Authorizing certain public transportation benefit areas to impose a sales and use tax increase approved by voters.

Concerning disclosure in initiatives, referenda, and recall petitions.

Authorizing membership in the Washington public safety employees' retirement system for employees who provide nursing care to, or ensure the custody and safety of, offender, probationary, and patient populations in institutions and centers.

Revises the following definitions for purposes of the public safety employees' retirement system: (1) "Employer" to include the department of veterans affairs and the department of social and health services; and

Continuing the work of the Washington food policy forum.

Establishes the Washington food policy forum, as a public-private partnership, and requires the forum to: (1) Increase the direct marketing sales of local farm products;

(2) Reduce food insecurity in the state;

(3) Identify opportunities to improve coordination between local food policy councils and state and federal agencies; and

(4) Identify rules and regulations impeding the viability of small acreage agriculture.

Gives responsibility to the directors of the state conservation commission and the department of agriculture for appointing participating members of the forum.

Expires July 1, 2020.

Concerning the protection of composting from nuisance lawsuits.

Issuing a two-year identicard for offenders released from prison facilities.

Requires the department of corrections, working in conjunction with the department of licensing, to create and implement an identicard program to provide offenders who are being released within the state a two-year state-issued identicard.

Concerning rehabilitated offenders.

Concerning the sale of manufactured/mobile home communities.

Addresses the sale of manufactured/mobile home communities.

Concerning notice of material changes to the operations or governance structure of a health care provider or provider organization.

Requires each party to a transaction that results in a material change to the operations or governance structure of a provider or provider organization to submit written notice to the attorney general of the material change.

Expanding civics education in public school.

Creates the expanded civics education teacher training program, within the office of the superintendent of public instruction, to provide for the selection of a team of qualified social studies teachers, and when appropriate, civics education specialists, from across the state who will: (1) Develop teacher training materials that include civics information on national, state, tribal, and local government and the civics component of the federally administered naturalization test required to become naturalized United States citizens;

(2) Provide teacher training including the college, career, and civic life framework and the six proven instructional practices for enhancing civic education; and

(3) Provide professional learning opportunities.

Requires each school district that operates a high school to provide a mandatory one-half credit stand-alone course in civics for each high school student.

Concerning overtime for correctional officers.

Requires the department of corrections to collect at least the following data from each county regarding the use of mandatory overtime in jails: (1) The number of correctional officers employed by the county;

(2) The number of hours of mandatory overtime;

(3) The shift on which the mandatory overtime was worked; and

(4) Whether an unforeseeable emergent circumstance was the reason for the overtime.

Requires each county to cooperate with and provide the data requested by the department.

Concerning the appointment of religious coordinators.

Concerning the healthy relationships campaign.

Exchanging and aligning specific powers, duties, and functions of the superintendent of public instruction and the state board of education.

Modifying school and court processes to promote attendance and reduce truancy.

Requires the Washington state school directors' association, in consultation with the office of the superintendent of public instruction, the administrative office of the courts, and the state truancy task force, to develop a model policy and recommend best practices related to community truancy boards.

Encourages school districts to adopt a community truancy board policy that is consistent with the model policy mentioned above and make it available online.

Concerning pollution liability insurance for heating oil tanks.

Addressing county commissioner elections.

Establishes the responsible representation act.

Requires certain noncharter counties to: (1) Beginning in 2022, have a board of commissioners with five members;

(2) Use district nominations and district elections for its commissioner positions; and

(3) Hold district elections for county commissioners in accordance with a districting plan adopted by a redistricting committee.

Concerning confinement in juvenile rehabilitation facilities.

Addresses confinement in juvenile rehabilitation facilities.

Requires a child under the age of eighteen to be placed in a facility operated by the department of social and health services or the department of children, youth, and families, as applicable, to determine the child's earned release date.

Authorizes a juvenile offender adjudicated of a serious violent offense to be committed by the juvenile court to the department of social and health services or the department of children, youth, and families, as applicable, for placement in a correctional institution up to the time the juvenile offender is age twenty-five and one-half years old, but not beyond.

Concerning ticket sales over the internet.

Prohibits a person, firm, or corporation from: (1) Reselling or engaging in the business of reselling tickets to a place of entertainment without first having procured a license from the department of licensing for each location at which business will be conducted; or

(2) Operating an internet web site or other electronic service that provides a mechanism for two or more parties to participate in a resale transaction or that facilitates resale transactions by certain means without first having procured a license from the department of licensing for each location at which business will be conducted.

Concerning highly capable students.

Requires the superintendent of public instruction to: (1) Confirm that each school district has policies and procedures to allow for the identification of children who are highly capable;

(2) Develop three hours of optional professional development for principals, counselors, administrators, and members of selection committees for highly capable students;

(3) Encourage individuals to complete the professional development at least once every two years;

(4) Disseminate guidance on referral, screening, assessment, selection, and placement best practices for highly capable programs;

(5) Monitor the school districts' compliance; and

Concerning Washington's clean, affordable, and reliable energy future.

Modifies energy independence act provisions.

Finds and declares that: (1) Washington is the nation's leading producer of electricity from hydroelectric sources;

(2) Washington should continue its leadership in conservation, renewable energy, and climate change mitigation by increasing energy efficiency across the state and encouraging investment in the state's clean energy future; and

Concerning civil actions alleging violation of the right to be free from discrimination because of the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability.

Concerning Washington's clean, affordable, and reliable energy future.

Modifies energy independence act provisions.

Finds and declares that: (1) Washington is the nation's leading producer of electricity from hydroelectric sources;

(2) Washington should continue its leadership in conservation, renewable energy, and climate change mitigation by increasing energy efficiency across the state and encouraging investment in the state's clean energy future; and

(3) Washington can promote energy independence, create high-quality jobs in the clean technology sector, maintain stable and affordable electric rates for customers, and protect clean air and water.

-- 2018 REGULAR SESSION --
Feb 22	First reading, referred to Finance (Not Officially read and referred until adoption of Introduction report).