Washington State Senate Democrats: Jeanne Kohl-Welles

Kohl-Welles appointed to Joint Higher Education Committee

Senate Democrats — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:48:00 GMT

OLYMPIA—Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, has been appointed to the Joint Higher Education Committee by Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane.

“I am very pleased to have been appointed to the Joint Higher Education Committee,” Kohl-Welles said. “Higher education quality, affordability and access have been a high priority in my legislative work.”

Kohl-Welles currently represents the state on the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education and chairs its Issue Analysis and Research Committee. She previously chaired the Washington State Senate Higher Education Committee.

The Joint Committee was created this session as part of House Bill 2483, which establishes the Student Achievement Council to replace the Higher Education Coordinating Board on July 1, 2012.

The nine-member Council will provide focus to increase educational attainment in Washington, including transitions from secondary to postsecondary and between and among postsecondary institutions.

The purpose of the Joint Committee, which includes Democrats and Republicans from the Senate and House of Representatives, is to review the work of the Council and provide legislative feedback by December 1, 2012; engage with the Council and higher education community to create greater communication, coordination, and alignment between the system and expectations of the Legislature; and provide recommendations for higher education policy, including proposed legislation.

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For more information: Alison Dempsey-Hall, Senate Democratic Communications, 360.786.7887

Kohl-Welles highlighted in Seattle City Living: A considerable record of achievement

Senate Democrats — Tue, 22 May 2012 15:21:00 GMT

Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles on the Senate floor last February, speaking on behalf of marriage equality, Senate Bill 6239. Sen. Ed Murray (D-Seattle), who led the effort, listens while Gov. Christine Gregoire looks on from the wings.

By Mike Dillon

Even now, 18 years after arriving in the Washington state Senate, Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-Seattle), says rising to speak from the Senate floor is no small thing. “I still get a little nervous,” she allowed.

At first blush, the 69 year-old legislator — whose 36th Legislative District includes Queen Anne, Magnolia, Ballard, parts of Belltown and South Lake Union and a westward chunk of north Seattle — seems a study in contrasts.

Kohl-Welles is a Seattle liberal from a Republican family, who, as a single mother, once, worked extra hard to stay off public assistance. She is soft-spoken yet takes on hard, sometimes quixotic causes. An academic with a doctorate degree in sociology of education, Kohl-Welles has been so effective in the scrum of Olympia politics that the nonpartisan Municipal League rates her as “outstanding.”

She has kept close to the neighborhoods she represents, serving on boards and committees and mediator for micro-conflicts born out of the Seattle process, yet she has had an international impact on human trafficking, women’s issues and sexual abuse.

On top of it all, once a week, Kohl-Welles joins her 96-year mother, whom she calls an inspiration, in a game of bridge at Bayview Manor on Queen Anne.

For all of the seeming contrasts, Kohl-Welles has been consistent in her outlook on issues that fall under the “social justice” moniker. The Democrat has one of the safest Senate seats in Olympia; she balances the micro and macro in a way that wears well with her constituents.

“I couldn’t have a better district,” Kohl-Welles said. “I can be consistent with my own values."

Case in point: Last winter’s vote on marriage equality, an effort led by state Sen. Ed Murray (D-Seattle) and co-sponsored by Kohl-Welles. For some lawmakers — and not just east of the mountains — the issue was something other than a no-brainer.

“It was excruciating behind the scenes,” Kohl-Welles recalled. “There were matters of conscience in some cases, and people voting from swing districts.”

In that same session, Kohl-Welles introduced Senate Bill 6251, which knuckled down on the advertising of commercial sexual abuse of a minor — think Backpage.com. Its passage received national attention.

All told, a dozen Kohl-Welles bills were signed into law in 2012, ranging from the reporting of child sexual abuse in colleges and universities to adoption of core competencies for early care and education professionals.

If Kohl-Welles’ priorities reflect classic liberal compassion, the convergence of academic insight and political will is less common.

