Camden: A look at 2018 legislative session by the numbers

Washington Votes also lists the bills introduced by each legislator, his or her votes and the number of missed votes. A total of 71 legislators had a perfect record on votes this year, down from 96 in last year’s 105-day regular session. There was quite a bit of flu, colds and other “general crud” going around the Capitol this year, but all House Republicans have at least one missed vote as a result of their protest over the bill involving a change for individual providers of home health care services we wrote about two weeks ago.

Topping the list of missed votes were Sens. Maureen Walsh and Mike Baumgartner, with 237 and 174, respectively. But it’s fair to note that they had extenuating circumstances. Walsh suffered a heart attack, had a couple of stents put in, came back to work and had to go back into the hospital when they found fluid around her heart.

Baumgartner was away when his wife suffered a miscarriage in her 20th week of a pregnancy. They were in the minority in the Senate, so it’s fair to say nothing failed because of their extended absences.

Dems erase Obamacare

Washington is wiping Obamacare off its book of statutes. Democrats proposed and passed a bill to do it, and their fellow Democrat, Gov. Jay Inslee, signed the bill last week.

But wait, you’re probably saying. Weren’t the Democrats huge fans of Obamacare, or as it is more formally known, the Affordable Care Act?

Yes, but because they realize that President Trump and the majority Republicans in Congress are not, and are doing things to chip away at the ACA, they took defensive action during the 2018 session. They replaced all references to the ACA with the phrase “applicable federal law.”

Right now, that is the ACA. But if Congress ever makes good on all those campaign promises to replace Obamacare, Washington will be in position to make the transition.

In the recent past, the Legislature has been in session during the NCAA Basketball Tournament, and fans of Gonzaga or any other team have been known to find a television close to the House or Senate floor to monitor the game.

This year, the Legislature adjourned before Selection Sunday, but that didn’t mean some folks didn’t have to find ways to follow the action.

Inslee, who picked the Zags to win the tournament in his brackets, announced the score of the first-round game when he entered the conference room Thursday morning to sign bills.

When Rep. Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane, arrived for the signing of a bill he sponsored, Inslee feigned shock.

“I thought you were at the game,” the governor said, adding when he last checked Zags were up 19-13.

“It’s 22-20 now,” said Riccelli, who had just checked the score on his cell phone. When the bill was signed, hands shaken and souvenir pens distributed, he said he was going back out into the hallway to monitor the game until another of his bills came up for signing.