Author Archives: Laudan

Fortunato stands against anti-Catholic efforts in Washington state

Revelations out of Washington D.C. are shedding light on concerning tactics by the Department of Justice targeting Catholic parishes. A leaked memorandum from the Richmond field office indicated that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was indeed working to infiltrate Catholic churches to combat extremism, conflicting with testimony from the U.S. attorney general.

State Sen. Phil Fortunato is standing against similar anti-Catholic efforts by some lawmakers in Washington state to strip First Amendment protections on freedom of religion, warning the anti-Catholic fervor has spread.

Senate Bill 5280, which would establish a duty for clergy to report child abuse or neglect, was recently subject to controversy on the Senate floor during a usually routine concurrence vote. Approved unanimously earlier in the 2023 legislative session by the state Senate, amendments made by the House would force priests to divulge information heard in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

During a voice vote, the Senate appeared to have rejected the changes, but some lawmakers called for “division,”, a parliamentary procedure that requires senators who either support or oppose an amendment to stand without a recorded, individual vote. The move split the majority Senate Democrat Caucus and sends the bill back to the House as the Senate refused to concur.

Fortunato offered the following statement:

“This is a concerning pattern of anti-Catholic efforts that are apparently engrained in all levels of government. What the Department of Justice is now not-so-secretly doing and what some legislators are trying to do to the Catholic Church in Washington is an unacceptable afront to our First Amendment rights.

“The state Senate unanimously approved this proposal when it left the chamber to go to the House because it balanced protecting children and religious freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution. Requiring priests to divulge what they hear in confession is beyond reprehensible.

“I also find it incredibly hypocritical because many of these same lawmakers pushing to break the separation of church and state to purportedly protect children are simultaneously putting children at risk with lax drug and gun laws, and even going so far as allowing child predators to live unsupervised in our communities. I am doing everything I can to call out this double-speak and ensure that the sanctity of our sacraments is protected from this overreach.”

Protecting our Rights and our Children

Banning some rifles won’t protect kids, according to a state Senator, but increasing security at schools will. I voted against the Democrat “assault weapons” bill that passed out of the Senate, but first tried to amend the legislation. Among other things, my amendment would have spent $50million to improve safety and add resource officers at schools to respond to threats. Democrats objected to the amendment and the Democratic Lieutenant Governor ruled it out of order.

Senate Freedom Caucus ready for last stand in attack on Second Amendment rights

Senators remember Alamo, face overwhelming odds, prepare to defend U.S. Constitution

As the Washington Senate readies for debate on Democrat-sponsored bills imposing severe new restrictions on gun ownership statewide, members of the Senate Freedom Caucus vow a last-ditch defense of Second Amendment rights.

Members of the Freedom Caucus, a group of senators concerned with the preservation of constitutional rights, say they know the odds are daunting, but they won’t let it dampen their fighting spirit. They are drawing a bead on House Bill 1240, a bill that would ban the sale of rifles with magazines of 10 rounds or more, and House Bill 1143, which would require gun purchasers to present certificates demonstrating they have completed a state-approved gun-safety training course.

The two measures have already passed the state House and appear good bets for passage in the Washington Legislature, as both chambers are under Democratic Party control. The rifle ban is on the Senate’s calendar and is posed for a vote at any moment.

Freedom Caucus member Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn, said he was so disturbed by the Legislature’s lack of understanding that he introduced a bill creating a special course for lawmakers on firearms issues, and requiring their attendance.

“If I thought even for a moment that these bills would protect our children, I would vote for them,” said Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn. “Instead, we are debating a political agenda that does nothing to make us safer. Every year we see new efforts to make it more difficult for law-abiding gun owners to exercise their right to bear arms. Keeping faith with the people requires us to fight for them, and for the survival of our constitutional freedoms.”

Another bill with sweeping impact on availability of firearms already has passed the Washington Senate this year and awaits action in the House. Senate Bill 5078 would allow the attorney general’s office to sue firearms manufacturers and dealers for improper use of weapons, a novel approach that could force firearms off the market in Washington state for liability reasons.

The senators call the bills an unusually direct assault on Second Amendment rights and the even-stronger guarantee offered by the Washington state constitution. The Washington constitution declares the “right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired.”

