It’s not often we look to the other Washington for advice on good policy proposals, but likely U.S. Speaker of the House Pelosi has some recommendations our state lawmakers should also take to heart. Considering the following from the draft Democratic House Rules Proposal for the 116^th Congress:

• Supermajority vote requirement for certain tax increases: “Require a 3/5 supermajority to raise individual income taxes on the lowest-earning 80% of taxpayers.” – Turns out supermajority vote protections for taxpayers can be a bipartisan recommendation after all.
   
• Public hearing before votes on bills: “Require every bill that goes through the Rules Committee to have a hearing and a markup before it goes to the floor.” Hear that SB 6617 (public records exemption for lawmakers)?
   
• 72 hour timeout to read the bill: "Require bill text to be available for 72 hours before the bill can proceed to the House Floor for a vote. This will ensure members have adequate time to read and understand legislation before casting their votes.” Where have I heard this recommendation before?

It is very encouraging to see Pelosi move on from “But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what's in it” to proposing the common sense rule protections of supermajority votes for taxes, public hearings before moving bills and a 72 hour timeout to remove the guessing game of what’s in a bill.

All good recommendations for Washington state lawmakers to embrace as well.