House passes six Loomis bills

February 20, 2008

OLYMPIA – In her first session, Rep. Liz Loomis (D-Snohomish) passed six bills from the House of Representatives that are now being considered by the Senate.

"It's amazingly hard to pass something -- four out of five bills die -- so I feel lucky to get this much legislation through,” said Loomis. “I'll keep working to get these six bills through the Senate and onto Governor Gregoire's desk."

Loomis said the highlight of her first session was securing $5 million in the Transportation budget for safety improvements on Highway 2, one of the most dangerous stretches of road in Washington state.

“Saving lives has to be a priority,” Loomis said.

About the six bills:

Getting tough on sex offenders
House Bill 2714 cracks down on released sex offenders who fail to register.

"What can a mother or father do to protect their sons and daughters?" Loomis said on the floor of the House when HB 2714 came up for debate. "The best armor we have is to know where they live, what they look like, and take away the veil of secrecy that sex offenders need to commit these heinous crimes. This bill is about making sure our families, have that information, that armor. "

HB 2714 puts teeth in the law, boosting the penalties for failure to register. It passed the House 97-0.

All aboard! Riding the train to work
House Bill 3224 would use an abandoned Burlington Northern track to provide commuter rail for people who live in east Snohomish and King counties.

"When my husband worked at Microsoft, he spent three hours a day driving back and forth to Redmond," said Loomis, who lives in Snohomish. "During the bad ice storm two years ago, he spent nine hours on the road. Nine hours. He didn’t have any other option. We need better transportation options, like trains."

More than 150 people showed up in the city of Snohomish for a town hall meeting about bringing commuter trains to the area.

"When I-5 gets clogged up, it’s not just cars, but buses that get slowed down," Loomis said. "Trains have their own superhighway. And people just feel differently about trains. There’s a reason home values increase around proposed train stations."

It passed 93-2.

Helping small businesses
House Bill 3126 helps businesses that operate in different cities and have to wrestle with paperwork and red tape involving the different sales tax rates.

"I'm a small business owner, so I know what it's like," Loomis said. "Many small companies do business in a number of cities, or make most of their revenue from mail orders. This bill means they only need one business license and won’t have to pay additional taxes everywhere they do business.

This bill passed 94-0.

Safeguarding our insurance system
House Bill 3011 protects the integrity of our insurance industry.

"Imagine losing your home to a fire, then finding out your insurance company can't pay because it's bank account is empty," Loomis said on the floor of the House. "That's what this bill is about: protecting your family's home and car by making sure insurance companies have enough assets to cover their liabilities."

It passed 93-0.

Protecting children and pets
House Bill 2996 requires antifreeze sold in Washington to contain a bittering agent, to prevent the accidental poisoning of children and pets.  The Humane Society estimates that 10,000 pets and wildlife die each year in Washington from antifreeze poisoning.

"The chemicals that make antifreeze work are naturally sweet" Loomis said. "This is a common-sense step that we can take to prevent children, pets and wildlife from getting seriously sick -- or dying. And, it has worked in other states."

It passed 93-1.

Wildlife Fund
House Bill 2799 fixes a technical problem with the state's wildlife fund. It passed 95-0.

What's next for Loomis
The session is more than half over, and now the House will consider bills passed by the Senate.

It's also the House's turn to propose its budgets first -- next year, the Senate will have the first go -- with  the Transportation, Capital, and Operating budgets released on Wednesday, Feb. 20.

"I'd like to thank all of the citizens who've taken the time to call or write to me," Loomis said. "Real stories from real people back home are powerful ammunition when I'm testifying in support of a bill, or asking for money in the budget for small business or to fix Highway 2."