“She may be soft-spoken, but she will raise her voice for a cause,” noted Senate colleague Linda Parlette, Republican caucus chair from the Chelan area’s 12th District.

Coming of age in the ‘60s

Her parents met at the University of Wisconsin. Her father was a real estate broker; her mother, a high school English teacher. The couple waited seven years to marry. Married, her mother would have lost her job.

Born Jean Elizabeth Pearl Kohl in Madison, Wis., in October 1942, Kohl-Welles was 10 when the family moved to Southern California, where she graduated from Polytechnic High School in 1960, the year John Kennedy was elected president. She earned her bachelor’s degree from California State University at Northridge in 1965. In those five years, the old political and social assumptions were coming undone.

“I was pulled into those social issues,” Kohl-Welles recalled. “I thought I would really like to go get my Ph.D. in sociology. I was captivated by the idea of social change.” Once, while working for her doctorate at UCLA, she visited her brother in the Bay Area and stumbled upon a crowd gathered for the first anniversary of the People’s Park in Berkeley. The tear gas was not far behind.

“We thought we were safe,” she recalled, “because we were next to the media people.” With a wry smile, Kohl-Welles paused: “The police targeted them.”

These were years when Kohl-Welles was married with child. As an elementary-school teacher in the San Fernando Valley, she had to stop teaching in the middle of a semester because she was pregnant — the end of the second trimester was the school limit.

She earned her master’s degree in sociology at UCLA in 1973 and her doctorate the next year. After a divorce, she remarried and gave birth to a daughter in 1974.

Teaching in area colleges followed: sociology, education and women’s studies. When Title IX was signed into law in 1972 — which prohibited sex discrimination in schools and colleges receiving federal funds — Kohl-Welles started a consulting company to help implement the provision.

“I became a feminist,” she said.

By this time, she had divorced again. The single mother now had five kids. “That made me strong,” Kohl-Welles recalled. “I was piecing things together with a broken heart. I did not want to go on public assistance.”

In 1982, she met Alex Welles, grandson of President Franklin Roosevelt advisor Sumner Welles and a member of an Eastern seaboard family on the Social Register. Welles, owner of Welles Investments and a mountain climber and trekker, was fixing up old houses and selling them at the time.

The couple — “both of us were independent spirits,” Kohl-Welles said — moved to Seattle in 1985, buying a house on Queen Anne. They married later that year.

Kohl-Welles taught sociology and women’s studies part-time at the University of Washington. After two years teaching sociology at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma in 1986-1987, she applied to Seattle University for a full-time position in the sociology department. She said she was called by the department chair, who asked about her position on abortion.

She had applied to Seattle Pacific University, too. Kohl-Welles said she got a call from the dean before the interview about why her last name was different from the name on her published works in the past.

“Were you divorced?” she remembered being asked. Follow-up questions queried the circumstances, including the topic of infidelity.

“I needed to work,” Kohl-Welles said. She became involved with groups writing legislation; her academic focus shifted to public policy. She got involved with the 36th District Democrats, which opened up a new world.

In 1989, she became a member of the Queen Anne Community Council and dealt with critical community issues, including white supremacist leafleting of the neighborhood and homelessness.

In 1992, the Metropolitan King County Council appointed Kohl-Welles to replace Larry Philips in the state House of Representatives after Philips’ election to the council. Two years later, she was elected to her current Senate position after incumbent Ray Moore had stepped down when it turned out he was technically a resident of the Big Island in Hawaii.

Anticipating the public mind

“I like public policy to effect social change,” Kohl-Welles reflected. “This is the most direct way to hopefully affect people for the better.”

Though far from being a classic political animal, the former academic says, “I get fascinated by the political process: It’s organic; not all of it is written down. Sometimes, it’s intuitive."

She maintains the toxic divisiveness that has characterized national politics has not filtered down in the same way to Olympia. “You have to find common ground," she said. “There’s been less of that in the past couple of years," she conceded, but “most legislators operate on principle rather than just not letting the other side win.”

