OLYMPIA — The state Senate passed a package of bills last week in response to the murder of four Lakewood police officers last year.
Several were sponsored by Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam, who is one of the North Olympic Peninsula’s three representatives in the state Legislature.
The seven bills must be passed by the state House of Representatives and signed by Gov. Chris Gregoire to become law.
Five bills
The five bills with Hargrove’s signature would amend the interstate compact for supervising parolees and allow:
• Judges to deny bail to anyone who is charged with a crime that could come with a life sentence — which would require a constitutional amendment and a public vote.
• Anyone who is on parole and assaults a law enforcement officer to be held in jail for up to a year.
• The state to suspend parole of convicts who were convicted of crimes in other states and are charged with another crime.
Each bill is intended to fill in holes in the judicial system that allowed shooter Maurice Clemmons to be out of jail when he killed the Lakewood officers in November.
At the time, Clemmons, a parolee from Arkansas, was facing a possible life sentence for a child rape charge under the state’s “third strike” law. He was released on bail pending a trial.
The House passed similar legislation about two weeks ago. None of the bills have been consolidated or passed by both houses.
Hargrove said he doesn’t think the legislation would give judges too much authority or affect due process.
“Those were pretty carefully worked,” he said.
“All the administration processes are still in place.”
I-960 vote
Hargrove represents the 24th District — which includes Clallam and Jefferson counties and a portion of Grays Harbor County — along with Rep. Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, the House majority leader, and Rep. Kevin Van De Wege, D-Sequim.
Last week, Hargrove also voted against a bill that would make driving while talking on a cell phone a primary offense.
In addition, he voted with the 26-22 majority in the state Senate to suspend Initiative 960, which was approved by voters in 2007.
I-960 requires two-thirds of the Legislature approve any tax increase, a significant hurdle compared to the simple majority approval needed for other bills.
The Senate endorsed suspension of that rule until July 2011, when the next two-year budget cycle begins.
It was a move Hargrove and the majority Democrats said they needed to make as they deal with patching a budget deficit now pegged at $2.8 billion.
“The depth of the crisis we have here is the worst since the Great Depression,” Hargrove said in a statement.
“Initiatives are taken seriously, 960 is taken seriously and the Legislature — as times change and we have an economic crisis or something very difficult to deal with, we suspend the will of the people for a period of time in order to do our business here, because we are also constitutionally required to pass a balanced budget.”
On Saturday, majority Democrats on the House Finance Committee approved an amended bill calling for the temporary suspension of I-960.
Kessler and Van De Wege are expected to vote yes when the bill comes to the full House today or on Tuesday.
The House is in a hurry to get a bill back to the Senate for approval so Gov. Chris Gregoire can sign it and the Senate can roll out its budget plan, including tax increases, as soon as Wednesday.
“I think it will be sooner rather than later — we don’t want it to be hanging around,” Kessler said about the coming vote, noting that lawmakers have only 25 days left in their session to close the budget gap with new taxes, spending cuts, federal aid and shifting other state revenues.
Last week, Van De Wege added an amendment to a bill that would increase the one-time payment to families of state employees who died on the job.
The amendment would make the increase — from $175,000 to $214,000 benefit — retroactive.
The family of fallen state Department of Transportation worker Neal Richards could benefit.
Richards of Sequim died last November when a tree limb fell on him as he was helping clear trees along U.S. Highway 101 that fell during a storm.
“He gave his life,” said Van De Wege. “His family deserves this.”
The bill, with the amendment, passed the House in a 85-13 vote and will be voted on by the Senate.
Last week, Van De Wege, Hargrove and Kessler all voted for bills that would suspend salary increases for state employees. The bills passed both houses.
Hargrove also voted for a bill that would allow local governments to create zones where golf carts can be driven on public roads with a speed limit of 25 mph or less. The bill passed the Senate unanimously and will be voted on by the House.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