The senators say the bills offer a clear impairment of the right to bear arms. They note the so-called “assault weapons” ban would encompass many commonly used rifles, including modern sporting rifles and others typically employed in target practice. They observe the training requirement places a cumbersome impairment on a constitutional right guaranteed to all U.S. citizens. And they say the bill allowing lawsuits against gun manufacturers is akin to suing GM and Ford for drunk-driving accidents.

Washington gun laws already go far beyond federal requirements, and the senators say national concerns have little to no bearing on Washington state. They point out Washington has passed 37 firearms-related restrictions since 2015, and is recognized as the 10^th most-regulated state by the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

The senators anticipate a lengthy debate in the Senate that will explore every nuance of the issue. They note that the House spent four hours and 45 minutes debating the two bills before they came to the Senate.

Fortunato-sponsored resolutions honoring local hero and charities adopted by Senate

During the 2023 legislative session, state Sen. Phil Fortunato proposed numerous bills to address substantial policy issues around homeless and housing, transportation, and environmental protection. The Auburn legislator has also taken to the Senate Floor to highlight exceptional aspects of the 31st District, sponsoring several resolutions that recognize local philanthropic organizations and a fallen Border Patrol hero with local ties.

Today, the state Senate adopted SR 8615, Recognizing the Blessing Movement. The nonprofit based in the Sumner-Bonney Lake area was founded in 2019 to help senior citizens, the disabled, people on fixed incomes, veterans or those facing terminal illness, with maintenance and up-keep projects at their homes.

This past Tuesday, Fortunato introduced SR 8621, which highlighted the work of The Market, a food security program of the Bonney Lake Food Bank. The organization operates much like a modern grocery store serving food-insecure residents. According to the organization, their innovation started during the COVID-19 pandemic when they saw a 700% increase in customers at a small and structurally unsound location.

In early March, the state Senate honored a fallen hero, United States Border Patrol Agent Donna Marie Doss with SR 8623. Doss was killed in the line of duty, struck by a vehicle while stationed in Texas in 2019. The federal government honored the Washington native, whose family resides in Enumclaw, in 2021 by renaming of the Rocksprings station as the Donna M. Doss Border Patrol Station.

“While we’re focused on big-ticket items like the homeless crisis or public safety fiasco, it’s good to take time to remember, honor, and recognize the people we serve back in district,” Fortunato said. “The resolutions are a positive way to focus on people and organizations doing the real work of helping our communities and I’m honored to have worked with these exceptional people who represent the best of our district.”

The state Legislature defines these Floor Resolutions as: “A written motion calling for action, which may be offered from the floor of either house. Floor resolutions are usually congratulatory, commendatory, or memorial.”

Join Me for Town Halls

Friends and Neighbors,

We’re past the half-way mark of the 2023 legislative session, so there’s a lot to discuss. I look forward to giving you an update on where things stand related to my work on your behalf for our district and larger issues facing our state like housing, transportation, public safety and more. Please join me at any of my upcoming in-person town halls around the 31st District.

Feel free to share this message with your neighbors. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to my office. I hope to see you there!

Second Amendment Watch

I want to thank everyone for sharing their concerns and any efforts being made to slow or stop these unnecessary infringements on law-abiding citizens. Here is a brief update on where some of these proposals are in the legislative process. I share the frustration and oppose efforts to further restrict our constitutional rights. I’ve argued that these measures will do nothing to protect the public, our schools, or reduce crime. Problems with gun violence in Washington are not due to law abiding citizens, they are caused by criminals with guns they already are not legally allowed to have.

When I stand up for your Second Amendment rights, I am standing up for mine as well. I am doing everything in my power to slow the progress of these bad pieces of legislation. Given the makeup of the Legislature, stopping them altogether may not be possible, but I will voice your concerns and the concerns of many who have contacted me and my colleagues in opposition to this and other gun-related legislation.

Our state already has some of the toughest gun laws in the nation but the problem is that the legislative majority has pushed through bad policies that shield criminals from prosecution, hamper our law enforcement from doing their jobs, and treat violent offenders who use firearms with kid gloves.

House bills:

Senate Bills:

SB 5078 (Passed the Senate) would create liability for gun manufacturers and dealers that would basically make them uninsurable in our state. This proposal was approved by the policy committee with 1563 signing in support and 2775 testifiers opposed. It had a public hearing in the budget committee Jan. 31 where 657 signed in Pro and 886 testifiers Con. No further action has been taken yet.
SB 5193 (Died in Committee) which is being referred to an an “assault weapons” ban.
SB 5265 (Died in Committee) Establishing firearms-related safety measures to increase public safety..
SB 5446 (Died in Committee) would allow local jurisdictions to create their own gun laws, which is currently preempted by state law.

