EIGHTIETH DAY
MORNING SESSION
Senate Chamber, Olympia, Wednesday, April 1, 2009
The Senate was called to order at 9:00 a.m. by President Owen. The Secretary called the roll and announced to the President that all Senators were present with the exception of Senators Benton, Hobbs, Kohl-Welles and Prentice.
The Sergeant at Arms Color Guard consisting of Pages Nicholas Landis and Ava Clarridge, presented the Colors. Pastor Betty Hatter of the City of Truth Ministries Church offered the prayer.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Eide, the reading of the Journal of the previous day was dispensed with and it was approved.
MOTION
There being no objection, the Senate advanced to the first order of business.
REPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEES
March 30, 2009
ESHB 1445 Prime Sponsor, Committee on Ways & Means: Providing benefits to domestic partners under the Washington state patrol retirement system. Reported by Committee on Transportation
MAJORITY recommendation: Do pass as amended. Signed by Senators Haugen, Chair; Marr, Vice Chair; Berkey; Eide; Jarrett; Kastama; Kauffman; Kilmer; King and Ranker.
MINORITY recommendation: Do not pass. Signed by Senator Swecker.
MINORITY recommendation: That it be referred without recommendation. Signed by Senator Becker.
Passed to Committee on Rules for second reading.
March 30, 2009
HB 1448 Prime Sponsor, Representative Hurst: Granting tribal authorities limited control over speed limits on nonlimited access state highways within tribal reservation boundaries. Reported by Committee on Transportation
MAJORITY recommendation: Do pass as amended. Signed by Senators Haugen, Chair; Marr, Vice Chair; Swecker; Becker; Berkey; Eide; Jarrett; Kastama; Kauffman; Kilmer; King and Ranker.
Passed to Committee on Rules for second reading.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Eide, all measures listed on the Standing Committee report were referred to the committees as designated.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Eide, the Senate advanced to the sixth order of business.
SIGNED BY THE PRESIDENT
The President has signed:
SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL NO. 5012,
SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL NO. 5030,
SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL NO. 5035,
SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL NO. 5043,
SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL NO. 5055,
SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL NO. 5131,
ENGROSSED SENATE BILL NO. 5135,
SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL NO. 5190,
ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL NO. 5228,
ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL NO. 5238,
SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL NO. 5261,
SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL NO. 5290,
MOTION
Senator Eide moved that Substitute House Bill No. 1283 be removed from the Consent Calendar and placed on the second and third reading calendar.
SECOND READING
CONFIRMATION OF GUBERNATORIAL APPOINTMENTS
MOTION
Senator Kastama moved that Gubernatorial Appointment No. 9152, Bruce L. Lachney, as a member of the Board of Trustees, Clover Park Technical College District No. 29, be confirmed.
Senator Kastama spoke in favor of the motion.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Marr, Senators Fairley, Kohl-Welles, McAuliffe, Oemig and Prentice were excused.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Brandland, Senator Benton was excused.
APPOINTMENT OF BRUCE L. LACHNEY
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the confirmation of Gubernatorial Appointment No. 9152, Bruce L. Lachney as a member of the Board of Trustees, Clover Park Technical College District No. 29.
The Secretary called the roll on the confirmation of Gubernatorial Appointment No. 9152, Bruce L. Lachney as a member of the Board of Trustees, Clover Park Technical College District No. 29 and the appointment was confirmed by the following vote: Yeas, 45; Nays, 0; Absent, 1; Excused, 3.
Voting yea: Senators Becker, Berkey, Brandland, Brown, Carrell, Delvin, Eide, Fairley, Franklin, Fraser, Hargrove, Hatfield, Haugen, Hewitt, Holmquist, Honeyford, Jacobsen, Jarrett, Kastama, Kauffman, Keiser, Kilmer, King, Kline, Marr, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDermott, Morton, Murray, Oemig, Parlette, Pflug, Pridemore, Ranker, Regala, Roach, Rockefeller, Schoesler, Sheldon, Shin, Stevens, Swecker, Tom and Zarelli
Absent: Senator Hobbs
Excused: Senators Benton, Kohl-Welles and Prentice
Gubernatorial Appointment No. 9152, Bruce L. Lachney, having received the constitutional majority was declared confirmed as a member of the Board of Trustees, Clover Park Technical College District No. 29.
