Politics Bulletin: 20 January 2025

Today is Martin Luther King Day, and also Inauguration Day, & usually there's not much legislating going on today. Ever rebels, the Legislature is at work today, and, of course, the new President will spend much of the day signing executive orders. Expect more in-depth coverage of that once we have announcements and texts, etc.

May God have mercy on us for failing to stop the evils that will be perpetrated over the next four years.

Seattle City Council

There's nothing on the city's calendar for action today. Check back tomorrow.

King County Council

There's nothing on the county's calendar for action today. Check back tomorrow.

Expect:

1. Possibly: The appointment of a Senator for the 34th L.D.
1. Senator Nguyen left the legislature to lead the Department of Commerce.
2. Possibly: The appointment of a Representative for the 34th L.D.
1. It's likely that Rep. Emily Alvarado is appointed to the Senate, so someone will need to fill her seat in the House
3. The appointment of a new CM for the 5th District (Des Moines, Kent area)
1. CM Upthegrove is our state's new Lands Commissioner

Washington House of Representatives

The House meets at 10:30 for a pro forma session.

Committee Meetings

Community Safety, 1:30 p.m.

On the agenda:

1. H.B. 1111 (Concerning the indeterminate sentence review board, by Rep. Farivar.)
2. H.B. 1178 (Concerning sentencing enhancements, by Rep. Goodman.)
3. H.B. 1317 (Concerning persons serving long sentences for offenses committed prior to reaching 21 years of age, by Rep. Hackney.)

Education, 1:30 p.m.

On the agenda:

1. Briefing: FutureReady Initiative, State Board of Education.

Environment & Energy, 1:30 p.m.

On the agenda: 

1. H.B. 1237 (Facilitating predictable and timely application decisions by the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, by Rep. Fitzgibbon.)
2. H.B. 1188 (Requiring local government and tribal approval of wind and solar siting recommendations by the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, by Rep. Dye)
3. H.B. 1018 (Adding fusion energy to facilities that may obtain site certification for the purposes of chapter 80.50 RCW, by Rep. Shavers, by request of the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council.)

Housing, 1:30 p.m.

On the agenda:

The committee will consider the following bills in executive session, and may pass one or both bills out of committee:

1. H.B. 1075 (Expanding housing supply by supporting the ability of public housing authorities to finance affordable housing developments, by Rep. Walen.)
2. H.B. 1217 (Implementing rent increase caps & other tenant protections, by Rep. Alvarado.)

Appropriations, 4:00 p.m.

On the agenda:

1. Briefing: Low Income Healthcare
2. Briefing: Housing offered by the Department of Commerce

Transportation, 4:00 p.m.

On the agenda:

1. Briefing: State Patrol enforcement of Traffic Safety Laws
2. Briefing: Safety-related initiatives relating to the built environment

Washington State Senate

The Senate convenes at 12:30 p.m. for a pro forma session.

Committee Meetings

Higher Education & Workforce Development, 10:30 a.m.

On the agenda:

1. Briefing: College affordability
2. S.B. 5087 (Establishing legal education programs at community and technical colleges, by Sen. Torres.)
3. S.B. 5027 (Establishing a loan repayment program for public defense attorneys and prosecutors, by Sen. Torres.)
4. S.B. 5205 (Concerning Washington College Grant Award amounts, by Sen. Conway.)

Law & Justice, 10:30 a.m.

On the agenda:

1. S.B. 5071 (Updating the Endangerment with a Controlled Substance statute, by Sen. Braun.)
2. S.B. 5122 (Enacting the Uniform Antitrust Premerger Notification Act, by Sen. Trudeau, by request of the Uniform Law Commission.)
3. S.B. 5093 (Concerning dignity in pregnancy loss, by Sen. Dhingra.)
4. S.B. 5202 (Ensuring the efficacy of judicial orders as harm reduction tools that increase the safety of survivors of abuse and support law enforcement in their efforts to enforce the law, by Sen. Salomon.)
5. S.J.M. 8006 (Concerning the Limited License Legal Technician program, by Sen. Torres.)
6. S.B. 5147 (Reviewing laws related to criminal insanity and competency to stand trial, by Sen. Torres.)

Labour & Commerce, 10:30 a.m.

On the agenda:

1. S.B. 5062 (Establishing a Childcare Workforce Standards Board, by Sen. Stanford.)
2. S.B. 5104 (Protecting employees from coercion in the workplace based on immigration status, by Sen. Hasegawa.)
3. S.B. 5023 (Providing labor market protections for domestic workers, by Sen. Saldaña.)
4. S.B. 5217 (Expanding pregnancy-related accommodations, Sen. Nobles.)

Agriculture & Natural Resources, 1:30 p.m.

On the agenda:

1. S.B. 5074 (Concerning the payment of turfgrass seed contracts, by Sen. Boehnke.)
2. S.B. 5165 (Concerning compensation in frontier counties for deer and elk damage, by Sen. Short.)
3. S.B. 5171 (Concerning livestock damage due to wolf predation, by Sen. Short.)
4. Briefing: Small forest management, sustainability, and fire resiliency.

