MORNING SESSION

Senate Chamber, Olympia

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

The Senate was called to order at 11:30 o’clock a.m. by the President of the Senate, Lt. Governor Owen presiding.

MOTION

On motion of Senator Fain, the reading of the Journal of the previous day was dispensed with and it was approved.

MOTION

On motion of Senator Fain, the Senate advanced to the third order of business.

MESSAGES FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE

PROVISIONAL CERTIFICATION
INITATIVE TO THE LEGISLATURE NO.732

Pursuant to Article II, Section 1, of the Washington State Constitution and RCW 29A.72.230, prior to the deadline of December 31, 2015, the Office of the Secretary of State received signature petitions submitted in support of Initiative to the Legislature No. 732, “Carbon Pollution Tax Act.”

The Office of the Secretary of State is currently examining signatures. Article II, Section 1, of the Washington State Constitution requires 246,372 valid signatures.

I hereby attach a true and correct copy of Initiative to the Legislature No. 732.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Seal of the state of Washington, this 6 day of January, 2016.

Kim Wyman, Secretary of State

PROVISIONAL CERTIFICATION
INITATIVE TO THE LEGISLATURE NO.735

The Office of the Secretary of State is currently examining signatures. Article II, Section 1, of the Washington State Constitution requires 246,372 valid signatures.

I hereby attach a true and correct copy of Initiative to the Legislature No. 735.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Seal of the state of Washington, this 6 day of January, 2016.

Kim Wyman, Secretary of State

MOTION

On motion of Senator Fain, the Senate advanced to the fourth order of business.

MESSAGE FROM THE HOUSE

January 11, 2016

MR. PRESIDENT:

The House has adopted:

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 4413,

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 4414

and the same are herewith transmitted.

BERNARD DEAN, Deputy Chief Clerk

SIGNED BY THE PRESIDENT

Pursuant to Article 2, Section 32 of the State Constitution and Senate Rule 1(5), the President announced the signing of and thereupon did sign in open session:

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 4414 and

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 4415.

MOTION

On motion of Senator Fain, the Senate advanced to the fifth order of business.

INTRODUCTION AND FIRST READING

SB 6196 by Senators McCoy and Ericksen

AN ACT Relating to administrative processes for the utilities and transportation commission in managing deposits and cost reimbursements of the energy facility site evaluation council; amending RCW 80.50.071; and creating a new section.

Referred to Committee on Energy, Environment & Telecommunications.

SB 6197 by Senators Miloscia, Roach, Hill and Benton

AN ACT Relating to cybercrime; amending RCW 9.94A.515; reenacting and amending RCW 9A.52.010; adding a new chapter to Title 9A RCW; creating new sections; repealing RCW 9A.52.110, 9A.52.120, and 9A.52.130; and prescribing penalties.

Referred to Committee on Law & Justice.

SB 6198 by Senators Padden, Pearson, Miloscia and Benton

AN ACT Relating to requiring fingerprints for all driving under the influence arrests; and amending RCW 43.43.735.

Referred to Committee on Law & Justice.

SB 6199 by Senators Pearson, Chase, Roach, Bailey and Benton

AN ACT Relating to providing for legislative review of the updated North Cascade elk herd plan; and creating a new section.

Referred to Committee on Natural Resources & Parks.

SB 6200 by Senators Hewitt, Rolfes and Benton

AN ACT Relating to providing funding for steelhead conservation through the issuance of Washington's fish license plate collection; amending RCW 46.68.425; reenacting and amending RCW 46.18.200, 46.17.220, and 77.12.170; adding a new section to chapter 46.04 RCW; and providing an effective date.

Referred to Committee on Transportation.

SB 6201 by Senators Honeyford and Keiser

AN ACT Relating to the capital budget; making appropriations and authorizing expenditures for capital improvements; amending RCW 43.83B.430 and 70.148.020; amending 2015 3rd sp.s. c 3 ss 1036, 1037, 1076, 1077, 1083, 1095, 1114, 2004, 2016, 2023, 2035, 2038, 3054, 3058, 3059, 3060, 3066, 3084, 3165, 3166, 3200, 3224, 3235, 4002, 5010, 5011, 5012, 5013, 5085, 5086, 5089, 5098, 5101, 7001, 7002, 7012, 7023, 7037, and 7038 (uncodified); adding new sections to 2015 3rd sp.s. c 3 (uncodified); creating a new section; repealing 2015 3rd sp.s. c 3 s 1072 (uncodified); making appropriations; and declaring an emergency.