INTRODUCTION OF SPECIAL GUESTS
The President welcomed and introduced Bruce L. Lachney and Dr. John Walstrum, President of Clover Park Technical College who were seated in the gallery.
SECOND READING
CONFIRMATION OF GUBERNATORIAL APPOINTMENTS
MOTION
Senator Jacobsen moved that Gubernatorial Appointment No. 9112, Kay Slonim, as a member of the Board of Tax Appeals, be confirmed.
Senator Jacobsen spoke in favor of the motion.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Brandland, Senator Carrell was excused.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Kauffman, Senator Hobbs was excused.
APPOINTMENT OF KAY SLONIM
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the confirmation of Gubernatorial Appointment No. 9112, Kay Slonim as a member of the Board of Tax Appeals.
The Secretary called the roll on the confirmation of Gubernatorial Appointment No. 9112, Kay Slonim as a member of the Board of Tax Appeals and the appointment was confirmed by the following vote: Yeas, 45; Nays, 0; Absent, 0; Excused, 4.
Voting yea: Senators Becker, Berkey, Brandland, Brown, Carrell, Delvin, Eide, Fairley, Franklin, Fraser, Hargrove, Hatfield, Haugen, Hewitt, Holmquist, Honeyford, Jacobsen, Jarrett, Kastama, Kauffman, Keiser, Kilmer, King, Kline, Marr, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDermott, Morton, Murray, Oemig, Parlette, Pflug, Pridemore, Ranker, Regala, Roach, Rockefeller, Schoesler, Sheldon, Shin, Stevens, Swecker, Tom and Zarelli
Excused: Senators Benton, Hobbs, Kohl-Welles and Prentice
Gubernatorial Appointment No. 9112, Kay Slonim, having received the constitutional majority was declared confirmed as a member of the Board of Tax Appeals.
SECOND READING
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1254, by House Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources (originally sponsored by Representatives Schmick, Blake, Ormsby, Walsh, Sullivan, Parker and Kretz)
Creating the Washington grain commission.
The measure was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Hatfield, the rules were suspended, Substitute House Bill No. 1254 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
Senator Hatfield spoke in favor of passage of the bill.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1254.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1254 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 45; Nays, 0; Absent, 0; Excused, 4.
Voting yea: Senators Becker, Berkey, Brandland, Brown, Carrell, Delvin, Eide, Fairley, Franklin, Fraser, Hargrove, Hatfield, Haugen, Hewitt, Holmquist, Honeyford, Jacobsen, Jarrett, Kastama, Kauffman, Keiser, Kilmer, King, Kline, Marr, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDermott, Morton, Murray, Oemig, Parlette, Pflug, Pridemore, Ranker, Regala, Roach, Rockefeller, Schoesler, Sheldon, Shin, Stevens, Swecker, Tom and Zarelli
Excused: Senators Benton, Hobbs, Kohl-Welles and Prentice
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1254, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill was ordered to stand as the title of the act.
PERSONAL PRIVILEGE
Senator Fraser: “Thank you Mr. President. I noticed that we have some very special guests today from the Evergreen State College. I’d like to note that this is the men’s basketball team of the Evergreen State College accompanied by the Evergreen’s President, Les Purce. As you know I represent the gooey duck district in our state, gooey ducks are the mascots of Evergreen State College and we actually have two members of the senate who are graduates, so we have two official gooey ducks here in the senate. Greeners, Senator Swecker and Senator Ranker and the men’s basketball team at Evergreen State College is, really has had an extraordinarily successful year. They have extraordinarily talented players and they are also academic achievers. For the second year in a row and for the third time in it’s history they have had a twenty-win season, two years in a row. How’s that for good? The highlight was a dramatic come from behind win over Bluefield College of Virginia in a tournament where they were down by fifteen points and then rallied to win one-hundred one to eighty-six so that’s plus fifteen points. A special recognition is one of their players is Nate Menefee who scored forty-eight points himself, a school record and the second most points in tournament history. I’m pleased to say that he also graduated from high school in my district. He’s been, Nate Menefee has been named a Cascade Collegiate Conference player of the year and a first team All American. Also named an All American conference team player was Nicholas Moore who is from Graham in Pierce County and two other team mates were named Academic All Americans, John Levi from Tacoma who is also a House Intern this year and Aaron Schlund a senior from Bothell. So, we have people from all around our state who are attending Evergreen so it’s wonderful, Mr. President, to have this very talented team here and to remind us that in the middle of ‘March Madness’ that the NCAA tournament isn’t the only stage for great inspiring basketball.”
