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60th
LEGISLATURE, 1st REGULAR SESSION (2007) WSAB has represented Washington’s radio and television stations in the State Legislature since 1935. Each year, WSAB protects and promotes the interests of broadcasters on a variety of bills and issues. Symbol Key: HB
1362:
Campaign Finance Reform.
This bill would make a slight change in the sponsor identification
requirement for independent expenditure or electioneering advertising in
the list of major contributors.
2007 STATUS:
In House State Government & Tribal Affairs Committee. HB
1389:
Contractor Advertising.
This bill makes clarifications in the exceptions to the requirement
that contractor advertising contain the contractor’s registration
number.
The current exemption for broadcast advertising is retained without
change, but moved to a different section. 2007
STATUS:
In House Commerce & Labor Committee. SHB
1552/SSB 5720:
Legal Notice Advertising.
This bill would eliminate the requirement that stations retain a
script of any legal notice advertising for 60 days for public inspection;
would permit legal notice announcements to be recorded and dubs
distributed to stations, in place of the current requirement that the
announcement be read by a station employee at every station; and would
permit stations to send their own affidavits as proof of performance,
instead of a form required by the statute.
2007 STATUS:
HB 1552 in House Rules Committee.
SSB 5720 passed Senate; passed House; signed Governor; Chapter 103,
Laws of 2007. SB
6101:
Legal Notice Web Site.
This bill would establish an official state web site for the
posting of legal notices.
It does not affect broadcast legal notice advertising.
2007 STATUS:
In Senate Judiciary Committee. HB
1077/SB 5126:
Public Disclosure of Sensitive Fish & Wildlife Data.
This bill specifically delineates the government agencies to which
sensitive fish and wildlife data may be disclosed and the conditions under
which it can be disclosed.
2007 STATUS:
HB 1077 passed House; passed Senate; signed by Governor; Chapter
293, Laws of 2007.
SB 5126 in Senate Natural Resources, Ocean & Recreation
Committee. 2SHB
1106:
Hospital Acquired Infection Information.
This bill would exempt from public inspection and copying
information collected by a hospital for reporting health care associated
infections.
2007 STATUS: Passed
House; passed Senate; signed by Governor; Chapter 261, Laws of 2007. HB
1202/SSB 5547:
Developmental Disabilities Ombudsman DSHS.
These two identical bills would create in the State Department of
Social & Health Services an office of ombudsman for persons with
developmental disabilities.
Investigate records received by the ombudsman would be exempt from
public disclosure.
2007 STATUS:
HB 1202 in House Appropriations Committee.
SB 5547in Senate Ways & Means Committee. HB
1421/SB 5409:
Victim Confidentiality Program Personal Information.
These two identical bills would exempt from public inspection and
copying the residential address and phone number of a person who is
enrolled in the victim confidentiality program administered by the
Secretary of State.
2007 STATUS:
HB 1421 passed House; Senate did not consider and returned bill to
House Rules Committee at end of session. SB
5409 in Senate Government Operations & Elections Committee. HB
1444/SSB 5435:
Public Records Exemptions Accountability Committee.
These two identical bills would create a committee that would
review annually all exemptions to the Open Public Records Act and make
recommendations to the Legislature for repeal or revision of exemptions.
2007 STATUS:
HB 1444 in House State Government & Tribal Affairs Committee.
SSB 5435 passed Senate; passed House; signed by Governor; Chapter
198, Laws of 2007. SHB
1445/SSB 5437:
Public Records Act Technical Revisions.
These two identical bills make adjustments to the reorganization of
the Open Public Records Act that the Legislature passed in 2006.
2007 STATUS:
SHB 1445 passed House; passed Senate; signed by Governor; Chapter
197, Laws of 2007.
SSB 5437 in Senate Rules Committee. HB
1446/SB 5436:
Public Records Litigation Statute of Limitations.
These two identical bills would add “failure to provide a
response” in the time required by the public records law as another
triggering event that would start the one-year statute of limitations for
filing an action based on a denial of a public records request.
2007 STATUS:
HB 1446 passed House; Senate did not consider and returned bill to
House Rules Committee at end of session.
SB 5436 in Senate Rules Committee. HB
1449/SB 5927: Public Records Exemption for Gambling Licensee Information.
These bills would exempt from public inspection and copying
independent auditors reports and financial statements required to be filed
with the Gambling Commission by gambling licensees.
2007 STATUS:
HB 1449 passed House; passed Senate; signed by Governor; Chapter
470, Laws of 2007.
SB 5927 passed Senate; House did not consider and returned bill to
Senate Rules Committee at end of session. HB
1478:
Pipeline Location Maps/Images.
