Three of Griffey's bills pass out of committee

Matt Baide | Feb 10, 20220

Rep. Dan Griffey, R-Allyn, saw a bill pass out of the House Finance Committee and two bills pass out of the House Transportation Committee.

According to a news release, House Bill 1657 passed out of the House Finance Committee on Feb. 4 and would help reduce emissions and safety risks caused by inadequate commercial truck parking through tax incentives.

“We need more safe and secure overnight truck parking options in Washington,” Griffey said in a news release. “By law, truckers must take mandatory rest periods, but they are finding that increasingly more difficult to do in our state because of the lack of available space. This is creating more pollution, additional safety risks and making our roads more dangerous. We need to improve this situation, help our truck drivers, and keep our roads as safe as we can.”

House Bill 1655 aims to decrease fatal injuries by opening safety rest areas for all drivers who need a place to stop. It passed out of the House Transportation Committee on Feb. 1. House Bill 2077 is aimed at helping victims of human trafficking by requiring informational posters be placed in bathroom stalls of safety rest areas.

“It is very sad that anyone should ever be a victim of human trafficking,” said Griffey. “People are being held against their will and being forced to do reprehensible things. We need to do whatever we can to help remove human trafficking victims from these circumstances. These signs are just one step in the process. But if they help even one person escape this terrible fate, then it will be worth it.”

The bill would require WSDOT to install informational posters in every safety rest area by Dec. 31 and a report of the status of the posters by Jan. 15, 2023.

Several of Griffey’s bills did not make it out of committee. House Bill 1656 would have changed the definition of theft but did not get voted on. House Bill 1292 would have criminalized the act of knowingly providing pornographic and other harmful materials to a minor but did not get a hearing.

The House Public Safety Committee passed House Bill 2037 out of committee, which modifies the standard for use of force by peace officers. House Bill 1788 would allow law enforcement officers to conduct vehicular pursuits with reasonable suspicion that a person has committed or is committing a crime, passed out of committee Feb. 3.