INTRODUCTION OF SPECIAL GUESTS
The President welcomed and introduced members of the Evergreen State College Basketball Team; Michael War; Tyrell Dixon; John Levi III; Amos Saffold; Scott Halasz; Nathan Menefee; Johnny Sarysz; Julio Feliciano; Aaron Schlund; Marcus Wright; Nicholas Moore; Anthony Gallagher; Steve Trotter; Emmanuel Olekaibe and Jamaal Thomson and Head Coach, Jeff Drinkwine; Assistant Coaches, Leonard Barnes, Kaelen Moore and Lenny Roger and Athletic Trainer Rebecca Johnson; is the Evergreen State College President, Les Purce; Vice President for Student Affairs Art Costantino and Athletic Director Dave Weber who were seated in the gallery.
SECOND READING
ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1401, by House Committee on Health Care & Wellness (originally sponsored by Representatives Cody, Hinkle, Morrell, Ericksen, Green, Moeller and Kelley)
Concerning the standard health questionnaire.
The measure was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Keiser, the rules were suspended, Engrossed Substitute House Bill No. 1401 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
Senators Keiser and Pflug spoke in favor of passage of the bill.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the final passage of Engrossed Substitute House Bill No. 1401.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of Engrossed Substitute House Bill No. 1401 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 46; Nays, 0; Absent, 0; Excused, 3.
Voting yea: Senators Becker, Berkey, Brandland, Brown, Carrell, Delvin, Eide, Fairley, Franklin, Fraser, Hargrove, Hatfield, Haugen, Hewitt, Hobbs, Holmquist, Honeyford, Jacobsen, Jarrett, Kastama, Kauffman, Keiser, Kilmer, King, Kline, Marr, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDermott, Morton, Murray, Oemig, Parlette, Pflug, Pridemore, Ranker, Regala, Roach, Rockefeller, Schoesler, Sheldon, Shin, Stevens, Swecker, Tom and Zarelli
Excused: Senators Benton, Kohl-Welles and Prentice
ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1401, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill was ordered to stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1510, by House Committee on Health Care & Wellness (originally sponsored by Representatives Ross, Klippert and Johnson)
Regarding disclosure of confidential information on birth certificates.
The measure was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Keiser, the rules were suspended, Substitute House Bill No. 1510 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
Senators Keiser and Pflug spoke in favor of passage of the bill.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1510.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1510 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 46; Nays, 0; Absent, 0; Excused, 3.
Voting yea: Senators Becker, Berkey, Brandland, Brown, Carrell, Delvin, Eide, Fairley, Franklin, Fraser, Hargrove, Hatfield, Haugen, Hewitt, Hobbs, Holmquist, Honeyford, Jacobsen, Jarrett, Kastama, Kauffman, Keiser, Kilmer, King, Kline, Marr, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDermott, Morton, Murray, Oemig, Parlette, Pflug, Pridemore, Ranker, Regala, Roach, Rockefeller, Schoesler, Sheldon, Shin, Stevens, Swecker, Tom and Zarelli
Excused: Senators Benton, Kohl-Welles and Prentice
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1510, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill was ordered to stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
HOUSE BILL NO. 1569, by Representatives Liias, O'Brien, Hope, Sells, Dunshee, Kagi, McCoy, Morrell and Ormsby
Establishing local public works assistance funds.
The measure was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Fairley, the rules were suspended, House Bill No. 1569 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
Senator Fairley spoke in favor of passage of the bill.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the final passage of House Bill No. 1569.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of House Bill No. 1569 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 45; Nays, 1; Absent, 0; Excused, 3.
