Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
                   SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 8414
                            68th Legislature
                          2024 Regular Session
Adopted by the Senate March 5, 2024               CERTIFICATE
                                      I, Sarah Bannister, Secretary of
                                      the   Senate   of    the  State  of
                                      Washington, do hereby certify that
President of the Senate               the attached is SENATE CONCURRENT
                                      RESOLUTION 8414 as passed by the
                                      Senate     and    the    House   of
Adopted by the House February 27,     Representatives on the dates hereon
2024                                  set forth.
Speaker of the House of                                         Secretary
Representatives
                                                     FILED
                                              Secretary of State
                                              State of Washington
                       SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 8414
                            AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
                   Passed Legislature - 2024 Regular Session
     State of Washington       68th Legislature        2024 Regular Session
     By Senators Lovick, Torres, Billig, Boehnke, Cleveland, Conway,
     Dhingra, Frame, Holy, Hunt, Keiser, Kuderer, Liias, Lovelett,
     Muzzall, Nguyen, Nobles, Pedersen, Rivers, Saldaña, Shewmake,
     Stanford, Wagoner, Warnick, Wellman, C. Wilson, and J. Wilson; by
     request of Lieutenant Governor
     Prefiled 01/05/24. Read first time 01/08/24.     Referred to Committee
     on State Government & Elections.
 1       WHEREAS, There are increasing concerns about the state of civic
 2   health in America and Washington state; and
 3       WHEREAS, A recent public opinion survey in Washington state
 4   revealed that 89% of citizens agree or strongly agree that they are
 5   "worried about the future of our democracy"; and
 6       WHEREAS, The same survey also revealed that nearly one in four
 7   Washingtonians have "stopped talking to a friend or relative because
 8   of politics"; and
 9       WHEREAS, Additional research underscores a decline in respectful
10   discourse in the public square and a material decline in confidence
11   in public institutions; and
12       WHEREAS, In response to this crisis there has been a surge in
13   local and national organizations designed to improve civic health;
14   and
15       WHEREAS, One of these organizations is the Project for Civic
16   Health, a partnership of the Office of Lieutenant Governor, the
17   University of Washington's Evans School, the Ruckelshaus Center, and
18   the Henry M. Jackson Foundation; and
19       WHEREAS, The Project for Civic Health has worked for the last
20   year to develop a deeper understanding of the nature of the problem
21   by conducting focus groups and holding a "summit" involving nearly
22   200 diverse Washington citizens to develop recommendations on a path
23   forward; and
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 1       WHEREAS, Among the many ideas generated by the Project for Civic
 2   Health was the creation of a Joint Committee on Civic Health of the
 3   Washington State Legislature, the purpose of which would be to build
 4   upon the Project's work to date to strengthen our democratic
 5   republic;
 6       NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, By the Senate, the House of
 7   Representatives concurring, That a joint select committee on Civic
 8   Health be established to build upon the work of the Project for Civic
 9   Health; and
10       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Committee consist of 13 members:
11   The Lieutenant Governor; three members of the majority party of the
12   Senate and three members of the minority party of the Senate, to be
13   selected by the President of the Senate; and three members of the
14   majority party of the House of Representatives and three members of
15   the minority party of the House of Representatives, to be selected by
16   the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and
17       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Lieutenant Governor shall be
18   chair of the committee and one member of the majority party and one
19   member from the minority party from opposite chambers shall serve as
20   Vice Chairs; and
21       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the committee shall operate in full
22   accordance with the Joint Rules; and
23       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, All expenses and staff support for the
24   committee shall be provided by the Office of the Lieutenant Governor,
25   except that legislative members of the committee shall be reimbursed
26   for travel expenses by the Senate and House of Representatives in
27   accordance with RCW 44.04.120; and
28       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the committee will issue its
29   preliminary recommendations and report to the legislature prior to
30   the 2025 regular session and its final recommendations and report
31   prior to 2026 regular session at which time the committee shall cease
32   to exist.
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