Below is the final version of the King County Democrats 2017 Legislative Agenda as adopted by the King County Democratic Central Committee at its Nov 22nd Executive Board meeting at 7 PM in Renton.
King County Democrats 2017 Legislative Agenda
- Revenue & Tax Reform:
- Pass a capital gains tax and other progressive new revenue to fulfill the state’s paramount duty to amply fund
Basic Education in compliance with the McCleary decision (Budget) - Close corporate & special interest tax exemptions that lack accountable performance objectives and results
- Oppose raising the state sales tax; repeal Tim Eyman’s 1% lid on property tax increases
- Require Legislature to adopt a Tax Expenditure Budget as part of the biennial budget appropriation process
- Create an ongoing bipartisan Washington State Tax Structure Advisory Commission
- Pass a capital gains tax and other progressive new revenue to fulfill the state’s paramount duty to amply fund
- Education:
- Increase school construction funding to lower class sizes (Capital Budget)
- Fully fund affordable access to higher education (Budget)
- Eliminate high-stakes testing as a high school graduation requirement; reduce required testing to the
minimum required by federal law - Restore a fair and accessible nonprofit GED test
- Oppose any revenue-neutral “levy swap” until significant progressive revenue is raised
- Eliminate the school funding “levy cliff” so school districts can hire fall 2017 staff
- Election Reform:
- Pass the Voting Rights Act
- Require campaign disclosure of “dark money” and “grey money”
- Automatically register U.S. citizens to vote when they apply for a WA driver’s license or ID (opt out)
- Adequately Fund the Public Disclosure Commission; require lobbyists to file online
- Environment:
- Support a meaningful price on carbon pollution in WA State based on economic and racial justice
- Defend renewable energy standards and solar production initiatives
- Oppose fossil fuel export facilities and improve fossil fuel transportation safety
- Support cleaning up Puget Sound waters and habitat, especially polluted runoff
- Labor:
- Pass wage theft bills
- Strengthen Equal Pay Act and include pay equity provisions
- Housing and Human Services:
- Increase the social safety net, especially mental health/substance abuse treatment services
- Increase homeless and low-income housing trust fund to $200 million (Capital Budget)
- Disallow rental discrimination based on Sec. 8, government or other sources of income
- Restore local authority over ability to regulate rents
- Criminal Justice:
- Address police lethal use of force by removing “malice” and “in good faith” criteria for prosecution
- Pass criminal and juvenile justice reform, including restorative justice, Legal Financial Obligations, Ban the
Box on applications and Racial Impact Statements - Create a civilian review board for all sentences over 15 years to decide if safe to return to the community
- Support earning state higher ed and vocational tech credentials in prisons
- Ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines; prevent unsafe child access to guns
- Health Care:
- Pass the Reproductive Health Act
- Support Healthcare for All Washington by 2020 legislation
- Pass workable medical cannabis legislation that respects the needs of patients
Adopted November 22, 2016 King County Democrats, www.kcdems.org