Voting yea: Senators Becker, Berkey, Brandland, Brown, Carrell, Delvin, Eide, Fairley, Franklin, Fraser, Hargrove, Hatfield, Haugen, Hewitt, Hobbs, Holmquist, Honeyford, Jacobsen, Jarrett, Kastama, Kauffman, Keiser, Kilmer, King, Kline, Marr, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDermott, Morton, Murray, Oemig, Parlette, Pflug, Pridemore, Ranker, Regala, Roach, Rockefeller, Schoesler, Sheldon, Shin, Stevens, Swecker and Tom
Voting nay: Senator Zarelli
Excused: Senators Benton, Kohl-Welles and Prentice
HOUSE BILL NO. 1569, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill was ordered to stand as the title of the act.
MOTION
At 9:50 a.m., on motion of Senator Eide, the Senate was declared to be at ease subject to the call of the President.
The Senate was called to order at 10:52 a.m. by President Owen.
SECOND READING
ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL NO. 2040, by Representatives Conway and Condotta
Concerning the work of the joint select committee on beer and wine regulation.
The measure was read the second time.
MOTION
Senator Keiser moved that the following amendment by Senator Kohl-Welles be adopted.
On page 15, after line 3, insert the following:
"NEW SECTION. Sec. 13 This act takes effect January 1, 2010."
Senator Keiser spoke in favor of adoption of the amendment.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the adoption of the amendment by Senator Kohl-Welles on page 15, after line 3 to Engrossed House Bill No. 2040.
The motion by Senator Keiser carried and the amendment was adopted by voice vote.
MOTION
There being no objection, the following title amendment was adopted:
On page 1, line 2 of the title, after "regulation;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "amending RCW 66.28.180; adding new sections to chapter 66.28 RCW; repealing RCW 66.28.010; and providing an effective date."
MOTION
On motion of Senator Keiser, the rules were suspended, Engrossed House Bill No. 2040 as amended by the Senate was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
Senators Keiser and Hewitt spoke in favor of passage of the bill.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the final passage of Engrossed House Bill No. 2040 as amended by the Senate.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of Engrossed House Bill No. 2040 as amended by the Senate and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 45; Nays, 1; Absent, 1; Excused, 2.
Voting yea: Senators Becker, Berkey, Brandland, Brown, Carrell, Delvin, Eide, Fairley, Franklin, Fraser, Hargrove, Hatfield, Haugen, Hewitt, Hobbs, Holmquist, Honeyford, Jacobsen, Jarrett, Kastama, Kauffman, Keiser, Kilmer, King, Kline, Marr, McCaslin, McDermott, Morton, Murray, Oemig, Parlette, Pflug, Prentice, Pridemore, Ranker, Regala, Roach, Rockefeller, Schoesler, Sheldon, Shin, Stevens, Swecker and Zarelli
Voting nay: Senator McAuliffe
Absent: Senator Tom
Excused: Senators Benton and Kohl-Welles
ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL NO. 2040 as amended by the Senate, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill was ordered to stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
HOUSE BILL NO. 1034, by Representatives Morrell, Moeller, Kelley, Hurst, Miloscia, Hunt, Appleton and Chase
Concerning rental or lease of armories.
The measure was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Fairley, the rules were suspended, House Bill No. 1034 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
Senator Fairley spoke in favor of passage of the bill.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the final passage of House Bill No. 1034.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of House Bill No. 1034 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 47; Nays, 0; Absent, 0; Excused, 2.
Voting yea: Senators Becker, Berkey, Brandland, Brown, Carrell, Delvin, Eide, Fairley, Franklin, Fraser, Hargrove, Hatfield, Haugen, Hewitt, Hobbs, Holmquist, Honeyford, Jacobsen, Jarrett, Kastama, Kauffman, Keiser, Kilmer, King, Kline, Marr, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDermott, Morton, Murray, Oemig, Parlette, Pflug, Prentice, Pridemore, Ranker, Regala, Roach, Rockefeller, Schoesler, Sheldon, Shin, Stevens, Swecker, Tom and Zarelli
Excused: Senators Benton and Kohl-Welles
HOUSE BILL NO. 1034, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill was ordered to stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
SENATE BILL NO. 5352, by Senators Haugen and Marr
Making 2009-11 transportation appropriations.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Haugen, Substitute Senate Bill No. 5352 was substituted for Senate Bill No. 5352 and the substitute bill was placed on the second reading and read the second time.
MOTION
Senator Swecker moved that the following amendment by Senator Carrell be adopted.
On page 8, beginning on line 17, strike all material through “schedule.” on line 29
Renumber subsections consecutively and correct internal references accordingly.