Human Services, 1:30 p.m.

On the agenda:

1. S.B. 5266 (Concerning the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board, by Sen. Frame.)
2. S.B. 5032 (Expanding the duties of the Office of the Family & Children's Ombuds to include juvenile rehabilitation facilities operated by the Department of Children, Youth, & Families, by Sen. Claire Wilson.)
3. S.B. 5128 (Concerning the provision of medical assistance to individuals in juvenile detention facilities, by Sen. Claire Wilson.)
4. S.B. 5199 (Providing compensation to members of the Department of Children, Youth, & Families Oversight Board with direct lived experience, by Sen. Claire Wilson.)

Local Government, 1:30 p.m.

On the agenda:

1. S.B. 5107 (Concerning underinsured motorist coverage for local government employees, by Sen. Boehnke.)
2. S.B. 5138 (Concerning Public Facilities Districts, by Sen. Saldaña.)
3. S.B. 5173 (Concerning county comprehensive plans and development regulations, by Sen. Short.)
4. S.B. 5197 (Ensuring that local government planning complies with the Growth Management Act, by Sen. Salomon.)

The committee will then proceed to executive session to consider S.B. 5033 (Concerning sampling or testing of biosolids for PFAS chemicals, by Sen. Jeff Wilson.)

The committee may take a vote to pass S.B. 5033 out of committee.

Transportation, 4:00 p.m.

On the agenda:

1. S.B. 5059 (Concerning Washington State Ferries captains, by Sen. Liias.)
2. S.B. 5127 (Creating additional requirements for collector vehicle and horseless carriage license plates to improve compliance and public safety, by Sen. Lovick, by request of the Department of Licensing.)
3. S.B. 5234 (Concerning snowmobile registration fees, by Sen. Shewmake, by request of the Parks & Recreation Commission.)
4. S.J.M. 8000 (Extending the naming of Martin Luther King, Jr. Way, by Sen. Kauffman.)
5. S.B. 5215 (Concerning debris escaping from vehicles on public highways, by Sen. Shewmake.)

The committee will then proceed to executive session to consider S.B. 5072 (Concerning abandoned vehicles sold at auctions conducted by registered tow truck operators, by Sen. Warnick.)

The committee may take a vote to pass S.B. 5072 out of committee.

Ways & Means, 4:00 p.m.

On the agenda:

1. Briefing: Washington's tax structure.

United States House of Representatives

The House will convene in pro forma session at 10:00 a.m. E/7:00 a.m. P.

United States Senate

Committee Meetings

Foreign Relations, 4:30 p.m. E/1:30 p.m. P

The committee will likely vote to send the nomination of Marco Rubio to the full Senate. Rubio, a Senator from Florida, is the President-elect's nominee for Secretary of State.

Intelligence, 4:45 p.m. E/1:45 p.m. P

Closed business meeting to consider "pending intelligence matters."

Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, 5:30 p.m. E/2:30 p.m. P

The committee will likely vote to send the nomination of Kristi Noem to the full Senate. Noem, the Governor of South Dakota and a former US Representative, is the President-elect's nominee for Secretary of Homeland Security.

The Presidents & Vice Presidents

INAUGURATION DAY.

The ceremonies will be held indoors, in the Capitol Rotunda, due to severe cold in D.C. on Monday.

The ceremonies will commence with a musical prelude by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Combined Choirs and the U.S. Marine Band.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) will issue the call to order, followed by two invocations: the first, by His Eminence Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Catholic Archbishop of New York; the second, by the Rev. Franklin Graham.

Following Fr. Graham's invocation, Christopher Macchio, an operatic tenor, will sing Oh, America!

Following his performance, the Vice President-elect will be sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. This will be Justice Kavanaugh's first time administering the oath of office to an incoming Vice President since his installation in 2018.

Following the oath, a performance of America, the Beautiful, will be sung by Carrie Underwood, award-winning country music artist. She will be accompanied by the Armed Forces Chorus and the U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club.

Following their performance, the President-elect will be sworn in by Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts. This will be the fifth time Chief Justice Roberts has administered a presidential oath of office (following two oaths by Obama, one in 2016, and one by Biden in 2021).

The Naval Academy Glee Club will return to sing The Battle Hymn of the Republic, after which the President will deliver his second inaugural address.

Following the address, several benedictions will be given: first, by Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, President of Yeshiva University; the second, by Imam Husham al-Husainy, of the Karbalaa Islamic Education Center; the third, by Fr. Lorenzo Sewell of 180 Church Detroit; and the fourth by the Rev. Frank Mann of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn.

The ceremony will close with a performance of the National Anthem, by Christopher Macchio

The President will then proceed to the President's Room in the Capitol, where he will officially nominate his cabinet and other officials, and sign several executive orders.