State Sen. Linda Parlette, whose family roots run deep in the orchards around Lake Chelan, comes from a far different place than Kohl-Welles, but the two are able to work together.

“She’s more liberal than I am, for sure,” Parlette said. “But she’s such a pleasant person.

“Jeanne is able to sponsor so many bills, I would tease her,” Parlette continued. “She’s known on the floor for giving long speeches,” she said of the former professor.

Kohl-Welles said the biggest disappointment of her legislative career has been the governor’s partial veto of a medical-marijuana bill last year and the failure of a follow-up effort to overhaul its confusing loose ends.

One of the highlights is the 2002 International Marriage Organizations Act, better known as the Mail Order Bride Act, which provided protections for those coming to this country to marry a Washington resident. This came about after state Rep. Velma Veloria’s House Bill 2381, which set up the first task force against human trafficking. The bill became the model for the International Marriage Broker Act at the federal level in 2005.

The list of awards Kohl-Welles has received is extensive and speaks to her political passions: Lincoln Freedom Award from Seattle Against Slavery, Ancil Payne Leadership Award from Washington Ceasefire, Legislator of the Year from Humane Society of the U.S., Angel for Children Award from Parents for Safe Child Care — the list goes on.

She has traveled internationally to speak on women in politics, public policy and human trafficking, including Cuba, Japan, Brazil, Chile, Niger, Sweden and the Baltic countries and Ukraine.

Kohl-Welles’ current term expires in January 2015. She says she hasn't decided whether she will seek reelection. Parlette believes she won't.

“The last three years have been brutal,” Kohl-Welles said of the budget cuts that have shredded the social welfare safety net. “I have tried hard to address changes that are needed, particularly for children and the vulnerable.”

An invite to celebrate 12 new anti-trafficking laws

Senate Democrats — Wed, 16 May 2012 20:03:00 GMT

You Are Invited to celebrate the enactment of 12 new laws on human trafficking in the 2012 Legislative Session.

Details:

Thursday, June 7, 2012
5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Filipino Community Center, 5740 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way S., Seattle, (206-722-9372)

Sponsored by:

Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles, Senator Karen Fraser, Former Rep. Velma Veloria, Dr. Sutapa Basu, Emma Catague, Alma Kern and the Filipino Domestic Violence Education Committee

To RSVP or for additional information, contact: Velma Veloria at 206-683-8700; veloria@msn.com

Recent anti-trafficking laws to be highlighted at Seattle press conference and continuing legal education seminar

Senate Democrats — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 22:12:00 GMT

OLYMPIA—Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D—Seattle, and other anti-human trafficking advocates, invite the media and advocates to attend a press conference held on International Labor Day—a day which reminds us that even though many protections were achieved after labor unions went on strike May 1, 1886, modern day trafficking and labor abuse still exists. Discussion will include twelve newly enacted laws and other anti-trafficking efforts.

Speakers scheduled to attend include:

Washington State Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles, sponsor of state anti-trafficking legislation;
Dr. Sutapa Basu, Executive Director, University of Washington Women’s Center, Co-Chair UW Task Force on Human Trafficking;
Former Washington State Representative Velma Veloria, Co-Chair UW Women’s Center Task Force on Human Trafficking;
Jeff Johnson, President, Washington State Labor Council;
Jackie Jones-Walsh, President, Coalition of Labor Union Women;
Dana Raigrodski, Assistant Director, International, University of Washington Law School; and
Emma Catague, Field Director, Asian Pacific Islander-CHAYA (victim’s perspective).

Event Details:

WHAT: Anti-trafficking press conference
WHY: Receive updates on latest anti-trafficking efforts
WHO: Media and anti-trafficking advocates
WHEN: Tues., May 1st, 11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
WHERE: University of Washington Women’s Center, Cunningham Hall, 4101 George Washington Lane, Seattle, WA 98195

For directions and parking information, click here.

Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles and other anti-trafficking advocates will also discuss recent anti-trafficking legislation and other efforts at the Human Trafficking, Forced Labor and Corporate Responsibility Continuing Legal Education on May 11th. For more information, click here.

Meet 36th District state legislators at a town hall

Senate Democrats — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 20:53:00 GMT

OLYMPIA — Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson and Rep. Reuven Carlyle invite the public to attend the 36th Legislative District Town Hall. This provides an opportunity for constituents to meet with their legislators and discuss the 2012 legislative sessions, followed by a question and answer period. Coffee will be provided.

Event details:

•    WHEN: May 12th from 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.
•    WHO: 36th District constituents
•    WHERE: Greenwood Senior Center, 525 N. 85th St., Seattle, Washington, 98103
•    FOR MORE INFORMATION: Adam Cooper at Adam.Cooper@leg.wa.gov or (206) 281-6854

For directions, click here.

Huffington Post: Lawmakers In 5 States Tell Feds To Back Off Medical Marijuana

Senate Democrats — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 06:41:00 GMT

WASHINGTON -- Elected lawmakers in five states have a message for the federal government: Don't interfere with state medical marijuana laws.

In an open letter to the federal government, lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle called on the government to stop using scarce law enforcement resources on taking pot away from medical marijuana patients.

"States with medical marijuana laws have chosen to embrace an approach that is based on science, reason, and compassion. We are lawmakers from these states," the lawmakers explained in their letter.

"Our state medical marijuana laws differ from one another in their details, such as which patients qualify for medical use; how much marijuana patients may possess; whether patients and caregivers may grow marijuana; and whether regulated entities may grow and sell marijuana to patients. Each of our laws, however, is motivated by a desire to protect seriously ill patients from criminal penalties under state law."

The letter -- signed by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-Calif.), Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-Wash.), Rep. Antonio Maestas (D-N.M.), Sen. Cisco McSorley (D-N.M.), Assemblyman Chris Norby (R-Calif.), Rep. Deborah Sanderson (R-Maine) and Sen. Pat Steadman (D-Colo.) -- comes directly on the heels of a federal raid in the heart of California's pot legalization movement: medical marijuana training school Oaksterdam University in downtown Oakland, where U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officials on Monday blocked off doors with yellow tape and carried off trash bags full of unknown substances to a nearby van. An IRS spokeswoman could not comment on the raid except to say the agents had a federal search warrant.

The lawmakers called on President Obama to live up to his campaign promise to leave the regulation of medical marijuana to the states, adding raids would only "force patients underground" into the illegal drug market.

The president as a candidate promised to maintain a hands-off approach toward pot clinics that adhere to state law. At a 2007 town hall meeting in Manchester, N.H., Obama said raiding patients who use marijuana for medicinal purposes "makes no sense." At another town hall in Nashua, N.H., he said the Justice Department's prosecution of medical marijuana users was "not a good use of our resources." Yet the number of Justice Department raids on marijuana dispensaries has continued to rise.

Read the full letter here:

Over the last two decades, 16 states and the District of Columbia have chosen to depart from federal policy and chart their own course on the issue of medical marijuana, as states are entitled to do under our federalist system of government. These states have rejected the fallacy long promoted by the federal government -- that marijuana has absolutely no accepted medical use and that seriously ill people must choose between ignoring their doctors' medical advice or risking arrest and prosecution. They have stopped using their scarce law enforcement resources to punish patients and those who care for them and have instead spent considerable resources and time crafting programs that will provide patients with safe and regulated access to medical marijuana.
States with medical marijuana laws have chosen to embrace an approach that is based on science, reason, and compassion. We are lawmakers from these states.