Senators Carrell, Roach and Pflug spoke in favor of adoption of the amendment.
Senators Haugen, Marr, Swecker and Kilmer spoke against adoption of the amendment.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the adoption of the amendment by Senator Carrell on page 8, line 17 to Substitute Senate Bill No. 5352.
The motion by Senator Swecker failed and the amendment was not adopted by voice vote.
MOTION
Senator Jarrett moved that the following amendment by Senator Jarrett be adopted.
On page 26, after line 32, insert the following:
“(8) Funds provided for the commute trip reduction program may also be used for the growth and transportation efficiency center program.”
Senator Jarrett spoke in favor of adoption of the amendment.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the adoption of the amendment by Senator Jarrett on page 26, after line 32 to Substitute Senate Bill No. 5352.
The motion by Senator Jarrett carried and the amendment was adopted by voice vote.
MOTION
Senator Kilmer moved that the following amendment by Senators Kilmer, Haugen and Swecker be adopted.
On page 27, after line 23, insert the following:
"(7) As a priority task, the Washington state ferries is
directed to propose a comprehensive incident and accident
investigation policy and appropriate procedures, and to provide
the proposal to the legislature by November 1, 2009, using
existing resources and staff expertise. In addition to consulting
with ferry system unions and the United States coast guard, the
Washington state ferries is encouraged to solicit independent
outside expertise on incident and accident investigation best
practices as they may be found in other organizations with a
similar concern for marine safety. The proposed policy must
contain, at a minimum:
(a) The definition of an incident and an accident and the
type of investigation that is required by both types of events;
(b) The process for appointing an investigating officer or
officers and a description of the authorities and responsibilities
of the investigating officer or officers;
(c) The process of working with the affected employee or
employees in accordance with the employee's or employees'
respective collective bargaining agreement and the appropriate
union officials, within protocols afforded to all public employees;
(d) The process by which the United States coast guard is
kept informed of, interacts with, and reviews the investigation;
(e) The process for review, approval, and implementation of
any approved recommendations within the department; and
(f) The process for keeping the public informed of the
investigation and its outcomes, in compliance with any affected
employee's or employees' respective collective bargaining
agreement and state laws and rules regarding public disclosure
under chapter 42.56 RCW."
Senator Kilmer spoke in favor of adoption of the amendment.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the adoption of the amendment by Senators Kilmer, Haugen and Swecker on page 27, after line 23 to Substitute Senate Bill No. 5352.
The motion by Senator Kilmer carried and the amendment was adopted by voice vote.
MOTION
Senator Jarrett moved that the following amendment by Senator Jarrett be adopted.
On page 36, after line 6, insert the following:
"(29) The legislature is committed to the funding and construction of R8A in a timely manner, supporting the construction of Sound Transit’s East Link. The department shall complete the process of negotiating the airspace lease with Sound Transit, including appropriate and independent facility asset assessments required to accommodate the use and funding of the I-90 center roadway for East Link in support of East Link project milestones."
Senators Jarrett, Haugen and Murray spoke in favor of adoption of the amendment.
Senators Swecker, Pflug and King spoke against adoption of the amendment.
Senator Pflug demanded a roll call.
The President declared that one-sixth of the members supported the demand and the demand was sustained.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the adoption of the amendment by Senator Jarrett on page 36, after line 6 to Substitute Senate Bill No. 5352.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the adoption of the amendment by Senator Jarrett and the amendment was adopted by the following vote: Yeas, 29; Nays, 18; Absent, 0; Excused, 2.