Referred to Committee on Ways & Means.

SB 6202 by Senators Hobbs, Angel, Roach, Bailey, Conway, Rivers, Rolfes, McCoy, McAuliffe and Benton

AN ACT Relating to the enforcement of employment rights arising from state active duty service by a member of the national guard; and amending RCW 73.16.061.

Referred to Committee on Government Operations & Security.

SB 6203 by Senators Parlette, Becker, Keiser and Conway

AN ACT Relating to updating statutes relating to the practice of pharmacy including the practice of pharmacy in long-term care settings; amending RCW 18.64.011, 69.50.308, 74.42.230, 69.41.032, 69.41.042, 69.41.044, 69.41.055, 69.41.220, 18.64.245, and 18.64.500; reenacting and amending RCW 69.41.010 and 69.41.030; adding new sections to chapter 18.64 RCW; and adding a new section to chapter 69.41 RCW.

Referred to Committee on Health Care.

SB 6204 by Senators Roach and McCoy

AN ACT Relating to removing disincentives to the voluntary formation of regional fire protection service authorities by equalizing certain provisions with existing laws governing fire protection districts and by clarifying the formation process; amending RCW 52.26.030, 52.26.230, 84.52.043, 84.52.043, 84.52.125, and 84.55.092; reenacting and amending RCW 52.26.020, 84.52.010, and 84.52.010; adding a new section to chapter 52.26 RCW; creating a new section; providing an effective date; and providing an expiration date.

Referred to Committee on Government Operations & Security.

SB 6205 by Senators Pedersen, O'Ban, Frockt and Fain

AN ACT Relating to clarifying when a person is an acquiring person of a target corporation with more than one class of voting stock; and amending RCW 23B.19.020, 23B.19.030, and 23B.19.040.

Referred to Committee on Law & Justice.

SB 6206 by Senators Hasegawa, Takko, Chase, Schoesler and Sheldon

AN ACT Relating to authorizing the growing of industrial hemp; adding a new chapter to Title 15 RCW; creating a new section; and providing an expiration date.

Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Water & Rural Economic Development.

SB 6207 by Senators Rivers and Liias

AN ACT Relating to public disclosure of information submitted to the liquor and cannabis board regarding marijuana product traceability and operations; and amending RCW 42.56.270.

Referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor.

SB 6208 by Senators Billig, Carlyle and Mullet

AN ACT Relating to standardizing disclosure requirements for political committees; and amending RCW 42.17A.250.

Referred to Committee on Government Operations & Security.

SJR 8210 by Senators Schoesler, Nelson and Mullet

Amending the Constitution to advance the date for completion of the redistricting plan.

Referred to Committee on Government Operations & Security.

SCR 8405 by Senators Roach and Fraser

Renaming "Office Building 2" as the "Human Services Building."

Referred to Committee on Government Operations & Security.

MOTION

On motion of Senator Fain, all measures listed on the Introduction and First Reading report were referred to the committees as designated.

MOTION

At 11:35 a.m., on motion of Senator Fain, the Senate was declared to be at ease subject to the call of the President for the purpose of a Joint Session with the House of Representatives.

JOINT SESSION

Pursuant to House Concurrent Resolution No. 4414, the Senate appeared at the Chamber doors and requested admission. The Sergeant at Arms of the House and the Sergeant at Arms of the Senate escorted President of the Senate, Lieutenant Governor Brad Owen, Senator Tim Sheldon and Senator Karen Fraser to seats on the Rostrum. The senators were invited seats within the chamber.

The Deputy Speaker Pro Tempore, Representative Tina Orwall presiding, called upon President Owen to preside.

The President of the Senate, Lieutenant Governor Owen called the Joint Session to order. The Clerk called the roll of House members. The Clerk called the roll of Senate members. A quorum of the Legislature was present.

