The Mood
Last Thursday, board member Ted Daniels graciously agreed to come to Olympia to testify in front of the Senate Ways and Means Committee on behalf of the Jewish Federation and our beneficiary agencies. I cannot underline how important it is to have volunteers how take the time out of their busy lives to convey their interests to legislators. After a parade of lobbyists gave a litany of complaints regarding the Governor's proposal, Senators finally focused as Ted began his testimony by noting that he was a volunteer. Ted conveyed our concerns about proposed cuts contained in the Governor's budget, spanning our social services beneficiary agencies.

The Legislature is wrapped up with the travails of l'affaire d' Roach. It would be nice to claim that the elected officials had come up with a plan to patch the budget hole - but that would be a gross exaggeration. At present, most attention is on what will Senator Pam Roach do next, and what with the Senate Republican's do in response. The Tacoma News Tribune and the Olympian have both run long stories about her former members of her staff, including the fact that some received funds from the legislature for psychological counseling after leaving her employment.

Children, Youth and Families

Update: Governor Locke proposed eliminating state funding of employment services for refugees as part of his budget cutting exercise in the binennial budget. This will eliminate thousands of dollars in funding that Jewish Family Service uses to help refugees become self-sufficient. Refugee Resettlement assists Jewish refugees from the Former Soviet Union as well as refugees from other countries, to start new lives in the Greater Seattle community. At the JFS Multi-Ethnic Service Center, refugees from diverse communities receive job development, English as a Second Language classes, and case management services.

Action: Contact your legislator and ask them to oppose cuts to employment services for refugees.

Human Rights

Update: Last Tuesday, the House Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee unanimously passed House Bill 1128. This bill (now called Substitute House Bill 1128 due to some small changes that we agreed to), will now move to the full House floor for a vote sometime this week. In the Senate, Senate Bill 5193 is stuck in committee, and will not move unless Senator Don Benton agrees to bring it to a vote as drafted (or in the form of the House version). Federation V.P. Amy Wasser-Simpson was also in Olympia on Thursday and had a private meeting with Senator Benton to express our thanks for his introduction of House Bill 1128 and to urge him to move the bill out of committee as soon as possible. Again, let me stress the importance of other Jewish faces being seen in Olympia.

Action 1: Contact your House member and ask them to vote for SHB 1128 when it comes up for a vote. Click here to identify your House member, and write an e-mail with the following text (and remember to include your contact information!):

This bill seeks to protect organizations and individuals who have been victims of a hate crime from further discrimination. Washington State law governing insurance practice will be changed to prohibit insurance companies from canceling or refusing to renew coverage for these victims of hate crimes because of the results of the hate crime incident for which a claim has been submitted. The purpose of the bill is to prevent hate crime victims from being a victim twice. I believe SHB 1128 is good, preventative public policy.

Government Affairs
The Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle
2031 Third Avenue
Seattle, WA 98121
Phone: 206.774.2248
Fax: 206.443.0303