Voting yea: Senators Berkey, Brown, Eide, Fairley, Franklin, Fraser, Hargrove, Hatfield, Haugen, Hobbs, Jacobsen, Jarrett, Kastama, Keiser, Kilmer, Kline, Marr, McAuliffe, McDermott, Murray, Oemig, Prentice, Pridemore, Ranker, Regala, Rockefeller, Sheldon, Shin and Tom
Voting nay: Senators Becker, Brandland, Carrell, Delvin, Hewitt, Holmquist, Honeyford, Kauffman, King, McCaslin, Morton, Parlette, Pflug, Roach, Schoesler, Stevens, Swecker and Zarelli
Excused: Senators Benton and Kohl-Welles
POINT OF ORDER
Senator Stevens: “I believe that this measure may require a super majority vote under provisions of law enacted last year by Initiative 960. This measure requires the Transportation Commission to oppose various tolls and rate changes without specifying their particular amount or use. This language is found in section 205 of the measure before us and I believe this language is problematic for two reasons; number one, I believe that the designation of open ended rate setting authority to an agency violates the plain language of Initiative 960 which requires the legislature to set and approve tax and fee rates. Simply delegating this authority to an unelected commission without any guidance is improper. Second, I note that in the past you have differentiated between taxes and fees for the purpose of Initiative 960, stating that a fee must be tightly drawn to match a specific charge for a narrow purpose. In this case, because there is no specific charge amount, let alone any specific language limiting the purpose for which the proceeds may be spent, I submit that this toll and rate setting authority in the bill is in fact a tax which requires two-thirds vote for final passage. My inquiry Mr. President, is as the application of the provision of I-960 to this matter and whether a super majority vote is needed for final passage. Thank you, Mr. President.”
POINT OF ORDER
Senator Haugen: “I believe this does not…..”
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
President Owen: “Senator Haugen, are you raising to point of order?”
POINT OF ORDER
Senator Haugen: “Point of order Mr. President. Thank you Mr. President. This provision affirms the Transportation Commission already has the authority to set tolls on three public projects; the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, State Route 167 and the state ferries. This is not new. The commission already has this authority granted by the legislature. This bill simply confirms the commissions preexisting authority. No taxes or fees are raised because no revenue is increased. The bill is not subject to the provision of I-960. Even if the bill was subject to I-960 it only impacts the payment of fees and therefore a simple majority is sufficient. The payment of tolls is a payment explicitly connected to the use of public project. Here these projects are a bridge, a road and a state ferry. The payment of tolls allow the person use of the public facility to which it is connected. The nexus is strong and direct. Because of the close nexus between the person paying the tolls and the use of the facility, the toll is a fee. Payment of fees is not subject to super-majority requirements of I-960 but rather requires only a simple majority. The point of order is not well taken.”
POINT OF ORDER
Senator Pflug: “In regards to the question of whether or not the tolls are related specifically to…”
REPLY BY THE PRESIDENT
President Owen: “Senator Pflug, the President allows only an argument, one of either side and that has been done. Thank you.”
MOTION
Senator Keiser moved that the following amendment by Senator Keiser be adopted.
On page 36, after line 6, insert the following:
"(29) $13,977,496 of the transportation partnership account--state appropriation is a reappropriation provided solely for project 850901F, as identified in the LEAP transportation document in subsection (1) of this section: SR 509/I-5 to Sea-Tac Freight & Congestion Relief. However, this appropriation shall be reduced to reflect expenditures previously made during the 2007-09 fiscal biennium."
Senators Keiser and Haugen spoke in favor of adoption of the amendment.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the adoption of the amendment by Senator Keiser on page 36, after line 6 to Substitute Senate Bill No. 5352.
The motion by Senator Keiser carried and the amendment was adopted by voice vote.
MOTION
Senator King moved that the following amendment by Senators King and Marr be adopted.
On page 36, line 34, after "replacement", strike "must consist of a tug and barge" and insert "must consist of either a tug and barge or rehabilitation work to the existing vessel and dock facilities after discussions with members of the community and any affected tribal governments.
Senators King and Marr spoke in favor of adoption of the amendment.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the adoption of the amendment by Senators King and Marr on page 36, line 34 to Substitute Senate Bill No. 5352.
The motion by Senator King carried and the amendment was adopted by voice vote.
MOTION
Senator Holmquist moved that the following amendment by Senator Holmquist and others be adopted.
On page 40, line 23, strike "$50,000,000" and insert "$106,672,000"
On page 40, line 28, strike "$76,226,000" and insert "$132,898,000"
On page 40, beginning on line 33, after "in" strike all material through "2009" on line 35, and insert "LEAP Capital Projects System Senate Amendment, as developed April 1, 2009, Program - Rail Capital Program (Y), as it appears in subsection (7) of this section"
On page 44, after line 31, insert the following:
"(7)
LEAP Capital Projects System
Senate Amendment, as developed April 1, 2009
Program - Rail Capital Program (Y)