President Owen: "This Joint Session has been convened to receive the state of the state message from His Excellency, Governor Jay Inslee.”

The President appointed a special committee to escort the Supreme Court Justices to the House Chamber: Representatives Patty Kuderer and Drew Stokesbary and Senators Karen Keiser and Steve O'Ban.

The President appointed a special committee to escort the statewide elected officials to the House Chamber: Representatives Noel Frame and Gina McCabe and Senators Don Benton and Maralyn Chase.

The President appointed a special committee to advise His Excellency, Governor Jay Inslee, that the Joint Session has been assembled and to escort him from his Chambers to the House Chamber: Representatives J.D. Rossetti and Teri Hickel and Senators Jan Angel and Reuven Carlyle.

Sergeant of Arms Arras announced the arrival of The State Supreme Court Justices at the chamber door. They were escorted to seats at the front of the House Chamber and were introduced by the President: Chief Justice Barbara Madsen, Associate Chief Justice Charles Johnson and Justices Susan Owens, Mary Fairhurst, Debra Stephens, Charles Wiggins, Steven Gonzalez and Mary Yu.

Sergeant of Arms Arras announced the arrival of State elected officials at the chamber door. They were escorted to the front of the House Chamber and were introduced: Secretary of State Kim Wyman, Treasurer Jim McIntire, Attorney General Bob Ferguson, Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn, Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler and Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark.

The President introduced the officers and members of the Consular Association of Washington: Consular Generals Masahiro Omura of Japan; Moon Duk-ho of the Republic of Korea; Khalit Aisin of the Russian Federation; Eduardo Baca Cuena of Mexico; Robin Twyman of the United Kingdom; Harkiran Rajasansi of Canada; Clary Aída Monzon de Pineda of El Salvador; H. Ronald Masnik of Belgium; Vassos M. Demetriou of Cyprus; Luis Fernando Esteban of Spain; Jack Cowan of France; Helen Szablya of Hungary; Matti Suokko of Finland; Daravuth Huoth of Cambodia, Philippe Goetschel of Switzerland; Lars Jonsson of Sweden; President of the Consular Association Kim Nesselquist of Norway; Stephen Zirschky of Latvia; Rachel Jacobsen of New Zealand; Pedro Augusto Leite Costa of Brazil; Teresa Indelak Davis of Poland; Eva Kammel of Austria; Valeriy Goloborodko of Ukraine; Mark Gantar of Ethiopia; Miguel Angel Velásquez; Republic of Peru; Andy Chin of Taiwan; and Victor Lapatinskas of Lithuania.

The President introduced First Lady Trudi Inslee and members of the Inslee family, who were recognized by the Joint Session.

The President introduced representatives of the tribal nations: Timothy Ballew II, Chairman of the Lummi Nation; Carol Evans, Chairwoman of the Spokane Tribe; Bill Iyall, Chairman of the Cowlitz Tribe; Naomi Jacobson, Quileute Tribal Councilmember; Jay Julius, Lummi Tribal Councilmember; Fawn Sharp, President of the Quinault Indian Nation; and Tom Strong, Skokomish Tribal Councilmember.

The President introduced leaders from the state’s institutions of higher education: Bill Ayer, Chair, University of Washington Board of Regents; Dan Bernardo, President of Washington State University; and George Bridges, President of The Evergreen State College.

The President introduced civic leaders in attendance: Carol Anders, Mayor of Pateros; Pat McCarthy, Pierce County Executive; Ed Murray, Mayor of Seattle; Ray Stephanson, Mayor of Everett; Ron Sims, former King County Executive; and Ralph Munro, former Secretary of State.

The President also recognized Carmento Floyd, widow of former Washington State University President Elson Floyd.

Sergeant of Arms Arras announced the arrival His Excellency Governor Jay Inslee. The Governor was escorted to the Rostrum and was introduced.

The Washington State Patrol Honor Guard, commanded by Sergeant Jason Greer presenting the Colors. The National Anthem was performed by the Ballard High School Concert Choir led by Ms. Courtney Rowley. The President led the Chamber in the Pledge of Allegiance. The prayer was offered by Father Steve Werner, St. Patrick Catholic Parish, Pasco.

