Washington ACLU legislative session agenda for 2007

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http://www.aclu-wa.org/

The Washington State Legislature started its 2007 legislative session this week. From now until session ends in April, we'll keep you up to date on ways to take action on civil liberties issues in Olympia! As bills are filed or come up for hearings or floor votes, we'll notify ACLU E-mail Activists. Stay tuned for ways to make your voice heard!

ACLU Lobby Day is Tuesday, Feb. 13 in Olympia. Join us as we meet with elected officials an stand up for civil liberties. Sign up now!

Below are our Lobby Day priorities.


Automatic Restoration of Voting Rights

The state currently has a very complicated, confusing process for restoring voting rights to ex-felons. The ACLU is supporting legislation to automatically restore the franchise to individuals upon release from prison. This would create a clear system: People who are in prison cannot vote, and people who are out of prison can vote.

REAL ID

We are urging legislators to block the implementation of the federal REAL ID Act in Washington. The Act requires states to produce driver’s licenses conforming to a national standard and to store drivers’ information in nationally shared databases, making it more vulnerable to identity theft and misuse. Implementing REAL ID would cost Washington taxpayers $50 million annually for the first five years and would be a bureaucratic nightmare.

Privacy

To protect privacy, stronger controls are needed on how personally identifiable information is obtained, collected and used. We support a prohibition on the capture and use of information in driver’s licenses for any purposes other than identification or age verification. We also back restricting the use of Radio Frequency ID tags on government-issued identification documents, since current technology could allow the capture of personal information without a person’s knowledge.

Comprehensive Sex Education

We support the Healthy Youth Act to require public schools that teach sex education to provide comprehensive, medically accurate sex education that complies with the state Department of Health guidelines. This legislation would ensure that teens receive information to help protect them from sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies.

Domestic Partnerships

We support legislation to enable unmarried couples to register as domestic partners with the state. This registration would protect the right to make medical care decisions for a sick partner, to visit a partner in the hospital, and to consult with the partner’s doctors. The registry will also give a registered partner the property rights enjoyed by married couples in this state.

Training seesions for Lobby Day

Spokane*
Wednesday, Jan. 17
6:30 p.m.
Community Building,
35 W Main St., Spokane

Seattle
Thursday, Jan. 18
7 p.m.
Solid Ground,
1501 N. 45th. St., Seattle

Vancouver*
Thursday, Jan. 25
6:30 p.m.
Round table Pizza
5016 NE Thurston Way, Vancovuer

Ellensburg*
Thursday, Feb. 1
6:30 p.m.
Hal Holmes Center,
201 N. Ruby St., Ellensburg

Tacoma*
Wednesday, Feb. 7
6 p.m.
Tacoma Public Library,
1102 Tacoma Ave. S., Tacoma

Bellingham*
Thursday, Feb. 8
6 p.m.
2300 James Street Ste. 207, Bellingham