Civil Rights Legislation to Become Law Tomorrow

For Immediate Release: June 6, 2006

Medical malpractice, unemployment insurance and regional transportation among bills becoming law


OLYMPIA � Governor Gregoire today announced that a number of bills, including one that outlaws discrimination in housing, insurance and credit based on sexual orientation, tomorrow will become Washington law.

�Tomorrow will be a proud day in Washington,� said Governor Gregoire. �In January, Washington took an affirmative stand to say to gay and lesbian individuals, moms and dads, sons and daughters, neighbors, co-workers and friends that, like all other people, they are free to work in an environment absent discrimination. Tomorrow our words become law.�

Other bills that become law tomorrow include:

• A compromise bill negotiated by Governor Gregoire that addresses health care in Washington by improving patient safety and reforming medical malpractice insurance and the civil justice system for medical liability.
  
  
• A measure that restores equity and stability to Washington unemployment insurance law by addressing provisions of the 2003 law that disproportionately reduced weekly benefits for women, people of color and low-income workers, and addresses a tax system that is taxing employers more than necessary to cover weekly benefits and maintain a solvent trust fund.
  
  
• A bill creating a new Regional Transportation Commission to evaluate transportation governance and planning in the central Puget Sound region and develop a proposal for regional transportation governance options. The measure also creates an expert review panel that will review finance and implementation plans for the Alaskan Way viaduct replacement project and the State Route 520 bridge replacement. Members of both committees will be announced Thursday.