Olympia digs out from the snow, first cutoff looms
Prepared by Marie Sullivan, WSPTA Legislative Consultant, legconsultant@wastatepta.org
In unprecedented action, the Legislature cancelled committee meetings Monday, February 11, due to historic amounts of snow that had fallen since the previous Friday. Most Monday committee meetings were rescheduled for later in the week. On the 11th, many areas around Thurston County received one to two feet of snow, which closed schools, businesses, and knocked out power for thousands across the Puget Sound. Many legislators braved the snow to reach the Capitol, while others conducted meetings over the phone. Tuesday started with a two-hour delay, and then it was business as usual for the rest of the week.
Friday, February 22 marks the first of several self-imposed deadlines to winnow the list of bills under consideration this session. By the 22nd, policy bills need to have passed out of committee, either going to a budget committee for further review, or to the Rules Committee, a major gatekeeper for which bills get sent to the floor for possible action. Read more here.
Keep up with the bills and committee hearings related to WSPTA member-generated Legislative Priorities and long-term positions by utilizing the WSPTA Bill Status Report.