Father Werner: “Let us pray. Creator and Ruler of the universe, we give You thanks for the beauty and richness of our state, from the arid Snake River Canyon to the temperate rainforest of the western Olympic Peninsula. From the Salmo-Priest Wilderness Area to the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge; from Mount Adams to Mount Baker; from the Blues Mountains to the San Juan Islands; from the waves of grain on the Palouse to the waves of the ocean on the Pacific Coast; from the Spokane Valley to the Puget Sound; from the Columbia River’s entrance near Northport to its delta near Ilwaco.

You entrusted Your world to us as a gift. Help us to care for it and all people, that we may live in right relationship--with You, with ourselves, with one another, and with creation.

You created human beings in Your image and likeness. Help us to imitate your love for the human family by recognizing that we are all connected. To our brothers and sisters around our state, around our nation, around our world, and to past and future generations.

Giver of wisdom and love, You breathe life in us and guide us. Help us to hear the cry of those in need, and the cry of creation, so that we may care for our common home.

Help us as a state to be merciful as You are merciful. May all who live in poverty be nourished, sheltered, clothed and cared for. May families be strengthened, and workers who support those families receive just compensation and treatment. May all children have access to a quality education. May the immigrant, refugee and unborn be welcomed. May the physically and mentally ill receive adequate medical care, and the healthy have access to preventative care. May the imprisoned be rehabilitated. May the elderly and vulnerable be revered and respected.

Help us to live according to Your vision, stirring to action the hearts of all—individuals and families, communities of faith and goodwill, and civil and political leaders.

Spirit of God, in Your goodness, guide those in authority. Bless our Governor and the servants of our state who are engaged in the noble profession of legislation for the common good of all. Give them wisdom in all of their decision-making, so that people throughout our state may enjoy freedom, security and peace.

Amen.”

The President introduced the Governor Jay Inslee

STATE OF THE STATE

Governor Inslee: “Good afternoon and thank you, Father Werner, for those inspirational words. And thank you to the Ballard High School Concert Choir for that beautiful rendition of a most beautiful anthem.”

“Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Madam Chief Justice, distinguished justices of the court, honored officials, members of the Washington State Legislature, tribal leaders, local government officials, members of our Consular Corps and my fellow Washingtonians:

It is an honor to stand here once again to talk about the great state of Washington.

And I do consider it a tremendous privilege to serve as governor of the most innovative, the most forward-thinking, and most dynamic state in the nation.

And I couldn’t do this job without the incredible support of the people who are a constant reminder of why everything we do here matters: My family, Trudi, my sons, and my three grandchildren. Thank you, Trudi.

Now since we all last met here, we have celebrated some big moments in the state of Washington. And I’d like to begin today by just taking a moment to highlight some of these.

We witnessed a new milestone in space exploration. Remember those incredible photos of Pluto we saw last year? We know how that spacecraft got there. Because nine years ago, brilliant propulsion engineers over at Aerojet Rocketdyne in Redmond, Washington were working on the rockets for the New Horizons mission.

And now we’re at the forefront with companies like Blue Origin and Space X. They’ve brought the future of space travel to our state, successfully launching and landing rockets over the past year. It’s exciting that these companies recognize that the greatest aerospace workers in the world are found right here in the state of Washington.

We’ve saluted the accomplishments of amazing educators like Jennifer Cullison, a science teacher from Woodland High School in Clark County. She was named a Claes Nobel Educator of the Year. Isn’t it great this prestigious honor was given to one of our own outstanding, hard-working teachers? Please join me in welcoming Jennifer and thanking her for her achievements.

We also celebrated the nation’s oldest working registered nurse, Seesee Rigney, who is still practicing at 90 years of age. If you want to be inspired, if any of you Legislators get tired a little bit during session, go down to see Seesee making the rounds at Tacoma General Hospital, where she has been working for nearly 70 years.

Now we’ve also had some sad moments over the past year in our state. For me, one of those moments was when we said goodbye to Washington State University President Elson Floyd.

