By Sarah Glorian
First, my apologies. I unintentionally took a six-month hiatus due to chaotic work-life. I am striving to delve back into trying to do the Justice in Motion monthly column. It seems timely since on July 20, the Legislature adjourned its third special session sine die (without a return date) or capital budget. Senate Bill 5977, the state’s infrastructure investment plan or capital budget, is what has still not passed due to disagreements between the House and Senate regarding a recent Supreme Court decision about water rights (Hirst vs. W. Washington Growth Management Hearings Board).
That being said, there has been some legislation that passed this session worth noting.
– SB 5975 enacted what has been hailed the strongest paid family leave program in the nation, which will offer eligible workers 12 weeks paid time off for the birth or adoption of a child, or for serious medical condition of the worker or the worker’s family member, beginning in 2020.
– SB 5347 vocational education coverage for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) families is expanded from 12 months to 24 months, which means someone receiving vocational education from a community college will not have to do extra work participation activities during their second year while also caring for their child and going to classes. This is intended to focus on disrupting intergenerational poverty.
– HB 1661 creates a new executive agency called the Department of Children, Youth, and Families to focus on child welfare.
– SB 5252 kept the document recording fees provisions that help fund local programs in working on homelessness issues from expiring at the end of next year. A bill proposing to increase the fee to provide additional, new funding to combat homelessness did not pass; however, the current fee and its existing structure has passed, keeping the program from expiring.
– SB5289 is the much covered distracted driver bill that passed that is considered one of the more strict pieces of legislation regarding making various cellular telephone usage while driving a primary offence, reportable to insurance companies; and other distracted driving being secondary offenses, such as eating, watching video, putting on makeup, etc.
– SB 5037 makes an individual’s 4th DUI a felony (previously 5th DUI was the trigger).
The portions of the budget that has passed made small yet noteworthy increases to several public benefits programs, including TANF grant levels increased by 2.5 percent from $521 max for a family of three to $534. This will begin in 2019.
Means testing for kinship caregivers has been eliminated; erasing a barrier that had a chilling effect on placement within the family.
The original Senate budget proposed to eliminate the Housing and Essential Needs Program; however, the budget that passed fully funds the current program.
To find out if you are eligible for Northwest Justice Project services:
For cases including youth (Individualized Education Program and school discipline issues), debt collection cases and tenant evictions, please call for a local intake appointment at (360) 533-2282 or toll free (866) 402-5293. No walk-ins, please.
For all other legal issues, please call our toll-free intake and referral hotline commonly known as “CLEAR” (Coordinated Legal Education Advice and Referral) at 1-888-201-1014, Mondays through Fridays 9:10 a.m. to 12:25 p.m. If you are a senior, 60 and over, please call 1-888-387-7111; you may be eligible regardless of income. Language interpreters are available. You can also complete an application for services at nwjustice.org/get-legal-help. Be sure to also check out our law library at: www.washingtonlawhelp.org.
Sarah Glorian is the staff attorney for the Northwest Justice Project office based in Aberdeen.