Our state medical marijuana laws differ from one another in their details, such as which patients qualify for medical use; how much marijuana patients may possess; whether patients and caregivers may grow marijuana; and whether regulated entities may grow and sell marijuana to patients. Each of our laws, however, is motivated by a desire to protect seriously ill patients from criminal penalties under state law; to provide a safe and reliable source of medical marijuana; and to balance and protect the needs of local communities and other residents in the state. The laws were drafted with considered thoughtfulness and care, and are thoroughly consistent with the American tradition of using the states as laboratories for public policy innovation and experimentation.

Unfortunately, these laws face a mounting level of federal hostility and confusing mixed messages from the Obama Administration, the Department of Justice, and the various United States Attorneys. In 2008, then candidate Obama stated that as President, he would not use the federal government to circumvent state laws on the issue of medical marijuana. This promise was followed up in 2009 by President Obama with a Department of Justice memo from former Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden stating that federal resources should not generally be focused "on individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana." This provided welcome guidance for state legislators and administrators and encouraged us to move forward with drafting and passing responsible regulatory legislation.

Nonetheless, the United States Attorneys in several states with medical marijuana laws have chosen a different course. They have explicitly threatened that federal investigative and prosecutorial resources "will continue to be directed" towards the manufacture and distribution of medical marijuana, even if such activities are permitted under state law. These threats have generally been timed to influence pending legislation or encourage the abandonment of state and local regulatory programs. They contradict President Obama's campaign promise and policy his first year in office and serve to push medical marijuana activity back into the illicit market.

Most disturbing is that a few United States Attorneys warn that state employees who implement the laws and regulations of our states are not immune from criminal prosecution under the federal Controlled Substances Act. They do so notwithstanding the fact that no provision exists within the Controlled Substances Act that makes it a crime for a state employee to enforce regulations that help a state define conduct that is legal under its own state laws.

Hundreds of state and municipal employees are currently involved in the licensing and regulation of medical marijuana producers and providers in New Mexico, Colorado, Maine, and California, and have been for years. The federal government has never threatened, much less prosecuted, any of these employees. Indeed, the federal government has not, to our knowledge, prosecuted state employees for performing their ministerial duties under state law in modern history. It defies logic and precedent that the federal government would start prosecuting state employees now.

Recognizing the lack of any real harm to state employees, a number of states have moved forward. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie drew on his own experience as a former United States Attorney in deciding that New Jersey state workers were not realistically at risk of federal prosecution in his decision to move forward implementing New Jersey’s medical marijuana program. Rhode Island, Vermont, Arizona, and the District of Columbia are also in the process of implementing their state laws.

Nonetheless, the suggestion that state employees are at risk is have a destructive and chilling impact. Washington Governor Christine Gregoire vetoed legislation to regulate medical marijuana in her state and Delaware Governor Jack Markell suspended implementation of his state's regulatory program after receiving warnings from the United States Attorneys in their states about state employees. Additionally, a number of localities in California ended or suspended regulatory programs after receiving similar threats to their workers.

We, the undersigned state legislators, call on state and local officials to not be intimidated by these empty federal threats. Our state medical marijuana programs should be implemented and move forward. Our work, and the will of our voters, should see the light of day.

We call on the federal government not to interfere with our ability to control and regulate how medical marijuana is grown and distributed. Let us seek clarity rather than chaos. Don’t force patients underground, to fuel the illegal drug market.

And finally, we call on President Obama to recommit to the principles and policy on which he campaigned and asserted his first year in office. Please respect our state laws. And don't use our employees as pawns in your zealous and misguided war on medical marijuana.

Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D-CA)

Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-WA)

Representative Antonio Maestas (D-NM)

Senator Cisco McSorley (D-NM)

Assemblymember Chris Norby (R-CA)

Representative Deborah Sanderson (R-ME)

Senator Pat Steadman (D-CO)

Postdoctoral and clinical employees have collective bargaining rights under new law

Senate Democrats — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 21:11:00 GMT

OLYMPIA — Today Gov. Chris Gregoire signed a law granting collective bargaining rights for postdoctoral researchers and clinical employees at the University of Washington and Washington State University. Collective bargaining may begin under the provisions of the Public Employees' Collective Bargaining Act.

