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Sen. McCune’s legislation (SB 6205) came for Eatonville Middle School students.
Author Archives: bookerstallworth
Republished in the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
Contrary to commonly held belief, public classrooms throughout Washington are expected to recite the Pledge of Allegiance each day.
The Revised Code of Washington (28A.230.140) calls for “appropriate flag exercises to be held in each classroom at the beginning of the school day … at which exercises those pupils so desiring shall recite the following salute to the flag: ‘I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.’ “
It is likely that most adults can still recite that pledge. But rote recitation is not the same as understanding.
That is the idea behind Senate Bill 6205, which currently is in committee in the Legislature. Recommended by a class at Eatonville Middle School, south of Tacoma, the legislation would call for teaching the meaning and the history of the pledge at each school level by the 2025-26 school year.
It is a good idea, and it would meld with continuing work throughout the state to improve civics education. In an effort to strengthen our democracy, lawmakers in recent years have approved efforts to bolster public understanding of American political systems.
Such curriculum has diminished throughout the nation in recent decades, and the results have been predictable. A 2022 analysis by the National Assessment of Educational Progress found that 13 percent of eighth-graders were proficient in U.S. history — down from a peak of 18 percent in 2014. Not that adults are more enlightened; surveys show that less than half of American adults can name the three branches of government or are aware that a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling becomes the law of the land.
It is easy to draw a line from such ignorance to the political discord that has fractured our democracy. If people do not understand the machinations of the Electoral College, for example, they are more likely to believe lies in an attempt to upend that process. As George Washington reputedly asked: “What species of knowledge” is more important than “the science of government?”
Of course, any effort to teach and understand American history is likely to quickly become embroiled in political differences. As two professors wrote in an opinion piece for The Washington Post last year: “U.S. history and civics curriculums have long been attacked from the political right as insufficiently patriotic and from the left as woefully incomplete and discriminatory. In short, Americans have never agreed about what should be taught when it comes to our nation’s history and government.”
We would not expect that a bill requiring the teaching of the Pledge of Allegiance would close that divide. “Indivisible, with liberty and justice for all,” has different meanings for different Americans. And the “under God,” clause, which was added to the pledge in 1954 as the Cold War led Americans to differentiate themselves from “godless Communists,” continues to spark debate. Clark County residents got an up-close look at a similar controversy in 2015, when county councilors voted to emblazon “In God We Trust” on the council hearing room, leading to contentious discussions.
But such disagreements reflect what it means to be an American. While we might not agree on the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance, having students ponder that meaning is better for our democracy than expecting them to thoughtlessly recite the words.
Source ONE News staff | Feb 7, 2024
A contentious bill that could see property taxes in Washington state rise significantly is set to go before the Senate this Thursday, sparking concern and opposition across the political spectrum. Senate Bill 5770, if passed, would mark a significant shift in the state’s approach to property tax increases, tripling the annual growth cap from the current 1 percent to 3 percent, despite voter-imposed restrictions set nearly two decades ago.
In 2001, Washington voters decisively approved a cap on property tax increases with Initiative 747, setting a limit to curb the growth of annual property taxes to 1 percent. This legislative measure stood until it was overturned by the state Supreme Court in 2007 due to technicalities, only for the Legislature to reconvene in a special session to reinstate the voter-approved cap.
However, the current bill, championed by Sen. Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, along with 18 members of the Senate Democratic Caucus, seeks to bypass this voter mandate without requiring public approval, potentially increasing property taxes by as much as $6 billion over the next 12 years. The bill received a nod from the Senate Ways and Means Committee on February 5, passing with votes strictly from Democratic members.
Republican senators, particularly those from the Senate Freedom Caucus, have voiced their strong opposition, citing concerns over the disregard of the public’s will and the potential financial strain on residents. “The Legislature of 17 years ago was far more interested in the will of the people than the Democratic majority in charge today,” remarked Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview, highlighting the growing financial burdens faced by Washingtonians, from rising gas prices to escalating grocery bills.