This
bill would exempt from public inspection and copying maps or images of
pipelines created or acquired by the State Utilities & Transportation
Commission which showed detail greater than a scale of 1:24,000.
2007 STATUS:
In House Rules Committee. SHB
1532/SSB 5717:
Insurance Commissioner Investigative Records.
These bills would exempt from public disclosure information
obtained by the Office of the Insurance Commissioner during various
investigations and examinations of insurance companies.
2007 STATUS:
HB 1532 in House Rules Committee.
SB 5717 passed Senate; passed House; signed by Governor; Chapter
82, Laws of 2007. SHB
1533/SSB 5715:
Insurance Commissioner Information.
These bills would exempt from public inspection and copying
information obtained by the Office of the Insurance Commissioner during an
investigation of an insurer’s termination of its relationship with an
agent.
2007 STATUS:
HB 1533 in House Rules
Committee.
SB 5715 passed Senate; passed House; signed by Governor; Chapter
117, Laws of 2007. SHB
1553/SB 5937:
Prescription Database Information.
These bills would exempt from public disclosure information
gathered by the State Department of Health in the creation of a
prescription drug dispensed electronic database.
2007 STATUS:
SHB 1553 in House
Appropriations Committee.
SB 5937 in Senate Ways & Means Committee. HB
1598: Salmon Recovery Funding Information Made Public.
This bill would require any project sponsor or other entity that
receives funding from the salmon recovery fund to agree to disclose
information relating to that funding, regardless of whether the
information is exempt from public disclosure under the Open Records Act.
2007 STATUS: Passed
House; passed Senate; signed by Governor; Chapter 257, Laws of 2007. SHB
1688:
Fruit & Vegetable Marketing Information.
This bill would exempt from public disclosure and copying
information that can be identified to a particular business that is
collected by the Washington State Agriculture Department in its fruit and
vegetable marketing standards function.
2007 STATUS:
Passed House; passed Senate; signed by Governor; Chapter 177, Laws
of 2007. HB
1742/SSB 5566:
Voter Registration Information.
This bill would exempt from public inspection and copying the birth
date on voter registration records.
It would also make the phone number and signature on the ballot
return envelope available for public inspection, but not for copying.
2007 STATUS:
HB 1742 in House State Government & Tribal Affairs Committee.
SSB 5566 passed Senate; House did not consider and returned bill to Senate
Rules Committee at end of session. SHB
1897:
Disclosure of Attorney Invoices.
This bill would clarify that the Open Public Records Act does not
permit attorney invoices to be withheld in their entirety when subject to
a public records request.
2007 STATUS:
Passed House; passed Senate;
signed by Governor; Chapter 391,
Laws of 2007. HB
1942:
Disclosure of Dates of Birth of Public Employees and Volunteers.
This bill would add the date of birth of a public employee or
volunteer to the list of personal information that may be withheld from
public inspection and copying of public records.
2007 STATUS:
In House State Government
& Tribal Affairs Committee. SHB
2348:
Disclosure of Labor Relations Materials.
This bill would exempt from public inspection and copying mediation
communications and evidence furnished as showing of interest in support of
any labor representation petition in public employee union labor
relations.
2007 STATUS: In
House Rules Committee. SB
5120:
Broadband Deployment Survey Information.
This bill would require the State Department of Community, Trade
& Economic Development to conduct a survey on the deployment of
broadband technology in households in Washington.
It would make confidential the name and identification data of any
person participating in the survey.
2007 STATUS:
In Senate Ways & Means Committee. SSB
5295:
Department of Corrections Ombudsman.
This bill would create an office of ombudsman in the State
Department of Corrections.
Investigative records received by the ombudsman would be exempt
from public disclosure.
2007 STATUS:
In Senate Ways & Means Committee. SB
5515:
Real Property Owner’s Personal Information.
This bill would prohibit a county assessor from publicizing any
personal information related to a property owner that is not related to
the assessment of the property.
The definition of “personal information” is so broad as to
include almost anything.
2007 STATUS:
In Senate Government Operations & Elections Committee. NEWS GATHERING & REPORTING HB
2042:
Public Access to Public Employee Labor Negotiations.
This bill would require that collective bargaining sessions with
public employee organizations are to be conducted as an open public
meeting.
2007 STATUS:
In House Commerce & Labor Committee. HB
2141:
Open Public Meetings:
This bill would clarify that a “meeting” for purposes of the
Open Public Meetings Act includes any gathering of a majority of the
members of a governing board, either in person, by telephone or electronic
means, at which they hear, deliberate or take action on any business of
the agency.