Elson was one of my most-trusted advisers. He played a key role in shaping my administration. And I miss him. And I know we all miss him. But his legacy will live on in our state’s second medical school, a school that will carry his name.

And I hope you’ll honor again Elson’s widow, Carmenta, for her individual help in education in our state as well. Carmenta, thank you for accepting my invitation here today. Thank you. Thank you.

We also lost a member of our Washington State National Guard in Afghanistan last week, Staff Sergeant Matthew McClintock. Our thoughts our prayers are with his family, especially his wife and infant son in Des Moines. Please join me in a moment of silence to honor his sacrifice and his service.

Thank you.

One year ago, I stood here and said it was time to reinvest in ourselves, to reinvest in our future, to reinvest in our children’s future. And to do these things, we knew then we’d have to work in a bipartisan way. And let’s be honest — that’s not always easy.

But I’m happy to say that we did exactly that. We accomplished some big things last year in a bipartisan fashion, like transportation.

Remember back in the fall of 2014, there were those who thought we ought to just fix a few potholes and call it good.

But I didn’t give up. And I continued working together with the House and the Senate, with Republicans and Democrats, with business and labor. And together, we passed a $16 billion package, the largest, and the greenest, transportation package in the history of the state of Washington.

We also authorized another $15 billion for Sound Transit light rail expansion.

And not only will this help in congestion relief, but this package supports 200,000 family-wage jobs across our state.

We’ve been out formally kicking off these projects. I’ve been to Everett, Tacoma, and tomorrow, I’ll be in Vancouver, celebrating the projects funded by this package. And we were able to get that done because we worked together.

Speaking of investments, let’s talk about the most important investment we know we can make, and that’s in our children. Last year we put an additional $2.3 billion in early learning, K through 12 and higher education funding and we did it on a bipartisan basis. Since 2013, education funding in our state has increased by 35 percent.

I believe it is altogether fitting and proper we take a moment to recognize this incredible investment. We should be proud that we have made the largest dollar-amount investment in education in the history of the state of Washington. This is a significant achievement.

At the same time, no one should believe we’re done. We have more work to do, and I’ll talk about that in a moment. But we have taken major steps that will have major impacts in the lives of our children.

We’ve given nearly 7,000 more children access to high-quality early education over the past three years.

We’ve provided funding for every child to have all-day kindergarten. This and early learning were some of my highest priorities because they are critical educational opportunities that come along only once in the life of a child.

Of all the things we do, I believe this will have the most impact in our communities, and do the most to close the opportunity gap.

And I believe this because in our state, every single child deserves a great education in our public schools. Every single child.

We’ve reduced class sizes in our kindergarten-through-third grade classrooms.

And because we know that a high-quality teacher is the single most important asset in every classroom, we provided funding for more teacher mentoring opportunities, especially for new teachers.

And we were able to provide them with a modest and fully justified cost-of-living adjustment, the first since 2008.

We also did something to make paying for college easier on family budgets.

Isn’t it great we’re the only state in the United States that passed a tuition cut this year for our students? I think this has been a good thing.

Republicans had a great idea to do that. And I gladly give them credit.

I also gladly give Democrats credit for coming in and saying that we ought to cut tuition for everyone, including for students at our community and technical colleges. And together, we found a way to pay for this. So this is something everyone in this chamber, I believe, can celebrate.

And finally, we restored funding for one of our most precious public assets, our state parks. It was heartbreaking to have to even consider having to close these parks.

You know, one day last year I stopped down at Twanoh State Park on Hood Canal and there was this family just frolicking with this young child in the water on this little beach, this little swim area. And when I saw it, it really took me back to my own childhood, when my dad and mom would throw us in the back of the station wagon and take us out to Twanoh for the day or if we were lucky maybe the weekend.

And just knowing this tradition will continue is extremely gratifying, and it keeps with the spirit of one of our state’s biggest outdoor recreation proponents, my friend, the late Doug Walker. Doug’s deep love of Washington’s wilderness will continue to be felt through the impact of his philanthropic efforts and his work on the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Parks and Outdoor Recreation. Our thoughts are with the Walker family as they mourn his recent passing.