Critics of the bill, like Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn, argue that the justification for the tax increase is based on misleading premises, noting that cities have already benefited from the construction boom and questioning the necessity of further tax hikes. Sen. Jim McCune, R-Graham, added that such increases would exacerbate the financial challenges for property owners and renters alike, especially those still reeling from the economic impacts of COVID-19.
Amidst an ongoing affordable housing crisis and growing concerns among senior citizens and disabled individuals about being taxed out of their homes, the proposed legislation has been deemed “the wrong bill at the wrong time” by Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley. As the Senate prepares to vote on the measure, the outcome remains uncertain, with Republican senators poised for a fierce battle against a bill they see as an affront to the electorate’s wishes and a potential catalyst for further economic hardship.
The Washington Senate is poised to approve a bill Thursday that would allow the annual growth in property taxes to triple, flouting the will of Washington voters who approved a cap on property taxes in 2001.
Republican senators say they plan to raise stiff opposition when the bill comes to the floor – but may lack the votes to head off Senate Bill 5770. The measure would raise the current 1-percent cap on annual growth in property taxes without voter approval to 3 percent – allowing growth to triple. Taxes could increase by as much as $6 billion over the next 12 years, and would keep compounding from there.
The measure is sponsored by Sen. Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, and co-sponsored by 18 members of the Senate Democratic Caucus. The measure was approved Feb. 5 by the Senate Ways and Means Committee on a Democrat-only vote. It currently is expected to reach the Senate floor for a vote sometime Thursday.
The Republican senators who comprise the Senate Freedom Caucus say the measure calls for the proverbial line in the sand. The four lawmakers, concerned primarily with issues of constitutional freedoms and political process, point out that Washington voters approved the 1 percent cap with Initiative 747 in 2001. When the state Supreme Court threw out the initiative in 2007 for technical reasons, the Legislature promptly convened a special session to reenact the limit.
“The Legislature of 17 years ago was far more interested in the will of the people than the Democratic majority in charge today,” said Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview. “Today’s leadership puts the desires of government first. As the result of policies enacted by the current majority, gas prices are going up, electric bills are going up, and groceries are costing more by the day. Now our friends are about to unleash higher property taxes on the populace. Where will this end?”
The four lawmakers say the bill is based on false premises. “Increases in local property taxes are far outstripping the growth in personal income,” said Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn. “Cities have been reaping a huge bonus from the growth of construction. Of course they want more money – but let’s put the people first for a change.”
Said Sen. Jim McCune, R-Graham, “Property taxes in my area are high already. People are living paycheck to paycheck, and there has been no increase in salary since COVID hit. Allowing massive increases in property taxes without voter approval would do great damage to property owners in my district, to renters who would pay higher rent – to everyone.”
Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, said higher property taxes will increase the squeeze on people of moderate and fixed incomes.
“In the middle of an affordable housing crisis, and at a time when senior citizens and the disabled are worried about being taxed out of their own homes, the Senate is about to consider a bill that would allow property taxes to skyrocket,” he said. “It is the height of irresponsibility for the Legislature to be considering a bill like this one – the wrong bill at the wrong time.”
Today the Senate voted 49-0 to approve state Sen. Jim McCune’s bill to increase the penalty for those who use a vehicle to rob a cannabis retailer. The measure’s passage in the Senate comes at a time when the state’s 1,000-plus cannabis shops are seeing a growing epidemic of costly and even deadly crimes.
According to McCune, the increase in violent and deadly crime is one of the more blatant signs of the escalating lawlessness in Washington.
“These cannabis shops are in all of our neighborhoods, and have really become a magnet for an unprecedented level of criminal activities,” said McCune, R-Graham, who serves on the Senate’s Law and Justice Committee.
“This bill goes straight at one of the trending criminal activities – ‘crash and grab’ robberies, where perpetrators use stolen vehicles to smash into storefronts, take what they can, and then quickly flee in another stolen car.”
Senate Bill 6133, McCune’s measure to address the growing public-safety concern, would increase penalties for those who use a car to cause damage or gain entry to a cannabis retailer to commit a crime. Should McCune’s bill become law and someone uses a car to do a smash-and-grab at a cannabis store, prosecutors could charge the suspect with either first-degree or second-degree robbery – a class A or class B felony, respectively – then also prove the new “special allegation” to seek an additional year of custody.
