Stop the Madness, part 2

"Here are four things that have happened in the first days of the 2020 session:

1. A group of Democrat legislators and several unions kicked off the session by filing briefs with the state Supreme Court asking for them to reverse nearly a century of case law and allow a graduated income tax without a constitutional amendment. Since the new Speaker of the House sponsored income tax legislation several sessions, this is obviously a top priority for them.
    
2. Governor Inslee gave his State of the State address where he urged the legislature to pass a low-carbon fuel standard, something he has been trying to pass for years. His plans would mostly add an extra 57 cents per gallon tax on gas with no roads to show for it.
    
3. Democrats introduced House Bill 2529, which would prohibit initiatives and referendums from being voted on in odd election years. Democrats' bill would significantly restrict voters' constitutionally-provided right to place a check on the legislature – this from the party that consistently complains about voter suppression.
    
4. The Senate wasted no time passing ESSB 5323, a bill from last year that enacts a statewide plastic bag ban. (The plastic bags on our ocean shores floated here from China. Coastal Chinese cities dump their trash in the ocean).  

It seems the Democrat Party majority feels that, since there was a hearing on this bill last year, they could simply skip allowing the public to comment and taking it straight to the floor. The plastic bag ban is among a handful of bills that were rushed through on Wednesday with no public comment this year.

Keep in mind this all happened in the first 72 hours of the 2020 session, and there are still 52 more days to go!

Republicans must regain the majority in the state Senate so we can stop this madness."

-- email from Johnny Alvarado