House adopts budget timeout rule

The House has taken a small step towards more transparency with the passage of its rules this morning. According to HR 4610:

"Rule 12. (A) BUDGET BILLS. No final passage vote may be taken on an operating budget, transportation budget, or capital budget bill until twenty-four (24) hours after the bill is placed on the third reading calendar. The twenty-four (24) hour requirement does not apply to conference reports, which are governed by Joint Rule 24, or to bills placed on the third reading calendar by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the members present."

House Republicans proposed amendments to extend the 24 hour review period to 48 or 72 hours. Both of those amendments failed on party-line votes.

While it is encouraging to see at least a 24 hour timeout be adopted before final passage of a budget bill, it would have been better to include time for citizens and lawmakers to review all bills before they are passed by the House.

Here is what we proposed in our constitutional legislative transparency amendment endorsed by the Attorney General and State Auditor:

THAT, Transparency and public disclosure in the legislative process is vital to a representative democracy. THAT, At the next general election to be held in this state the secretary of state shall submit to the qualified voters of the state for their approval and ratification, or rejection, a new section amending Article 2, an amendment to Article 2, section 19, and an amendment to Article 2, section 22 of the Constitution of the state of Washington to read as follows:

Article II, new section. No bill shall be eligible for a public hearing until 72 hours after introduction. The public shall be provided at least 72 hours notification of the bills to be heard at a public hearing. No bill shall be eligible for legislative action of any kind unless it has first been subject to a public hearing in the same session of consideration. No bill shall be eligible for legislative action on the floor of either house until 72 hours after it has been placed on the floor calendar. This section may be suspended with two-thirds of the members elected to the house in which it is pending suspend this requirement, and every individual consideration of a bill or action suspending the requirement shall be recorded in the journal of the respective house.

Article II, section 19. No bill shall embrace more than one subject, and that shall be expressed in the title. No bill shall be eligible for public hearing or legislative consideration of any kind unless the bill shall lay forth in full the changes to any act or sections of law. Title only bills shall be prohibited.

Article II, section 22. No bill shall be eligible for final passage in either house unless copies of the bill in the form to be passed shall have been made available to the members of that house and the public for at least twenty-four hours, unless two-thirds of the members elected to the house in which it is pending suspend this requirement, and every individual consideration of a bill or action suspending the requirement shall be recorded in the journal of the respective house. No bill shall become a law unless on its final passage the vote be taken by yeas and nays, the names of the members voting for and against the same be entered on the journal of each house, and a majority of the members elected to each house be recorded thereon as voting in its favor.

Hopefully lawmakers will have the opportunity to debate these full transparency reforms and hear from their constituents on this important issue.