Whatcom County elected officials butted heads yesterday in a committee hearing as Sen. Doug Ericksen (R) broke parliamentary procedure to shut down the last possible vote on a bill supported by Sen. Kevin Ranker (D). The bill (SB 5181, sponsored by Sen. Nelson) would have banned toxic material in mattresses and children’s toys and is considered to be a high priority for environmentalists, firefighters and anyone who likes healthy children. Today was the last day to move legislation to the next stage so it could have a full vote; anything left behind dies in committee.
Sen. Ericksen, who chairs the Energy, Environment and Telecommunications Committee, passed all of his own bills first and was preparing to close the meeting. Here’s where it gets interesting. Sen. Ranker, refusing to let such an important bill die from neglect, brought it up for a vote . . . and Ericksen seconded.
http://www.tvw.org/index.php?option=com_tvwplayer&eventID=2013021237#start=2831&stop=2893
Watch the video in the link above to hear the confusion in Sen. Ericksen’s voice as he realizes what he has done. “Which bill was that?” he asks. Since the motion has been moved and seconded, it is required they hold a vote. Ranker clings to the issue, “There was a second! It has been seconded.” Ericksen’s Republican ally, Sen. Tim Sheldon, tries frantically to help cover Ericksen’s mistake by moving to adjourn (shut down the meeting). Ericksen finally realizes what he has done and attempts to shut down the meeting. Ranker notes, correctly, that there is still a motion on the floor. Ericksen ignores him and gavels the meeting to a close.
Sen. Ranker
I had a chance to talk to Sen. Ranker today about this and he was deeply disappointed in Ericksen’s behavior. “This is really heartbreaking for me that he would kill such an important bill. I thought we had a good working relationship to move certain things forward, but then, at the eleventh hour of cutoff, to do this is really disappointing.” Ranker has filed a letter of complaint with the Lt. Governor’s office (the person responsible for overseeing the function of the Senate), but Ranker admits there is not much that can be done now.
“It is very clear that they broke the rules to kill this bill, but that is the unfortunate thing about having the Republicans in control.” He noted that Ericksen also worked to kill the Working Waterfront bill which would have provided jobs for the Port of Bellingham (SB 5545) and tried to undermine the effort to streamline toxic area cleanup funding (SB 5201).
I have a call out to Sen. Ericksen’s office and will post his response as soon as I have it.
Why have the gavel if you can’t use it to shut down the other side? I mean, partisanship trumps all other considerations, right?
What could possibly go wrong with governance on this basis? Don’t we have the best system, an incorruptible beacon to the poor benighted in the rest of the world?
By: David Camp on February 22, 2013
at 4:43 pm
And anyway why would we want to pay more for mattresses or even cause the manufacturers to be regulated? Regulation is bad! Government is bad!
If someone roasts to death on on a flaming mattress it’s their own damn fault!
By: David Camp on February 22, 2013
at 4:45 pm
I too am shocked by Doug’s actions. The bill was an important one that could have saved lives including those in utero. This is not pro-life. Shameful for it not even to get a committee vote
By: Bob Burr on February 22, 2013
at 10:52 pm
Actually, Senator Ericksen’s actions don’t surprise me at all. They are precisely what I have come to expect from the man. We really dodged a bullet when he wasn’t elected County Executive.
By: Shane Roth on February 23, 2013
at 11:59 am
We dodged one bullet, but appear to have been hit splat in the face by his remaining in the Senate and chairing this important committee
.
By: Bob Burr on February 23, 2013
at 10:49 pm
At least as a local county executive,
he couldn’t have rained regressive destruction on our entire state
as a petty anti-parliamentarian.
I won’t let Mr. Ranker have his say,
I won’t I won’t I won’t!
And you can’t make me!
By: rubiebegonia on February 24, 2013
at 9:18 am
Thanks for the deets! ~Carrie
Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2013 22:24:09 +0000 To: mzcarriecontrary@msn.com
By: nwwclc on February 23, 2013
at 12:27 pm
[...] case you missed the whole Sen. Doug Ericksen breaking the rules to shut down Sen. Ranker story I posted on Friday, you should check it out, and then wash that down with [...]
By: Follow-up: Ericksen Totes Bipartisanship after gutting Ranker’s bills | The Political Junkie on February 23, 2013
at 12:50 pm
I love TVW with all my heart since it’s reality TV at its best.
But I miss Jessica Gao and I wish Austin Jenkins would stop channeling David Gregory.
By: rubiebegonia on February 23, 2013
at 1:06 pm
You are so interesting! I do not think I’ve read anything like this before. So great to find another person with some original thoughts on this issue. Seriously.. many thanks for starting this up. This website is something that is required on the internet, someone with a little originality!
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at 11:16 pm
[...] host of issues.” At this the audience openly laughed at him (to my delight, they had heard of Ericksen’s recent tiff with Ranker). Sen. Ericksen looked around, mildly confused. I think he expected a conservative audience but he [...]
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[...] case anyone is curious, Sen. Doug Ericksen is the 4th most conservative member of the State Senate, and Sen. Ranker is 13th most [...]
By: Scorecard: Rep. Buys and Overstreet are the most conservative legislators | The Political Junkie on April 1, 2013
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[...] being in the legislature for over a decade, he still seems to have trouble with the rules after he broke the law to shut down Sen. Ranker earlier this year. But being in charge of a committee has its advantages, he was able to pass quite a few bills out [...]
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