The State House approved three “good government” bills introduced by Rep. Roger Goodman, D-Kirkland, and sent them over to the Senate on Friday. The local legislator said he hopes focusing on a series of small “common-sense” fixes will increase efficiency in Olympia.
“The people want a more efficient government,” Goodman said. “The Legislature is working on broad reform packages but in the meanwhile there’s no reason we can’t implement some lower-profile cost saving measures.”
One measure (HB 1058) will save the state about $50,000 and prevent countless volumes of paper from being printed. It deals with corrections to the Revised Code of Washington, a series of thick books printed containing the state’s laws.
“It’s not surprising to find that some of our laws passed in the last 100 years aren’t up to 21st Century standards,” Goodman said. “As we move more and more into the digital age, we need to be easing off of lengthy printing requirements that are costing us money and trees.”
Goodman also passed House Bills (HB 1257 and HB 1261) dealing with efficiencies in our court system. They would remove cumbersome filing requirements in clerks’ offices and improve communication between courts.
“As the Vice Chair of the Judiciary Committee, I come across a lot of strange laws,” Goodman said. “My hope is that when we remove needless rules and allow better communication that the public will be better served as a result.”
Goodman has seen over half-a-dozen measures passed on to the Senate this year, including an important fix to a 2008 law that protects homeowners facing foreclosure. That bill (HB 1132) makes it easier for distressed owners to find a willing real estate agent by removing burdensome legal risks the agents may carry while handling a foreclosure.
“This year we’re going to change the law so that real estate agents can help troubled homeowners through urgent property transactions, while keeping the law’s original intent to stop scam artists from preying on those same homeowners,” Goodman said.
The Legislature is nearing the middle of its 105-day session, set to end on April 26.