The measure would also assist the state Liquor and Cannabis Board in maintaining statistics on pot-shop break-ins by requiring cannabis retailers to report robberies to the board within 10 days, and tasking the Washington State Patrol with regularly consulting with the LCB’s chief enforcement officer.
“As we heard from those in the industry who testified on my bill, these types of robberies are happening on a weekly basis in Washington,” said McCune. “Some of the retailers have been hit five, seven, even eight times, to the point where it is almost becoming routine. Some no longer even bother to report the crimes.
“Reporting and tracking these events are essential to understanding just how big of a problem this is and reducing the effects of these crimes on cannabis businesses and the communities where they are found.”
He added, “Whether people like it or not, cannabis stores have been legal in Washington for nearly a decade, and the state is bringing in nearly half a billion dollars a year in tax revenue from this product. If the state is going to profit from having a legal cannabis industry, it should also do everything possible to protect workers, customers and the community from criminal activity at cannabis retailers.”
SB 6133 now heads to the House of Representatives for its consideration.
Audio Player
‘Crash and grab’ robberies, where criminals use stolen cars to smash into pot shops and steal what they can, would be a more serious crime under a bill moving through the state legislature.
Tracy Ellis reports.
Today the Legislature will reach an important deadline; it is the last day for Senate fiscal committees (Ways and Means; Transportation) to vote on Senate bills. Last Wednesday was the last day Senate policy committees could vote on Senate bills.
These deadlines, or cutoffs as we refer to them, are tools used to whittle down the large number of proposals introduced each session, so that only those bills with enough support can continue to move through the legislative process.
Three of my bills are advancing this session:
- Senate Bill 6133, aimed at deterring cannabis store robberies;
- Senate Bill 6205, which deals with instruction on the history and meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance; and
- Senate Bill 6211, which clarifies how often a landlord can raise rents.
In addition to the bills I have prime-sponsored, I have also signed on as cosponsor to several bills I believe would take our state in a better direction. One of those measures — Senate Bill 5841 — passed off the Senate floor last week. This measure would require individuals convicted of driving under the influence to pay financial support to minor children and dependents when the offense results in the death or disability of a parent. I am happy to report that the bill passed the Senate 49-0 and is now in the House.
Guest Editorial by Sen. Jim McCune | Tacoma News Tribune | Feb. 1, 2024
They call themselves “Kia Boys.” Young, mostly male, inspired by social media attention and lax police pursuit laws, they have brought chaos and destruction to our roads and retailers.
A man who is allegedly one of them, 18-year-old Saylen Kelly, pleaded not guilty Jan. 22 to eight charges of auto theft despite allegedly making multiple Instagram posts that bragged about his exploits. Prosecutors say eight stolen cars were recovered within 1,000 feet of his home.
Stealing cars, posting about it online and stashing the cars nearby is not the brightest move, but par for the course in what are becoming known as “crash-and-grab” robberies.
These criminals use stolen vehicles to smash storefronts, take what they can, then quickly flee in another stolen car. They do thousands of dollars in damage and put lives at risk for what is often relatively little merchandise and cash — and often hit multiple locations.
Some retailers around the country have been hit five, seven, even eight times, to the point it is almost routine. Some have stopped reporting the issue to law enforcement, which means we don’t know how bad the problem really is.
While any storefront retailer can become a crash-and-grab victim, these criminals favor smoke and vape shops, and cannabis retailers.
Cannabis shops are plentiful and have become a magnet for criminal activities. According to Washington’s Craft Cannabis Coalition, robberies at pot shops spiked in 2022, with more than 100 incidents reported. Criminals know these are primarily cash-only businesses, which makes them easy targets. Employees have been harmed, customers and neighbors have been traumatized.
These dangerous crash-and-grabs are also just the latest manifestation of the breakdown in public safety.
Crime data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation for 2022 ranked Washington second nationally for auto theft with 693 automobiles stolen per 100,000 people — a jump of nearly 40% since just 2021.