Finally, we gave state employees their first wage increase since 2008, and I’d like to take a moment to speak directly to our state employees.

A lot of you are doing really great work. I was happy to finally be able to get you a modest raise.

Under my Results Washington initiative, our state has become a national leader in using performance management strategies to improve government. This fellow named John Shook, he’s known for being the godfather of lean management in the country, and he’s told us that he believes Washington is at the very forefront of this effort in the country. And we know that thousands of you are showing the world how the public sector can use lean thinking to manage growing workloads, to increase efficiency and improve quality. I commend you for that.

And those of you on the front lines of our state agencies really do important work. In part of that effort is that we hold ourselves to the highest standards. So if the public trust is violated, we blow the whistle on it, and we provide absolute accountability. And that is what is happening with the sentencing errors that went on for 13 years at the Department of Corrections.

Now you are often the first ones to see when something is not working right. That’s why you should feel empowered to bring these things to management’s attention and know that you are being heard. And I expect all state employees, and especially your managers, to act responsibly in this regard, and you can expect that those who do not will be held accountable.

We always have to remember that our core mission is serving the people of Washington. And every single thing we do ought to reflect that mission.

Now, I came into office focused on creating jobs and growing our economy. It’s why I’ve pushed for these investments in education, in transportation, and in our quality of life. So let’s look at how we’re doing.

I’m pleased to report that Washington continues to rank in the top five states in the country in job growth.

We have the fastest GDP growth in the nation, more than twice the national growth rate.

And over the past few years, Washington exports grew a whopping 20 percent more than any other state. California, New York, Texas, we beat them all.

Look, I’ve been focused on jobs since I took this office. So it’s very gratifying to be able to say that we have added nearly a quarter million jobs since 2013.

There are more than 30,000 people working today in the building trades sector than there were three years ago. And I’m so glad they are able to get up every day and go to good-paying jobs, and help us build our economy.

And although our economic growth has not been uniform, we do know that unemployment in all our state’s counties is now, for the first time in eight years, back in the single digits.

Folks, there is a lot of good economic news in our state these days. And it means that we are doing something right.

And we should have confidence, because we know what we’ve already achieved together in these past three years.

So with all of us gathered here, I’d like to talk about what I think our business now is for the next 60 days. Between now and March 10th, there are four things that must get done for our state.

First, we have a serious statewide teacher shortage from Kennewick to Kent, from Yakima to Everett. All told, we need more than 7,000 teachers in our schools.

Now, I’ve proposed a way to do this. It’s a small but important first step to address a very real problem.

To recruit and retain teachers, my plan would raise their beginning salary from just under $36,000 to $40,000 per year. Nearly 8,800 beginning teachers would see a raise next year under this proposal.

Then, to help make all teacher salaries more competitive, my plan also provides a minimum 1 percent raise to all other teachers. It also increases funding for our teacher mentoring programs, so teachers in their first or second year on the job have the support they need and don’t end up leaving the profession, which half of them are now doing.

And I propose we pay for it through elimination of some tax breaks whose benefits simply do not outweigh our obligations to our students, to our teachers and to our schools.

And for those who wonder how we’re going to get this done, here’s a reminder what we’ve done before. In the past three years, we’ve closed tax breaks on a bipartisan basis that generate $1.1 billion over six years. We did it because we recognized we had some critical needs in our state. And we can do it again.

And the reason is pretty simple. Because it doesn’t matter if we have the best mentors for our teachers, or the smallest class sizes in the nation. If nobody is standing in front of the classroom, we’ve got zip.

The second thing we need to focus on is last year’s record-setting wildfires.

A million acres of our state were scorched an area larger than the state of Delaware. More than 300 homes primarily in Eastern Washington were destroyed. And tragically, three firefighters lost their lives.

I’ve proposed using our Budget Stabilization Account to cover the $180 million dollars in costs related to battling these wildfires. It’s exactly what these reserves were meant for.

Additionally, I’ve proposed using $29 million dollars from the Disaster Response Account to help communities recover from these devastating fires and to help to ensure we are better prepared to fight them in the upcoming fire season.

