Under the dome — March 14

Compiled By Adam Wilson And Brad Shannon | The Olympian • Published March 14, 2009

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Today is the 62nd day of the 105-day regular session.

Quote

"We have to make sure our actions will produce the outcomes we want and no matter what we do, we have to make sure we're not sacrificing our jobs."

— Rep. Shelly Short, R-Addy, on the defeat of greenhouse-gases cap-and-trade proposals

Coming Up

Several groups have events planned at the Capitol on Monday:

• The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington holds its lobby day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Columbia Room.

• The Washington Poison Center holds "Mr. Yuck Week" activities from 10 to 10:30 a.m. on the Capitol steps.

Celebrations

Rep. Shelly Short, R-Addy, said she was "elated" Friday to report that the House version of a greenhouse-gases cap-and-trade proposal didn't make it out of the House before the Thursday cutoff.

"We're halfway there," said Short, ranking Republican on the House Ecology and Parks Committee. "But Senate Bill 5735 is still alive. We need to keep the pressure on to kill the Senate bill as well."

House Bill 1819 was requested by Gov. Chris Gregoire. It would limit the amount of carbon emissions that businesses could generate. Republicans in both the House and the Senate fought the proposals, saying they're a burden on businesses.

"Protection of the environment is certainly important, and I'm adamant that we protect the heritage we have as a clean, environmentally sound state," Short said.

Mourning

The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington said it was disappointed by the death of two bills aimed at reducing drug overdoes. The measures failed to come to a vote by Thursday's cutoff.

Senate Bill 5516, sponsored by Sen. Rosa Franklin, and House Bill 1796, sponsored by Rep. Roger Goodman, provided immunity from prosecution to people who summon medical help in a drug-overdose situation.

"We're certainly disappointed the bills did not receive full consideration and discussion this session. But we're encouraged by their progress and the increased attention being paid to this public-health crisis," said Shankar Narayan, the ACLU of Washington legislative director.

The legal immunity offered was restricted to charges for possessing or sharing drugs, the organization noted. The bills did not provide protection from charges for controlled-substances homicide, manufacturing drugs, drug dealing or any non-drug-related crime.

Compiled By Adam Wilson And Brad Shannon