2007 STATUS:
In House State Government & Tribal Affairs Committee. NEWS GATHERING & REPORTING SHB
1307:
Student Media Censorship.
This bill would prohibit high schools and institutions of higher learning
from censoring the content of student media and provides that such media
is not subject to prior review by school administrators.
It also provides that any expression by students in school
sponsored media is not the expression of school policy.
School media includes student run broadcast stations.
Substitute bill adds WSAB amendment the permits schools to control
student station content when it would violate an FCC rule.
2007 STATUS:
Hearing held 1/26/06 [WSAB did not testify]; Passed House Judiciary
Committee with WSAB amendment concerning student broadcast stations and
FCC rule violations; passed House; Senate did not consider and returned
bill to House Rules Committee at end of session. SHB
1072/SSB 5089:
Streamlined Sales Tax.
These two identical bills continue the project to bring Washington
up to date with other “sales tax states” in establishing uniformity in
the application of sales and use tax.
These bills contain extensive provisions relating to
“telecommunication services,” but provide that advertising and radio
and television broadcasting are not included in the definition of
telecommunication services and, therefore, are not subject to the
provisions of the legislation.
Neither substitute bill changed the provisions relating to
broadcasting or advertising as outlined above.
2007 STATUS:
SHB 1072 in House Rules Committee. SSB 5089 passed Senate; passed
House; signed by Governor; Chapter 6, Laws of 2007. HB
1214:
Operating a Motor Vehicle While Using a Wireless Device:
This bill would create new traffic infraction that would occur when
a person is operating a motor vehicle while reading, writing or sending a
text message on an electronic wireless device.
2007 STATUS: Passed House; passed Senate; signed by
Governor; Chapter 416, Laws of 2007. HB
1868/SSB 5037:
Using a Wireless Device While Operating a Motor Vehicle.
These two identical bills would make it a traffic infraction to
operate a moving motor vehicle while holding a wireless communications
device to your ear.
2007 STATUS:
HB 1868 in House Transportation Committee.
SSB 5037 passed Senate; passed House; signed by Governor; Chapter
417, Laws of 2007. SHB
1251/SSB 5312:
Stolen Metal Property.
These bills would increase the requirements for record-keeping and
oversight of persons who deal in metals because of the escalating
incidence of theft of metals (including copper, which is of particular
concern to broadcasters).
The intent is to make it harder for thieves to dispose of stolen
metal and easier for law enforcement to recover stolen metal. 2007
STATUS:
HB 1251 passed House; passed Senate; signed by Governor; Chapter
377, Laws of 2007.
SB 5312 passed Senate; House did not consider and returned bill to
Senate Rules Committee at end of session. SB
6098:
Stolen Metal Property.
This is another bill that would attempt to tighten controls on the
sale of metals to reduce the incidence of persons stealing metal parts,
components, etc. and selling it for scrap.
2007 STATUS:
In Senate Judiciary Committee. SHB
1987:
Metal Theft Injury Liability Immunity:
This bill would shield a landowner from liability for unintentional
injuries to any person when the injury is caused by the theft of metals,
including copper.
2007 STATUS:
Passed House; Senate did not consider and returned bill to House
Rules Committee at end of session. HB
1537/SSB 5929:
AMBER Alert Hoax Reports-Class C Felony.
These two identical bills would increase the penalty for knowingly
making a false report to a public official to a Class C felony when the
report is of an abducted child that could trigger an AMBER Alert.
2007 STATUS:
HB 1537 passed House; passed Senate Judiciary Committee; Senate did
not consider and returned bill to House Rules Committee at end of session.
SB 5929 in Senate Rules Committee. HB
1675:
Multi-Lingual Public Notices.
This bill would require government agencies that are required to
issue public notices or inform the public about imminent dangers to public
health or safety, to issue those public notices in a language other than
English if more than 5% of the population of the area to which the notice
is directed speaks a different language.
2007 STATUS:
Passed House; Senate did not consider and returned bill to House
Rules Committee at end of session. HB
1983/SB 6003:
Competitive Video Services.
This bill would create a state-issued authorization for cable and
video services to deploy their systems throughout the state.
2007 STATUS: HB 1983 in House Technology, Energy & Telecommunications Committee.
SB 6003 in Senate Water, Energy & Telecommunications Committee. HB
2225:
Statewide Enhanced 911 Emergency Radio Network. This bill would establish a work group to study
how to enhance the delivery of emergency information to the public in the
event of an on-going emergency.
WSAB is named as one of the members of the work group.
2007 STATUS:
passed House; Senate did not consider and returned bill to House
Rules Committee at end of session. |
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