The third thing we need to focus on is our mental health system. We know this, during the Great Recession, the state made devastating cuts to services for our most vulnerable, and we continue to be hobbled by those cuts.

And while we have acted together to add more than $700 million dollars to our state’s mental health system, we still have significant work to do.

It is not acceptable to let people with severe mental illness languish in our emergency rooms and in our jails.

In the last legislative session, we added hundreds of treatment beds, psychologists and psychiatrists, nurses and other staff to get people treated more quickly.

My December supplemental budget also included a number of investments to keep people out of our hospitals and keep them safely in their communities, with their family and their friends. I think this is important.

After all, only three percent of the people who access mental health services in our state go to our state hospitals. So the other 97 percent are served in our communities, and we need to make sure that we have the appropriate services in place for them.

These aren’t nameless, faceless people. They are our loved ones. They are our colleagues. They are our friends. We’re talking about the elderly person with dementia, or the college freshman who experiences a psychotic break, or the wounded veteran with a traumatic brain injury. And we need to make sure they get the treatment to stabilize them and to help them.

This is why my budget proposal funds four new 16-bed crisis triage facilities and three new mobile crisis teams across the state to reach these folks in need.

But all of these investments we’ve made requires skilled staff to set them up and keep them running. Right now, we know we have a serious staffing shortage, particularly at our state psychiatric hospitals.

We need to ensure we have enough doctors, nurses, social workers and treatment staff so that everyone is safe and that’s patients and staff.

These are investments we ought to have confidence in, because we know when people get the mental health treatment they need, they can improve dramatically. People walk out of Western State Hospital and they go on to have great, productive lives.

So we have urgent short-term needs. But we also need to take the long view on how to organize and deliver a stronger mental health care system for our citizens. That’s why my budget includes funding for just this purpose.

Our aim is simple here: timely access to high-quality treatment in the appropriate setting.

We’ve all known someone struggling with mental illness. Let’s get this job done for these folks this year.

Now, let’s talk about our fourth pressing need. We need to put in place a framework for our future K through 12 education investments. This is absolutely necessary this session.

We are on track. I convened a bipartisan group of legislators who met during the summer and fall to develop this framework for the next, the most complex, part of our K through 12 financing plan. Legislation has been introduced that contains the first step so we can be successful when we return next year.

And I’m confident we’ll take the second step next year because legislators have met every deadline they’ve set for themselves. Our next deadline requires the legislature to fully fund basic education in the 2017 session, and there’s no reason we can’t do that too. And we’re not going to just fix a few potholes, we’re going to finish the job. That means actually financing these critical investments so our kids and grandkids get the education they deserve.

And we are going to do this not just because it's a constitutional imperative, not just because it's a judicial decree, but because it's the right thing to do for our kids. That’s why we are going to do this.

I’d also like to talk today about other issues that engage people beyond this chamber, and are important enough for a statewide conversation.

There are a variety of ways our state can move forward, and one way is the voters take things into their own hands through the initiative process.

And first and foremost is the issue of working families not being able to keep up, even as our economy improves.

There’s a simple fact, our economy is not working for everyone. On the one hand, we have the biggest boomtown in North America. On the other hand, we have working families and communities falling behind even though they’re working hard and even though they are doing a great job.

I’m seeing Washingtonians hard-working people in every corner of this state struggling with rising housing prices, with student loan debt, with medical bills.

That’s why I’m supporting the initiative that was filed yesterday that phases in a true minimum wage and provides paid sick leave for hard-working Washingtonians.

I stand on this rock-solid belief: if you work 40 hours a week, you deserve a wage that puts a roof over your head and food on the table. Period. And you shouldn’t have to give up a day’s pay if you or your kids get sick.

But it is not just minimum-wage workers who are falling behind in this economy. The problem is that most workers are not sharing in the fruits of their own increased productivity. Workers are producing more goods and services per hour than at any time in our state’s history.

In a nutshell: People are working harder, they’re working longer hours and they’re getting paid less in real dollars.

Now, this is not true for corporate executives. The CEO-to-worker pay ratio was 20-to-1 in 1965. Today it’s more than 300-to-1.

