2009 Legislative Scorecard Did They Vote for Kids? Front cover photo by Tegra Stone Nuess Table of Contents Introduction 2 Legislator Ratings 3 Bill Descriptions 5 Senate Scorecard 8 House of Representatives Scorecard 14 Scorecard by Legislative District 22 This scorecard is for educational purposes only. It does not constitute an endorsement for or against any candidate for public office. 1 Introduction This legislative scorecard reports votes taken by state legislators on children’s issues during the 2009 session of the Washington State legislature. The purpose of the scorecard is to inform advocates for children and the general public about the voting records of state legislators on legislation affecting children and families. For several years, the Children’s Alliance has published an annual scorecard, and we in- tend to publish a scorecard each year following the state legislative session. This scorecard reports the floor votes by both House and Scoring: Each legislator Senate members on 14 bills, all of which passed and were received a score of 0 to 4 stars signed into law by Governor Chris Gregoire, although sec- based on the percentage of tions of some bills were vetoed by her. The votes occurred votes cast for children. between January 12 and April 26, 2009. For the purposes of this scorecard, a vote in favor of the bill is a vote for chil- 4 stars Perfect score dren. 3 stars 80 - 99% The bills featured in this scorecard were chosen because 2 stars 60 - 79% each will have a significant positive effect on children and 1 star 40 - 59% families, particularly vulnerable children. The Children’s No star 0 - 39% Alliance supported each of these bills through direct lobby- ing, grassroots mobilization, and media work. This is not an exhaustive list of bills affecting children. For example, bills re- lated to early childhood education are in- cluded. However, many bills affecting K- 12 education are not; the Children’s Alli- ance does not focus on this policy area. This session was dominated by the state’s fiscal crisis. Legislators failed to pass any revenue increases and instead made widespread budget cuts. Although many kid-specific programs were pro- tected, many programs affecting vulner- able families were slashed. To reflect the impact of these cuts on families with chil- dren, we included in this scorecard some bills outside our priority areas. The scorecard shows the numbers and percentages by which each bill passed the full House of Representatives and the full Senate. For each legislator, the scorecard Tegra Stone Nuess also shows the percentage of votes cast which were in support of children. The scorecard also provides a comparison be- tween legislators’ 2008 and 2009 scores. 2 Legislators with perfect scores Senators Representatives Lisa Brown Frank Chopp Mark Miloscia Tracey Eide Judy Clibborn Jim Moeller Darlene Fairley Eileen Cody Dawn Morrell Rosa Franklin Jeannie Darneille* Sharon Nelson* Karen Fraser Mary Lou Dickerson* Timm Ormsby James Hargrove Deborah Eddy Tina Orwall Mary Margaret Haugen Dennis Flannigan Jamie Pedersen* Fred Jarrett Roger Goodman Eric Pettigrew Jim Kastama Kathy Haigh Christine Rolfes Karen Keiser* Jim Jacks Sharon Tomiko Santos Adam Kline Ruth Kagi* Geoff Simpson Jeanne Kohl-Welles* Phyllis Gutierrez Kenney Pat Sullivan* Rosemary McAuliffe Lynn Kessler Dean Takko Joe McDermott Steve Kirby Dave Upthegrove Ed Murray Marcie Maxwell Scott White Eric Oemig John McCoy Alex Wood Kevin Ranker Debbie Regala Rodney Tom Legislators scoring 80 to 99% Senators Representatives Jean Berkey Sherry Appleton Zack Hudgins Dave Quall Brian Hatfield Brian Blake Sam Hunt Mary Helen Steve Hobbs Reuven Carlyle Ross Hunter Roberts* Ken Jacobsen Maralyn Chase Christopher Hurst Larry Seaquist* Claudia Kauffman* Steve Conway Troy Kelley Mike Sells Derek Kilmer John Driscoll Marko Liias Larry Springer Chris Marr Hans Dunshee Kelli Linville Kevin Van De Margarita Prentice Mark Ericks Jeff Morris Wege Craig Pridemore Fred Finn Al O'Brien Brendan Williams Phil Rockefeller Tami Green* Skip Priest Paull Shin Bob Hasegawa Tim Probst * The * denotes legislators who were the prime legislator sponsor of bills included in this scorecard. We recognize legislative sponsors because of their initiative and leadership in passing legislation. 