! Schools Sign in "Pro" to Support SB 6016 (Green energy school funding) DEADLINE: Jan 16 • 12:30pm Create a green energy community fund to support schools and nonprofits. Sign in "Pro" to support HB 2297 (Put solar systems on certain new school buildings) DEADLINE: Jan 18 • 12:30pm Put solar systems on certain new school buildings WA State Actions: New TAN Training Dates Take Action Network training (Introduction to TAN) is available on various dates and times through Thursday, January 18th. These are very non-technical, non-intimidating, comprehensive, and fun. Action: Use these links to sign up with one of Kevin’s upcoming training sessions: Federal Actions: Support the Fight Book Bans Act Photo credit: tomhermans on Unsplash A group of Democratic members of Congress this week introduced new federal legislation aimed at combating the surge of book banning in schools. Introduced on December 5 by Florida’s Maxwell Alejandro Frost and Frederica Wilson, and Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the Fight Book Bans Act would offer school districts funding to defend against the ongoing surge in challenges to books and educational materials that has led to thousands of titles being pulled from school library bookshelves. Action: Tell Rep. Strickland to support the Fight Book Bans Act H.R. 6592 introduced by Florida’s Maxwell Alejandro Frost. Modify the email to make it more personal. Option A: Take this action with one click in Take Action Network (TAN) (action) Option B: Contact Your Representative
Script: Please co-sponsor the Fight Book Bans Act that was introduced on Dec. 5 by Florida’s Maxwell Alejandro Frost. As Rep Frost said "Book bans in Florida and in states across the nation are a direct attack on our freedoms and liberties everywhere". End Hedge Fund Control of American Homes  Hedge funds and other investors maximize profits by imposing high rent increases, inflating fees, and delaying home maintenance and improvements, which diminishes the quality of housing over time. Action: Support the End Hedge Fund Control of American Homes Act Protect Legacy Forests on Federal Lands Photo credit: Colville National Forest. Source: Flickr. Photo by Ed Suominen From our Friends at Earthjustice Mature and old-growth forests are also known as “climate forests” because they offer natural climate solutions that remove and absorb large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere while providing vital refuges for many at-risk species and vulnerable wildlife. The U.S. Forest Service has proposed a policy that needs your input to ensure it contains the strongest possible protections for our forests. The proposed plan could protect old-growth trees in national forests from most logging. But the Forest Service also needs to issue strong protections for mature trees, which are our future old-growth forests and exist in much greater numbers than old-growth. Action: Send your comment to the U.S. Forest Service’s Land Management Plan Direction for Old-Growth Forest Conditions Across the National Forest System Have You Scheduled These Events?Action Cafe 2024, Every Monday at Noon The Action Cafe will be closed this Monday, January 15, since we and you will be attending OI’s Electoral Season Inaugural Event, 2024: Mobilize for Democracy! From Our Friends at TYCC (Thurston Youth Climate Coalition)  14th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Silent Peace Walk, Sunday, January 14, 2024 From our friends at Open Gate Zendo The 14th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Silent Peace Walk will start at Marathon Park on Olympia’s Capitol Lake precisely at 12:00pm (noon) Sunday, January 14th. This mile and a half meditation walk takes one hour and is worth every single step. This has been an annual tradition sponsored by The South Sound Buddhist Peace Fellowship (SSBPF) and Open Gate Zendo for 16 years and has always been one of our best attended events. ---- We Need More Volunteers to Observe Ballot Initiative Petition Signature Count This is an ongoing effort to verify the signatures MAGA Republicans have gathered on the six initiatives they sponsored to remove Washington laws that progressive legislators put years, sometimes decades, into passing. To qualify to be a ballot validation observer is by taking a 30-minute in-person training hosted by the Washington Secretary of State. The address is 243 Israel Road SE Tumwater, WA 98501. The training is on the third floor, in room TC304. You must register to attend. Here are the dates and times to train as a ballot count observer:
To register, send an email to Washington Secretary of State Elections trainer Kristine Marshall at [email protected] and tell her you want to get trained to be a ballot signature verification observer and which date you’ve picked for training. Please also cc your email to Kurt Fritts at [email protected] because he will be coordinating the scheduling of observer shifts. Comments are closed.
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