Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Shelly Short’s subscribers Feb. 4, 2025. To subscribe to Sen. Short’s e-newsletters, click here.
VIDEO UPDATE: Click here to see my video update on this issue from the Capitol Rotunda.
In this video short, I explain how SB 5181 guts the parental rights initiative and disrespects the 454,000 people who signed petitions to place the measure before the Legislature.
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Last year we saw how powerful the people were when they collected more than 3 million signatures to present seven initiatives to the Legislature and the voters of the state. They demanded a rollback of seven of the most damaging policies adopted by the Democratic majority in Olympia. Ultimately four proposals from the people became law.
Unfortunately, I think our colleagues have taken the wrong lesson from this experience. They appear to have decided the problem is too many ballot measures. Two bills are surfacing this week that would undermine the people’s right of initiative, what our constitution calls “the first power reserved by the people.”
Battle expected Wednesday in Senate over parental rights initiative
One of the initiatives that passed last year was I-2081, giving parents greater say in what happens to their children in the public schools. On Wednesday, we will debate a bill in the Senate that our friends describe as “clarifying legislation.” Far from it, Senate Bill 5181 guts the initiative and betrays the people’s faith in their government.
The initiative was a response to growing concerns about political ideology in the classroom and the withholding of information from parents. Among other things, the initiative declares that parents have the right to review textbooks and lesson plans, be informed when police contact their children, and be allowed to pull their kids out of sex education classes and other activities that challenge their deeply held beliefs. So far, so good.
But the initiative also contains provisions our Democratic colleagues don’t want — like a requirement that schools provide prior notice to parents when children receive non-emergency medical care. This and other provisions overturn portions of a hugely controversial 2023 law allowing schools to keep parents in the dark about gender therapy. SB 5181 repeals those parts of the initiative and makes other modifications as well. The bill is expected to come to the Senate floor Wednesday, and as floor leader for the Senate Republican Caucus, I can tell you we will be doing battle with everything we have.
Part of the problem, of course, is that this bill allows continued state interference in the relationship between parents and their children, precisely the opposite of what the initiative’s supporters intended. But what makes this especially frustrating is that last year our colleagues voted to pass this wildly popular initiative when it was presented to the Legislature. Because this initiative was passed in the Legislature rather than going to voters, special constitutional protections for initiatives do not apply.
This means our colleagues have all the votes they need in the Legislature to pass the bill. If they do so, they will be demonstrating their disrespect for the hundreds of people who worked on the campaign, the 454,000 people who signed the petitions, and the state constitution itself.
Bill imposes cumbersome requirement on ballot measure campaigns
Another bill takes direct aim at the initiative process itself. At present it takes 386,000 valid signatures from registered voters to qualify an initiative, and 193,000 for referendums. That’s a tall order. Senate Bill 5382 would make it even taller, by imposing new requirements that would make it easier to disqualify signatures when they are turned in to state elections officials.
Signature gatherers would have to sign a statement on each petition sheet, swearing that to the best of their knowledge, every signer provided correct information, every signer was eligible, and none of them received compensation for signing. Advocates say this guards against “fraud and mistake.” So what’s the harm in that?
First of all, there’s no point, because these requirements are already state law, and a signature gatherer has no way of confirming compliance. Nor is there a wave of fraud that must be staunched. Yet if a signature gatherer fails to sign the petition in the right place, the entire petition can be thrown out. This becomes a splendid way to disqualify petitions en masse and disenfranchise everyone who signed them.
This measure gets a hearing today in the Senate State Government, Tribal Affairs and Elections Committee. It is scheduled for a vote in committee Friday.
Wolves are subject of House hearing
7th District residents will be interested in a hearing Wednesday at 8 a.m. in the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. Two important bills dealing with wolf populations in Northeast and North-Central Washington are on the agenda. One of them, HB 1311, introduced by my seatmate Andrew Engell, R-Colville, requires the state to manage wolves as a “sensitive” species, not endangered. The second bill, HB 1442, introduced by my other seatmate Hunter Abell, R-Inchelium, continues the work of former 7th District Rep. Joel Kretz in advancing local control of wolf management.
This hearing can be seen live or for streaming on TVW, the state’s public affairs network.
I have introduced a companion to Hunter’s bill in the Senate, SB 5354, and it is set for a hearing in the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee Feb. 17. Other wolf-related bills I have introduced are:
Senate Bill 5171 – Compensation for wolf predation – would allow “indirect claims” for damages to livestock as a result of wolf predation, including higher than normal livestock losses, reduced weight gains or reduced pregnancy rates.
Senate Bill 5343 – Northeast Washington wolf-livestock management account – would allow state account to be used for non-lethal countermeasures to wolf predation, and provide grants to sheriffs in Stevens and Ferry counties to hire a local wildlife specialist to aid the Department of Fish and Wildlife in wolf management. This bill has been advanced to the Senate Rules Committee.
Thanks for reading — it is an honor serving you!
Sen. Shelly Short, 7th Legislative District
Contact me!
My most important duty is to serve you. If you have a problem dealing with a state agency, or a concern about the direction of state government, I hope you will stay in touch with me or my legislative assistant Shannon Whitmore using the contact information below.
This year my quarters have moved from the Capitol building to the just-opened Irv Newhouse Building on the Capitol Campus. My new office address is INB 240.
| Telephone: (360) 786-7612
Email: Shelly.Short@leg.wa.gov Mailing address: P.O. Box 40407/ Olympia, WA/ 98504 Website address: https://shellyshort.src.wastateleg.org/ Legislative Hotline: 1 (800) 562-6000 |