3 Legislators scoring 60 to 79% Senators Representatives Don Benton Jan Angel Larry Haler Dan Roach Mike Carrell Tom Campbell Jaime Herrera Norma Smith Tim Sheldon Bruce Dammeier Mike Hope Deb Wallace Laura Grant- Kevin Parker Maureen Walsh Herriot Legislators scoring 40 to 59% Senators Representatives Randi Becker Gary Alexander Brad Klippert Dale Brandland Glenn Anderson Joel Kretz Jerome Delvin Mike Armstrong Dan Kristiansen Mike Hewitt Barbara Bailey Jim McCune Janéa Holmquist Bruce Chandler Ed Orcutt Curtis King Cary Condotta Kirk Pearson Bob McCaslin Don Cox Jay Rodne Bob Morton Larry Crouse Charles Ross Linda Evans Parlette Richard DeBolt Joe Schmick Cheryl Pflug Doug Ericksen Shelly Short Pam Roach Bill Hinkle Judy Warnick Val Stevens Norm Johnson Dan Swecker Mark Schoesler Legislators scoring 0 to 39% Senators Representatives Jim Honeyford Matt Shea Joseph Zarelli David Taylor * The * denotes legislators who were the prime legislator sponsor of bills included in this scorecard. We recognize legislative sponsors because of their initiative and leadership in passing legislation. 4 The Bills Following are descriptions of the bills appearing in this year’s scorecard. There are 14 separate bills. All bills passed the legislature and were signed into law by Governor Chris Gregoire, although she vetoed sections of several bills. For more information on these par- tial vetoes, see the governor’s website at http://www.governor.wa.gov/billaction/2009. Basic education (Prime legislative sponsor: Representative Pat Sullivan) House Bill 2261 is historic legislation that seeks to redefine basic education in Washing- ton. The bill as passed directs the state to create funding formulas in support of a new definition of basic education and to create a timeline for implementation of the formulas. However, a last-minute veto by Governor Gregoire undid a major victory by eliminating the section that called for including early learning for at-risk three- and four-year-olds in the defi- nition of basic education. In the Governor’s veto statement, she said she was committed to de- veloping legislation to provide preschool opportunities for all children. Student achievement gap (Prime legislative sponsor: Senator Claudia Kauffman) Senate Bill 5973 creates an Achievement Gap Oversight and Accountability Committee to address the achievement gap between students of color and white students. SB 5973 directs the new committee to recommend policies and strategies that will reduce differ- ences in achievement levels among racial groups. The bill requires the office of the Super- intendant to track achievement levels by race and provide guidance to districts with large racial disparities. Early learning workforce (Prime legislative sponsor: Representative Ruth Kagi) House Bill 1943 creates a Professional Development Consortium that will develop recom- mendations for development of the early-learning and school-age program workforce. The consortium will develop a recommendation for the Legislature and the Governor on train- ing and professional development opportunities, and it will analyze the effectiveness of compensation policies. Children’s mental health (Prime legislative sponsor: Representative Mary Lou Dickerson) House Bill 1373 continues the state’s commitment to increase children’s access to mental health services. HB 1373 stipulates that children in Apple Health for Kids receive cover- age for up to 20 mental health visits provided by licensed mental health professionals or persons under their direct supervision. HB 1373 eliminates the original sunset date in its predecessor bill, House Bill 1088, and continues the legislative intent to develop a chil- dren's mental health system that emphasizes early identification, intervention, and pre- vention. Children’s health coverage (Prime legislative sponsor: Representative Larry Seaquist) House Bill 2128, the Apple Health for Kids Act, makes it easier for children to get health 5 The Bills continued insurance and stay covered. HB 2128 requires the state to pursue policies to increase the enrollment and retention of eligible children in Apple Health for Kids. This bill positions the state to receive extra funding under the federal Children’s Health Insurance Program and calls for reports to the Legislature on program administration and health outcomes in September 2009. The Governor vetoed a section calling for a single Apple Health coordi- nator, but committed to appointing an Apple Health point person. This bill will bring our state closer to achieving the goal of health coverage for all children by 2010. Washington Health Partnership (Prime legislative sponsor: Senator Karen Keiser) Senate Bill 5945 readies Washington state for federal health care reform and provides a list of criteria for health care reform, including providing all residents with access to af- fordable, effective health care by 2014. An unexpected section veto by the Governor elimi- nated the creation of an advisory group, but the bill will still require the state to develop a proposal to the federal government to expand Medicaid to include individuals with family income less than 200 percent of the poverty level. Right of women to breastfeed (Prime legislative sponsor: Representative