Postdoc employees at UW and WSU conduct research funded by external grants and contracts, most of which come from federal agencies, such as the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

Yet, up until Senate Bill 6486 was signed into law postdocs and clinical employees, who hold PhDs or other graduate degrees, had no opportunity to engage in collective bargaining even though most were able to do so while they were graduate students.

“Postdocs and clinical employees should be able to bargain for protections against arbitrary dismissal, sexual harassment and job conditions,” said Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D—Seattle, sponsor of the bill. “These are the same rights currently provided to faculty and academic student employees, such as graduate teaching assistants and research assistants.”

“We've been hearing from an increasing number of our former members who don't understand why they are able to benefit from having collective bargaining rights as graduate employees, but then don't have collective bargaining rights when they get their PhDs and become postdocs,” said David Parsons, President of UAW Local 4121. “There is a critical workforce at UW and WSU, and we're thrilled they have now been granted the same rights as other academic workers at UW and WSU.”

Postdocs carry out research under faculty supervision and are a valuable resource to UW and WSU, stellar research institutions that bring huge amounts of money into Washington state through federal research grants.

For years the UW has been the number one public university to receive federal research funds in the country, and is number two behind private Johns Hopkins University in receiving federal funds.

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For more information: Alison Dempsey-Hall, 360.786.7887

Bill to revive tax break for film productions now law

Senate Democrats — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 02:29:00 GMT

OLYMPIA — Today Gov. Chris Gregoire signed a law to revive a tax incentive program that expired last July to attract movie production to Washington state.

“We have tourists from all over the world going to the town of Forks because it was the setting of the hit vampire movie series, Twilight,” said Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D—Seattle, sponsor of Senate Bill 5539. “That's great, but imagine the economic impact the region would have seen if the movies had actually been filmed in Forks, with locally-hired crew members and all food and lodging expenses going straight into the local economy. Renewing the competiveness program will continue to spur job creation and have a multiplier effect for every dollar invested throughout the economy.”

In another example, AMC’s series The Killing, broadcast last fall about a female detective working on a murder case in Ballard, was filmed in British Columbia even though the producers wanted to film in Seattle. There had been uncertainty about whether the tax incentive program would be renewed, so they took production to B.C. instead, resulting in Washington losing the revenue and jobs here. The series second season begins this coming Sunday, once again filmed in B.C. “Perhaps next year they will film here because the incentive program is now extended,” said Kohl-Welles.

“These missed opportunities are occurring in Forks, Seattle, Moses Lake, Spokane and across the state because, while Washington's beautiful scenery and infamous cities make excellent locations for film and television settings, we are being out-bid by incentive programs in Vancouver, B.C., as well as in Idaho and Oregon,” Kohl-Welles said. “Reinstating Washington’s film incentive makes us a viable competitor for future film production.”

The program offers a 30-percent rebate off the amount of money spent in the state to production companies selected through a competitive process. That can include anything from wages and benefits paid to state residents to the costs of building a movie set and hotel and catering.

“It’s a model type of tax incentive program as it was recommended for continuing following a review by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee, has a sunset date (now set for 2017), and funds are provided only for actual in-state spending based on a post-production accounting,” said Sen. Kohl-Welles.

The film incentives program has generated almost $70 million for Washington workers and businesses since it started in 2007.

Right now, 39 states offer some kind of incentive to attract big movie projects. This measure reinstates Washington’s incentive, which had expired last July.

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For more information: Alison Dempsey-Hall, 360.786.7887

Anti-trafficking bills, including focus on online child escort ads, signed into law

Senate Democrats — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 23:38:00 GMT

OLYMPIA — Today, bipartisan bills to combat human trafficking, including legislation to keep minors from being exploited through online ads for escort services such as Backpage.com, were signed into law.

