$30 car tabs
As Initiative 976, the car tabs measure approved by voters in November, is held up in the state Supreme Court, Republicans proposed laws that would guarantee the $30 cost.
Sen. Phil Fortunado, R-Auburn, said Senate Bill 6350 is simple and will likely not be challenged in court. “It removes any ambiguity about multiple subjects,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rep. Jesse Young, R-Gig Harbor, and Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, are sponsoring House Bill 2227, a companion bill.
Walsh suggested cutting or delaying lower priority projects and administrative expenditures to help balance the
budget after lost car tab revenue.
No fee for parks?
Residents and visitors will get a break if lawmakers approve a proposal to do away with Discover Pass fees for using state parks.
Senate Minority Leader Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville and Sen. Randi Becker, R-Eatonville, have co-sponsored SB 6174, which would no longer require park visitors to pay $10 for a one-time parking permit, or buy the $30 annual pass.
Schoesler said voters favor less taxation. “We are not listening to the taxpayer,” he said.
Pay-to-play policies including the Discover Pass were instituted in 2011, following the recession. The bill claims these fees are responsible for a decline in park attendance by an average of seven million visitors a year.
Consumer control
Washington lawmakers have proposed legislation that aims to give consumers more control over their digitally collected personal data and image.
Senate Bill 6281, or the Washington Privacy Act, would allow consumers to access, correct, delete and easily transfer their personal data collected and controlled by companies. One of the bill’s 16 co-sponsors, Sen. Reuven Carlyle, D-Seattle, said consumers should also have the right to opt out of targeted ads, a provision also included in the bill.
Senate Bill 6280 is a related measure that outlines the rules and regulations that local and state government would have to follow when using facial recognition technology for public safety and law enforcement. It would also allow independent tests to be conducted on government-used facial recognition software to ensure that the technology is not being used in an unfair or discriminatory way.
Editor’s note: Legislative briefs are written by WNPA interns in Olympia and will run periodically.