Engaging with your Legislature

The 2023 legislative session is under way and while we are meeting in person at the state Capitol, you can still participate remotely in a meaningful way. I want to be sure you have access to your government. Below are resources on how you can provide input on bills and keep apprised of what’s happening in Olympia.

Overview of how to testify remotely:

https://leg.wa.gov/legislature/Pages/Testify.aspx

(Don’t want to speak? You can sign-in “Pro or Con” not wishing to testify.)

General information on how to sign in to testify remotely before a Senate committee:

https://app.leg.wa.gov/CSIRemote/Senate

Want to follow bills on a topic of concern?

You can also search for legislation by bill number or by keywords and text of a proposal. Click here for more information.

Senate adopts Fortunato’s proposal to find government waste

State employees eligible for bonuses

Politicians often talk about cutting government waste. The question is, how to find it?

State Senator Phil Fortunato argues that one of the best ways is to rely on front-line state workers. His proposal to re-establish the state Productivity Board, Senate Bill 5015, would do just that and was approved unanimously by the state Senate yesterday, the last day to pass Senate legislation out of the upper chamber.

The defunct program had provided financial incentives to state employees who find government waste, but due to budgetary constraints, the board was disbanded in 2011 because it cost $2 million.

“The fiscal note doesn’t tell the whole story,” said Fortunato, R-Auburn. “Using typical government logic, it did not look at the reason it cost $2 million because it paid bonuses to state employees who saved the state $20 million. Only government thinks that way.”

“State employees have the potential to save taxpayers much more in recurring costs from ineffective programs they’re administering,” added Fortunato, who hopes state employees will save taxpayers 10 times more than the cost of the program. With a biennial operating budget now over $65 billion, there is plenty of areas for potential savings, he noted.

If passed into law, the Productivity Board would be operational by July 2025 or sooner if the employment backlog in the Office of Secretary of State can be filled. The board would be required to evaluate the potential savings of a proposal and develop a list of possible productivity awards to be distributed to state employees, who could receive up to $10,000 or 10% of savings, whichever is lower.

“State workers are taxpayers, too. They know firsthand the inefficiencies in the programs the Legislature or state government creates. Now they will have a vested interest in making the best use of those tax dollars,” Fortunato said. “The more savings taxpayers realize, the more they can benefit.”

The measure will start working its way through the House of Representatives for consideration and must be approved by the House by April 12. The 2023 legislative session is scheduled to end April 23.

Senate approves Fortunato’s continued efforts to clean state roadways

In 2021, Fortunato passed the “”Welcome to Washington” litter act, directing the state Department of Ecology and the Department of Transportation to work together to tackle the state’s litter problem with increased cleanups and education. However, there are additional hurdles to keeping our roadways clean, so Fortunato sponsored Senate Bill 5178, which would increase penalties for large debris cleanup. The measure was approved unanimously Monday by the state Senate.

Fortunato’s proposal would increase penalties for large debris cleanup and originally redirected the surplus in the existing $1 tire tax to an account dedicated to clearing large items like tire pieces, car bumpers, couches and other large debris. The bill was amended to remove the dedicated funding source and made it subject to budget appropriations.

Jokingly, Fortunato has said, “You can furnish a house and build a car with what you find on the side of road.”

“There are too many large items on the side of our highways that could make it unsafe to pullover especially at night,” said Fortunato, R-Auburn. “While it appears there are still some issues getting litter picked up, at least these state agencies can pick up the big stuff and make our roads a little safer.”

As an expert on environmental issues, particularly Clean Water Act compliance, Fortunato has been pushing state agencies to clean up their act, pointing to the environmental disaster resulting from the numerous homeless encampments exacerbating the pollution problem.

“The homelessness problem and the environmental problem are connected here. The state needs to find a solution that deals with where a lot of the debris is coming from. Driving to Olympia during the session, there are large homeless camps that have no regard for our littering laws. That has to change,” added Fortunato.

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Fortunato calls Senate’s Blake solution ‘50% carrot & 50% stick’

This past Friday, state Sen. Phil Fortunato voted in favor of the Senate’s proposal to mostly fix the so-called Blake Decision drug possession fiasco.