In 2002, Washington was the first state in the country to pass anti-trafficking laws. On this 10-year anniversary, 12 new laws shows Washington continues to lead the fight against human trafficking.

“Human trafficking is a billion-dollar industry that exploits the most vulnerable, especially minors,” said Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D—Seattle, sponsor of Senate Bill 6251 to keep minors from being sexually exploited through online ads for adult escort services. “We must do everything possible to raise the bar for protection against these crimes, and the ability to prosecute offenders when they occur. I hope other states follow Washington’s lead.”

“I want to thank the governor for signing these important bills to protect our most vulnerable citizens,” said Sen. Jerome Delvin, R—Richland, sponsor of SB 6254. “One of my bills, for example, addresses the horrific cases we have heard about mentally-disabled individuals being taken advantage of by traffickers. It is a shame that we have people out there who would commit such crimes, but as long as there are, we will do everything in our power to give law enforcement the tools to bring these criminals to justice.”

Sen. Karen Fraser, D—Olympia, was the prime sponsor of SB 6255, which vacates sentences for underage victims. “Human trafficking, which is modern day slavery, is one of the great scourges of our time. The amount of money that is generated globally as result of this practice is tantamount to weapons trading,” she said. “I am proud that the people of our state care enough to take significant and historic action against a practice that destroys lives, and I am pleased that Washington remains a leading state in the nation that addresses this terrible trend.”

Human trafficking includes the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision or obtaining of a person for labor, sex, organ transplants or services through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt, bondage or slavery.

The 12 bills signed into law include:

SB 6251: Regulating online advertising of commercial sexual abuse of a minor (Sens. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, Jerome Delvin, R-Richland)
SB 6252: Addressing commercial sexual abuse of a minor and promoting prostitution in the first degree (Sens. Adam Kline, D-Seattle, Joseph Zarelli, R-Ridgefield)
SB 6253: Concerning seizure and forfeiture of property in commercial sexual abuse of a minor and promoting prostitution in the first degree crimes (Sens. Tracey Eide, D-Federal Way, Adam Kline, D- Seattle)
SB 6254: Compelling a person with a mental disability to engage in prostitution is promoting prostitution in the 1^st degree, even absent the use of force (Sens. Jerome Delvin, R-Richland, Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam)
SB 6255: Vacating sentences for underage victims (Sens. Karen Fraser, D-Olympia, Adam Kline, D- Seattle)
SB 6256: Adding commercial sexual abuse of a minor to the list of criminal street gang-related offenses (Sens. Steve Conway, D-South Tacoma, Jerome Delvin, R-Richland)
SB 6257: Addressing sexually explicit performance (Sens. Pam Roach, R-Auburn, Steve Conway, D-South Tacoma)
SB 6258: Concerning unaccompanied persons (Sens. Val Stevens, R-Arlington, Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood)
SB 6103: Removing the practice of reflexology from the exemptions from licensure for massage or massage therapy. Granting authority to the secretary of health to conduct inspections of massage business establishments (Sens. Karen Keiser, D-Kent, Karen Fraser, D-Olympia)
House Bill 1983: Increasing fee assessments for prostitution crimes (Reps. Kevin Parker and Phyllis Gutierrez Kenney)
House Bill 2177: Protecting children from sexual exploitation (Reps. Connie Ladenburg, D-Tacoma and Bruce Dammeier, R-Puyallup)
HB 2692: Concerning the reduction of the commercial sale of sex (Reps. Tina Orwall and Katrina Asay)

Human trafficking is an epidemic not only in Washington, but across the nation and world. Kohl-Welles cited a recent New York Times story, “Where Pimps Peddle Their Goods,” as just one example of the horrors of child prostitution that occur every day.

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For more information: Alison Dempsey-Hall, Senate Democratic Communications, 360-786-7887

Bill to combat child escort ads on Backpage.com now law

Senate Democrats — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 23:31:00 GMT

Kohl-Welles with Gov. Gregoire and other anti-trafficking advocates at bill signing. Nacole, whose daughter was trafficked, cries tears of joy

OLYMPIA — Today, Gov. Chris Gregoire signed into law a bipartisan anti-trafficking bill to keep minors from being exploited through online ads for escort services such as Backpage.com.

