Looking back at the Legislative session

The 2022 legislative session has ended.

Throughout the past 60 days, your voice has been heard as I try to represent our collective priorities as best I can. What follows is a quick recap of some of the larger issues of the session.

2nd Amendment

Senate Bill 5078 – bans firearms magazines of more than 10 rounds. This new law goes into effect July 1. It bans the sale, transfer and import of so-called “high-capacity magazines,” although most of us gun owners know it really bans standard magazines.

You have until July 1 to purchase or acquire firearms magazines over 10 rounds. After that, they are banned. I voted against this bill and it passed with no Republican support.

House Bill 1705 – bans hobbyists and gun enthusiasts, many of them current or former military members, from building or assembling firearms from various parts. This is a misguided attempt to go after so-called “ghost” guns.

Yet, it ignores the fact the vast majority of ghost guns found at crime scenes are firearms that have had their serial numbers filed or acid etched off. This bill bans what has become a popular family activity of building personal firearms. I voted against this bill. It passed with no Republican support.

Emergency Powers

The majority party refused to pass emergency powers reform legislation that I cosponsored, House Bill 1772. Emergency powers reform is one of the issues I hear from constituents about the most. Like you, I am frustrated that we have been essentially under one-person rule for over two years.

There was watered-down legislation that didn’t do much, Senate Bill 5909, which came up for a vote in the House.

When we went to debate it, Democrats pulled it down after about 20 minutes of debate and then blamed Republicans. This was a dishonest representation of the facts and proves they didn’t want to address the issue in the first place.

$15B surplus

With the state expecting a $15 billion surplus over the next four years many of us in the Legislature wanted to give some back in the form of tax relief.

We offered legislation to reduce the property tax, state sales tax, business and occupation taxes on small businesses, and those industries hit hardest by the pandemic. None were accepted. Instead, the majority party spent almost all of it and actually raised taxes and fees in their transportation budget. We had an opportunity to give some back to taxpayers to help struggling families. It is a shame the Legislature chose not to do this.

Police laws

We were able to fix several of the problems created last year by Democrats’ police reform bills. However, police pursuits and several other solutions that we proposed at the beginning of session with our Safe Washington Plan were not addressed. With crime – especially violent crime – continuing to surge, we need to make sure law enforcement has the tools, training, and certainty to do their jobs protecting communities.

I find it frustrating and a little tone-deaf that at a time when violent crime is surging, some in Olympia would sponsor legislation to remove sentencing enhancement for violent crimes committed with firearms, reduce penalties for drive-by-shootings, and attack law-abiding gun owners and their ability to defend themselves and their loved ones. I’m hopeful that a more attentive and common-sense minded Legislature will be back in 2023.

Long-term care

One of the first issues addressed this session was the Democrats’ unpopular and unfair mandatory long-term care tax and insurance plan. Despite voters voting against this plan, the majority party went ahead and passed the proposal in 2019.

When many media sources started pointing out the inequities, they decided to delay the tax collections until next year. I cosponsored legislation to repeal and replace the plan. But neither bill passed.

Town hall

On Feb. 22, I joined my 9th Legislative District seatmates, Rep. Mary Dye and Sen. Mark Schoesler, for our first online Zoom town hall meeting. We had around 60 people participate. We took questions and gave an update on the session so far.

The pandemic has forced us to embrace technology in news ways. While this is the first online town hall, I don’t believe it’s our last.

We need to engage with our constituents. Hearing your thoughts, opinions and priorities is crucial; we are your voice.

While we are technically a part-time Legislature, I – and my office – are here to serve you year-round. Please reach out with questions or concerns about state government or if you’re having a problem with a state agency.

— Rep. Joe Schmick, R-Colfax, represents the 9th Legislative District, including Whitman County.