Six bills authored by Rep. Gina Mosbrucker are heading to the governor following Senate and House approval over the past several days.
“It’s been many weeks and hours of work by stakeholders, staff and other legislators to move these bills toward the finish line. I’m grateful for the support and hopeful the governor will affix his signature so these become law,” said Mosbrucker, R-Goldendale.
The following is a list of Mosbrucker bills sent to the governor:
- House Bill 1114 – Sentencing Guidelines Commission: This bipartisan-sponsored bill addresses the state’s Sentencing Guidelines Commission membership, including adding five voting members to give more representative voices. The bill passed the House and Senate unanimously.
“The Sentencing Guidelines Commission advises the governor and the Legislature on issues relating to adult and juvenile sentencing,” said Mosbrucker, who serves as a member of the commission. “This bill expands the commission from 20 members up to 25 members to provide broader representation, including the behavioral health perspective, tribes, academia, and people with lived experiences.” - House Bill 1117 – Power supply inadequacy: This bill passed the House and Senate unanimously last year, but when it arrived on the governor’s desk, he vetoed it. The measure would ensure the state continually addresses plans to help avoid energy blackouts, brownouts, or other inadequacies of the electric grid.
“We need to plan now for our future energy needs. This bill came to me from a local PUD commissioner who had concerns that as we transition to green energy, we also consider the intermittency of the alternative energy sources along the way and plan ahead to ensure no interruptions in our power supplies,” said Mosbrucker. - House Bill 1171 – Motorcycle Safety Board: This measure would add two certified motorcycle riders to represent motorcycle safety instructors, one from the east side of the Cascade mountain range and one from the west, to Washington’s Motorcycle Safety Board. The bill passed the House and Senate unanimously.
“The state’s Motorcycle Safety Board assists the Department of Licensing with public awareness of motorcycle safety, classroom and on-motorcycle training and improved motorcycle operator testing. This bill expands the board to seven members, with citizens from both sides of the state to ensure broader, quality representation,” said Mosbrucker.
- House Bill 1512 – MMIWP and Lucian Act: The bill is a legislative recommendation by the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People (MMIWP) Task Force and the Office of the Attorney General. It would provide resources for immediate actions that need to take place when a person vanishes. The bill recognizes missing and murdered indigenous people, an issue Mosbrucker first brought to the forefront in 2018 legislation. It is also named after four-year-old Lucian Munguia, who was reported missing on Sept. 10 from Sarg Hubbard Park in Yakima and drowned in the Yakima River. The measure passed the House and Senate unanimously.
“We want to have resources available to the public about immediate actions that should take place when someone vanishes, like writing down every detail you remember, and uploading photos of the missing person to 911 databases, such as the Travis Alert System, and accessing the NamUs National Missing and Unidentified Persons System,” said Mosbrucker. “This statewide toolkit could help to save lives, bring loved ones home, and be available to all families.” - House Bill 1564 – Over the-counter sexual assault kits: This bill would prohibit the sale and distribution of unlikely inadmissible do-it-yourself at-home rape kits. Several states, including Washington, have issued cease-and-desist letters against a New York company attempting to sell the kits.
“These kits mislead sexual assault survivors into believing that a do-it-yourself kit at home without a forensic medical exam can help catch a rapist. The truth is that these do-it-yourself rape kits are not admissible as evidence in a Washington state court. These unproven kits are no comparison to the actual sexual assault evidence kit administered by trained medical professionals who provide bar-coded and tracked examinations at no cost,” Mosbrucker added. “Rape is a crime serial by nature and often results in physical and/or mental trauma. Sexual assault survivors need more than a simple and inadequate over-the-counter test.” - House Bill 1779 – Reducing toxic air pollution: Also known as “Mary’s Law,” this bill seeks to convene a state interagency carbon monoxide work group to investigate how to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.
“This is a bill brought to me by a constituent who was harmed by repeatedly breathing carbon monoxide through the vents of a vehicle. Carbon monoxide is colorless and odorless. She didn’t know for a long time what was causing her to be sick. She is now suffering long-term effects of her exposure to carbon monoxide. This work group would investigate how to prevent this from happening to others,” noted Mosbrucker.
The legislative session is scheduled to end April 23.
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