And look, I’m fine paying for exceptional results and investing in talent. I believe in that. But I also believe that these gaps and practices should be transparent.

I think the State Investment Board can help.

As a shareholder in companies, the board currently votes against executive compensation packages if they do not align with the company’s financial performance.

I’ve asked the investment board to go further, and exercise its voting authority to reduce the widening pay gap between CEOs and their workers.

And I’m encouraging the board to promote this policy with other states and institutional investors.

Small steps like this can be the beginnings of bigger journeys. I started a different journey last week with my new executive order on public health and firearms.

You know, more people in Washington are dying from firearm fatalities than even from traffic accidents. We have a public health crisis and we need a public health solution. Every single day, someone in our state dies from gun violence. We can and must reduce accidental shootings, gun crime and suicide by gun.

My executive order will strengthen the background check system approved by voters in 2014. It will also allow us to collect information that will drive smart, data-driven solutions to gun violence. And it implements the statewide Suicide Prevention Plan recommended by a task force I convened.

And no matter how this conversation advances, these are important actions that we can take now.

Now we also need to continue to take action on protecting our clean air and our clean water, particularly from the threat of carbon pollution.

In my mind’s eye, the older I get, the more beautiful Washington becomes. Our verdant and healthy place for our kids to grow up is just a wonder. So I’m glad that the needle is moving on this because the problem of carbon pollution is not going away.

Everyone knows I’m a technology optimist about this. We need and are getting more of our homegrown leaders and innovators devising solutions to this problem.

I’m also heartened by the engagement we’re getting from the business community as our Department of Ecology drafts its Clean Air Rule. People are robustly participating in the process. They’re looking for solutions. And I’m really excited about that progress, and I invite everyone to get involved as part of this.

And in this effort, we know we’re not alone. The world is moving on this, and so are we.

Three years ago, I stood up here as the newly inaugurated Governor and said that as Washington moves forward, we need to remember who we are as a state.

And looking at what we’ve accomplished together, I believe we’ve stayed true to the values we cherish as Washingtonians.

We’ve remained confident in our ability to innovate, because we’re continually recognized for the groundbreaking things our businesses and our universities are doing.

We’ve remained confident in the brightness of our future because we’ve invested record amounts of money in our children’s education — which is the truest measure of our commitment.

We’ve remained confident in the inclusiveness that has built our economy and today is building our communities. Whether it’s at big companies or at small businesses, we’re one of the most successful economies in the world because we embrace diversity and because we welcome all people to our great state.

This is a confident state. It deserves a confident Legislature. It deserves a confident Governor. And I have to tell you, as a fifth- generation Washingtonian, I stand here today with confidence.

I see the greatness of this state. I feel it. And I believe it. It’s who we are.

And that is how we’re going to approach this session. Not with temerity. But with confidence. With recognition of the depths of our challenges, and with confidence that together we can solve them.

So now together let’s get to work. And Go Hawks.”

The President thanked the Governor for his remarks and asked the special committee escorted His Excellency, Governor Inslee from the House Chamber.

The President called upon the special committee of Representatives Gina McCabe and Noel Frame and Senators Don Benton and Maralyn Chase to escort the State elected officials from the House Chamber.

The President called upon the special committee of Representatives Patty Kuderer and Drew Stokesbary and Senators Karen Keiser and Steve O’Ban to escort the Supreme Court Justices from the House Chamber.

On motion of Representative Sullivan, the Joint Session was dissolved. The Speaker Pro Tempore, Representative Orwall presiding, assumed the chair.

The Sergeant at Arms of the House and the Sergeant at Arms of the Senate escorted President of the Senate Owen, Senator Sheldon, Senator Fraser and members of the Washington State Senate from the House Chamber.

AFTERNOON SESSION

The Senate was called to order at 1:17 p.m. by President of the Senate, Lt. Governor Owen presiding.

MOTION

At 1:17 p.m., on motion of Senator Fain, the Senate adjourned until 10:00 o’clock a.m., Wednesday, January 13, 2016.

BRAD OWEN, President of the Senate

HUNTER G. GOODMAN, Secretary of the Senate