The Forbes Retail Theft Index found reported retail thefts in Washington are 48% higher than the population would suggest. The 24% rise in larceny thefts from 2019 to 2022 is also second-largest in the nation, according to FBI crime data.
Washington’s violent crime rate was about 1% below the U.S. rate in 2022. A decade earlier it was about 23% below the national rate.
This chaos and lawlessness is the price of bad policies, particularly laws passed by the Legislature’s Democratic majorities.
The party’s mistakes include the disastrous 2021 law that restrict law enforcement from pursuing suspects and the so-called “Blake Fix, which reduced hard drug possession to a gross misdemeanor.
According to the Washington State Patrol, between 2014 and 2020 an average of 1,200 suspects per year fled from police. In 2022, after the pursuit standard was raised to probable cause, 3,100 suspects fled — an increase of more than 150%.
Before the change in this law, the statewide record for stolen cars in a single year was 30,000. That record was shattered when nearly 47,000 vehicles were stolen in 2022.
Democrats have been forced to walk back some of these policies, but even the changes adopted in 2023 fail to fully restore the law to a reasonable standard. Crimes like burglary still do not qualify for a chase.
Fortunately, we can take some common-sense steps to restore law and order.
First, lawmakers should enact Initiative 2113, and remove some of the remaining unnecessary restrictions on police pursuits. If passed, vehicular pursuits would be allowed when the officer has a reasonable suspicion that a person has violated the law or poses a threat to the safety of others; when those safety risks are greater than those of the pursuit, and a supervisor authorizes the pursuit.
Second, the Legislature should pass the measures I have introduced that directly targets crash-and-grab robberies.
Senate Bill 6133 would increase penalties for those who use a car to cause damage or gain entry to a cannabis retailer to commit a crime. Should this bill become law, someone using a car to smash-and-grab at a cannabis store can face a charge of first- or second-degree robbery — both felonies.
Allowing police to pursue criminals, stronger penalties for these “trending” crimes, and creating a culture that respects and appreciates good cops while holding bad apples accountable — now there’s a significant step toward restoring law and order and putting the Kia Boys out of business.
Sen. Jim McCune (R-Graham) represents the 2nd Legislative District, which includes parts of Pierce and Thurston counties. He currently serves on the Senate Law and Justice Committee.
Read more at: https://www.thenewstribune.com/opinion/article284743441.html#storylink=cpy
BY FEBRUARY 1, 2024
In a string of robberies, several cannabis retail shops have reported various tactics criminals have been using to get into their businesses in recent months. As these get worse, lawmakers are cranking up the punishments for people involved in such violent crimes.
A bill proposal in Washington would tack on an extra year of jail time for people convicted of robbing a cannabis store under certain conditions.
Senate Bill 6133 would allow prosecutors in the state to seek a 12-month sentence enhancement if someone convicted of robbing a cannabis store is part of a group, or if a person uses a vehicle to smash into the cannabis store, which is happening very frequently in Washington and other states, particularly on the West Coast.
“We need to do something to control the problem,” state Sen. Jim McCune (R-Graham), the bill’s sponsor, said during the committee hearing. If criminals are aware of increased penalties, perhaps that will be enough to dissuade them from participating in the crimes.
“I believe that the tougher the penalty, the less the crime,” said McCune. “Protecting the citizens and the pot shop owners and their employees, and overall slow down crime. Now, that’s what the bill is all about.”
Under the bill, a “special allegation” with increased penalties can be made if “A cannabis retail outlet, licensed under chapter 69.50 RCW, and the defendant committed the robbery by using a vehicle to damage or gain access to the retail outlet; or A cannabis retail outlet, licensed under chapter 69.50 RCW, and the defendant committed the robbery in concert with another individual or individuals; the court shall make a finding of fact of the special allegation, or if a jury is had, the jury shall, if it finds the defendant guilty, also find a special verdict as to the special allegation.”
The proposal received a public hearing on Jan. 29 before the state Senate Law & Justice committee. SB 6133 passed through the Senate Law & Justice Committee on Tuesday and now heads to the Rules Committee before it can be heard by the full Senate.