In 2021, the state Supreme Court issued its ruling on a 2016 case over the arrest of Shannon Blake for possession of drugs. Blake contended she did not know there were controlled substances in the pair of borrowed pants she was wearing at the time. The high court said the felony drug possession statute was unconstitutional as it violated due process protections.

Working late into Friday night, senators reached a compromise to address the temporary drug possession measure set to expire later this year. Fortunato argues that the ruling and pro-legalization advocacy efforts has wreaked havoc on the legal system, vacating hundreds of felony drug convictions that released offenders back on the streets.

Senate Bill 5536 would implement various classifications for drug possession sentencing, pretrial diversion programs, requirements for deferring prosecutions and resources to treat offenders.

Fortunato offered this statement on the bill now heading to the House of Representatives for consideration:

“I do not think that this proposal went far enough to fix the rampant drug problems we are seeing, but this solution is better than nothing. It is 50% ‘carrot,’ with voluntary treatment, and 50% ‘stick,’ with jail time to force treatment. Considering where state law is currently and the abuses that are happening, this proposal will hopefully start to have an impact by providing some accountability for people suffering from addiction who are also engaging in criminal activity to feed their habit.

“We need to show compassion, but we also need to have ways to discourage the behavior. I’ve contended since we started to see the skyrocketing thefts, drug overdoses and property crimes that it is not compassionate to let people live in tents on city streets or overdose in parks. We need stronger drug laws that force people into treatment. While the legislative majority seemingly has a philosophical opposition to any sort of accountability, this compromise is a good starting point.”

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Restricting Your Rights

It has been a challenging week on the Senate floor. While the majority of our work is bipartisan, there are certain areas of sincere disagreement that I have to speak up about, especially concerning what I view are fundamental rights.

Parents Rights

Late Wednesday night the legislative majority rushed through probably one of the worst pieces of legislation for families that I’ve seen in a long time. Senate Bill 5599 claims to help troubled youth, but the bill as approved really interjects government into the rights of parents to make decisions for their child.

Under this proposed law, parents of a minor who runs away from home and ends up in a shelter or other some “host home” do not need to be notified if there’s a “compelling reason” not to.

I agree that kids who are being abused should have protections, but that’s not what this bill does. The “compelling reason” to not tell parents where their child is focuses on what they call “protected health services,” defined as gender affirming care or reproductive care, including abortions which do not have to be performed by a doctor.

A little known fact is that the state recently lowered the standard of care for this serious medical procedure. Now, any “health care provider” can perform an abortion without parental knowledge. Proponents pretend there aren’t medical risks, including possible sterilization or death, while simultaneously passing legislation requiring informed consent about other health care procedures.

We hear all the time in other legislation how children don’t have the mental faculties to make all kinds of decisions. Those same people are now saying that children somehow have the capability to make life-altering medical ones without a parent even being notified. This bad proposal puts the government between families and suffering kids and it’s plain wrong. I voted against this bill.

Just Get it Over With!

Despite strong federal and state constitutional protections, some lawmakers in Olympia are obsessed with gun regulations.

On Thursday, the Senate Democrats passed Senate Bill 5078, which would create new liability for gun manufacturers and dealers that would basically make them uninsurable in our state. The proposal says that this lawful industry must establish “reasonable controls” related to their products or face penalties for creating a public nuisance if the products are used by a third party in a criminal activity. It’s akin to making car manufacturers and dealers liable for drunk drivers.

You can read my amendment to this bill by clicking here and compare it to the intent section as it was approved by clicking here.

During the public hearings on this proposal 1,563 people signed in support and 2,775 testifiers opposed it.

I spoke against this illogical legislation and ultimately voted against the bill.

Problems with gun violence and crime in Washington are not caused by law-abiding citizens. It’s a cumulative effect of bad laws and a judicial system that lets hardened criminals off the hook when they have guns they aren’t legally allowed to possess anyway.

Imposing this kind of liability will do nothing stem the tide of crime in our state, but it will kills jobs and possibly drive a significant industry out of our state.

One of my Senate colleagues said on the floor that if they want to ban guns, just introduce a bill and let’s debate it, but this incrementalism is not going to fix the problems of crime and gun violence that they’ve enabled.

While some in Olympia are working furiously to restrict your right to protect yourself and your family, they enable insane things like allowing violent criminals to be released without bail, even in the case of a mass shooter. Read more about this recent story by clicking here. The Legislature should stop the pretense that these special-interest driven gun regulations are about protecting people.