ACTION ALERT: April 11, 2005

1) Contact Eastside Senators to urge support of Human Rights Bill
2) Support the Elimination of the "Bed-tax"

Do a Mitzvah for the Jewish Community by taking action!

These Action Alerts are political capital for our lobbying effort in Olympia. Taking the 5 minutes to read and respond to an Action Alert is akin to a donation to the Jewish Community. Not a gift of money, but a gift of advocacy. The Jewish Federation has an agenda designed by its beneficiary agencies, and these legislative priorities need the support of the community to survive. Devastating cuts to nursing home funding, discriminatory practices by life insurance companies and inadequate funding for vital refugee resettlement programs will all be the consequences of not taking action! Legislators DO read these emails and it DOES make a difference. Please, be an active voice for the Jewish Community and respond to this Action Alert! And when legislators respond to you, please let us know! It is extremely helpful for us to know if a legislator has a question, concerns, or supports the legislation.

HOW TO USE THIS ACTION ALERT: Each week, we highlight several key issues before the Washington State Legislature which have a direct impact on our community and community agencies. This Action Alert contains brief summaries of the key issues before the Legislature this week. It also provides you with direct e-mail links to your legislators and Legislative leaders. We provide you with a draft e-mail text which you can directly send or which you can modify to better represent your thoughts on an issue. When you send an e-mail, please be sure to fill out all of the information so that your legislator can directly respond to you.

If you have questions about any legislation mentioned in this Alert or elsewhere, or any questions about the legislature in general conatct the legislative hotline at (800) 562-6000.

In this Alert
1) Contact Eastside Senators to urge support of Human Rights Bill
2) Support the Elimination of the "Bed-tax"

The Mood
Only two weeks remain, as Monday is day 92 of 105 regular session days. The first day of Passover is the last scheduled day of session and many legislators are declaring that they will adjourn in time for the first seder. That would be the first time (with limited research) that the legislature adjourned early.

Three budgets are out now for the upcoming biennial operating budget (4 if you include former Governor Locke's lame-duck version). Although there are significant differences in many areas, the differences are slight compared to past years (leading to the Pesach prognastications). Expectations are that most differences will be reconciled fairly harmoniously (the House and Senate have both passed their versions of the budget, and could go into formal or informal conference at any time). Here is a short comparison of how Federation priorities have fared:

This Friday marks the next significant cut-off or deadline for legislation. All bills that have already passed the house they originated in must pass the other body by the end of Friday. There are exceptions for budget-related bills and bills that must receive concurrence for changes made in the other body. Here is an update on some key Federation legislation:

Life Insurance Discrimation based on Travel Destinations: Engrossed House Bill 1561 (Represenative Sherry Appleton is the prime sponsor), has now passed the House and Senate unaminously. Because this bill had some minor tweaks in the Senate, it must go back over to the House for concurrence. Concurrence is expected soon. This bill could be signed into law by the Governor before the end of session.

Life Insurance Discrimination based on Genetic Information: Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5452 is now in the House Rules committee. It must pass the full House by the end of Friday.

Action: Contact your two state representatives and Senator and urge them to end this unfair tax.