“I am ecstatic this anti-trafficking legislation is now law, the first of its kind in the country. This makes the strongest possible statement that there should be no selling of minors online – or anywhere,” said Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D—Seattle, prime sponsor of Senate Bill 6251. “I worked with Democratic and Republican colleagues, Attorney General Rob McKenna, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, Seattle Councilmember Tim Burgess, King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg, Port of Seattle Commission President Gael Tarleton, former Rep. Velma Veloria, the ACLU, Allied Daily Newspapers and others to ensure this bill passes constitutional muster as well as the federal Communications Decency Act.”

“Washington is again leading the way, this time passing one of the most aggressive anti-trafficking laws in the country,” said Gov. Chris Gregoire. “With support from a broad coalition, this bill serves to protect kids and the most vulnerable from the dangers of sex trafficking. I thank Sen. Kohl-Welles for her leadership on this issue.”

“Human trafficking is a billion-dollar industry that often takes advantage of the most vulnerable members of our society – our children, and even those with developmental disabilities,” said Sen. Jerome Delvin, R-Richland, who sponsored another bill to make it a class B felony to force a developmentally-disabled person into prostitution. “We’ve accomplished a lot, but there is still a lot of work to be done. We must do everything in our power to raise awareness of these crimes, give our judicial system more authority to punish the perpetrators, and provide help for the victims.”

Backpage.com, whose parent company is The Village Voice, makes at least $22 million a year from online adult escort ads, but refuses to verify the ages of those who place the ads or are depicted in them, even though its print edition published in the Seattle Weekly requires in-person age verification. This results in minors being sold online into prostitution and sex-trafficking. All state attorneys general have called on Backpage.com to stop selling online adult escort ads.

Kohl-Welles’ bill creates a new offense, making it illegal to knowingly publish an escort ad that involves a minor. To avoid possible criminal charges, classified advertising companies will be motivated to try to verify ages of escorts in sex-related postings. The new law offers an affirmative defense to prosecution for advertising commercial sexual abuse of a minor if the advertiser can produce documentation showing a bona fide attempt to verify the age of the person in the ad.

“This groundbreaking, bipartisan bill responds to the public's outrage over the exploitation of vulnerable kids - including runaways and addicts - by certain businesses,” said McKenna. “Just weeks after Sen. Kohl-Welles' legislation received national attention, legislators in Connecticut introduced a similar proposal. We expect that other states will soon follow Washington's lead.”

“This bill makes our state a national leader in protecting children from sexual exploitation. From Senator Kohl-Welles’ tireless work on this issue to Gov. Gregoire’s signature today, our state elected leaders have come together to lead the nation in the prevention of underage sex trafficking” said McGinn. “This innovative legislation provides a national model for other states to follow, and I hope to see this approach adopted across the country.”

“Washington was the first state to criminalize human trafficking and today took another giant step by making advertisers accountable for their role in the exploitation of children,” said Burgess. “The unanimous bipartisan support for this new law signals that we are united in our efforts to stop the horrific violence against children through coercive prostitution.”

“This new law recognizes that the sale of children for commercial sexual abuse either online or in print is unacceptable. The Legislature has once again moved the ball forward in the fight against human trafficking,” said Satterberg.

“This is another step forward in our fight to protect the most vulnerable citizens,” said Tarleton. “When we work together, we have the power to stop trafficking.”

“This is great news! With the first amendment rights concerns addressed, this law will be a great tool for those of us in the anti-trafficking arena to help women and girls who are victims of human trafficking,” said Veloria, who pioneered anti-trafficking efforts in the Legislature back in 2002.

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For more information:

Alison Dempsey-Hall, Senate Democratic Communications, 360-786-7887