Welcome to the 5th week of session. We just passed the first cutoff – meaning that bills have to have been voted out of the first policy committee in order to continue through the process. Of course, there are a quite a few more steps before a bill becomes a law. Bills now continue to the Ways & Means committee and then to the floor, and then a bill has to pass through the same process in the other house and be signed by the Governor in order to become law.

IN THIS ISSUE
Jackie Johnson Testifies on Nursing Home Funding * Revenue Bills Introduced * Career Pathway Bills Make it Out of Policy Committees * Caregivers Draw Attention to Impact of Cuts * Grassroots Legislative Organizer Blog

COMING UP THIS WEEK
Tuesday: Legislative Conference Call * Thursday * Nursing Home Purple Presence * Friday: Revenue Forecast

REMINDERS
Three More Weeks of Purple Presence * Feb. 15 Revenue Rally

Jackie Johnson Testifies on Nursing Home Funding
This week two bills, Senate Bill 6843 and House Bill 3176, were introduced to start the conversation about revenue. Senate Bill 6843 fixes the flaws of I-960 in order to allow the legislature to responsibly address the priorities of Washington’s voters by stopping deep cuts to schools, colleges, health care, the environment, kids and seniors.

House Bill 3176 would generate about $210 million in new revenues this year, mostly by closing loopholes and repealing tax exemptions. It is a good start and we’re supporting these bills. But much more needs to be done to protect basic services like health and long-term care.

Click here for details.

Career Pathway Bills Make it out of Policy Committees
Two bills that we’ve been working on – Senate Bill 6662 and Senate Bill 6582 – both made it out of the policy committees this week and are on their way to the Senate Floor!

Click here for details.

Caregivers Draw Attention to the Impact of the Cuts
On Thursday’s purple presence, we talked with 29 legislators and drew attention to the cuts in a creative way by posting and walking around with signs saying:

• 1,600,000 Home Care Hours Lost for People with Seniors and People with Disabilities Since July 1, 2009
• 227,045 Home Care Hours Lost Every Month Since July 1, 2009
• $16,000,000 Wages Lost for Low-Income Home Care Workers Because of Hours Cuts Since July 1, 2009
• 11,000 Home Care Workers At Risk of Losing Health Care in 2010
• 73,263 Workers and Clients Already Affected by Cuts to Home Care
• 1,500 Home Care FTE Jobs Lost From 2009 Budget Cuts

Grassroots Legislative Organizer (GLO) Blog
Cathy just posted another update on her blog. Get the inside scoop on what it's like to be working full-time in Olympia.

Click here to read her blog.

Here's what's coming up this week:

Tuesday: Legislative Conference Call
Join us every Tuesday for the rest of the 2010 legislative session for SEIU Healthcare 775NW conference calls. The calls will be led by Catherine Byrd, a member and this session's Grassroots Legislative Organizer. She'll help us understand what's happening in Olympia, and what we can do to help stop the cuts and increase revenue.

For more information on how to join the conference call, please call our Member Resource Center toll-free at 1 (866) 371-3200.

Click here for details.

Thursday: Nursing Home Purple Presence
On Thursday, nursing home workers from across the state will be gathering in Olympia to raise attention about the issues that nursing home workers face. Nursing home workers will be talking with legislators about the lack of funding for nursing homes and the need for a stable funding source.

Friday: February Revenue Forecast
On Friday, the Economic Forecast Council is releasing the quarterly revenue forecast. This will update the expected revenue for the rest of the biennium and will provide the base numbers for the House and Senate budgets. The last revenue forecast showed a $2.6 billion deficit – the big question is whether we’ll lose even more revenue with this forecast or hold steady?

Reminders

Three More Weeks of Purple Presence
Click on this website or call our Member Resource Center toll-free at 1 (866) 371-3200 to find out when members from your legislative district are coming to the Capitol. If you don't know which district you live in, you can find out by entering your zip code here.

Feb. 15: Revenue Rally
The Rebuilding our Economic Future coalition is organizing a Revenue Rally at 12pm on Monday, February 15th on the steps of the Capitol Building. It will be an opportunity for us to flex our collective muscle and show that there is broad based support for a balanced approach to our budget problems.