The KCBA has built our reputation on the skill, commitment, and diverse acumen of our members. Given the legacy of excellence our members and volunteers have created, the KCBA is well suited to influence and support decision makers and institutions to consider, adopt, and implement legislation and policies impacting local, state, and national practice. Because of our reputation of excellence, we are recognized to have competence and credibility on myriad issues and have long acted. Each official position is thoroughly researched by our policy committee and presented to the Board of Trustees for Resolution.
For example, the KCBA has provided positions and legislative testimony on matters of legal importance including our position that marijuana should be regulated and taxed, and most criminal sanctions should be eliminated, and Federal law should not impede or preempt the exercise of state authority to adopt and implement law governing the production, distribution, or use of marijuana within a state’s borders (2007–2008); the KCBA provided policy statements on Same Sex Marriage resolving that two people of the same sex should have the right to marry under state law and to undertake the legal responsibilities and to enjoy the legal protections associated with civil marriage under the law (2005); and Assisted Suicide where the KCBA supported 1991 ballot measure allowing assisted suicide, but chose to take no position on the similar issue on the 2008 ballot measure. More recently, the KCBA opposed state and local law enforcement agencies assuming primary responsibility for enforcing federal immigration law to the extent it is inconsistent with the United States Constitution or the Washington State Constitution; and opposed state legislation or policies that directly or indirectly focus on someone’s skin color, ethnicity, or national origin, thereby undermining the rule of law and disrespecting the human dignity of everyone (2010). Most recently, the KCBA through a Resolution called for the American Bar Association to establish a long-overdue binding code of ethics for the Supreme Court. If it were not for a team of thoughtful and tenacious attorneys in the KCBA legal community, we would still be waiting for the ABA to speak out on this issue. The passage of the United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) Ethics resolution was truly a team effort, with multiple KCBA members playing critical role in the process. Indeed, the call for a binding Supreme Court code of ethics by the American Bar Association was long overdue and the current nationwide push for binding ethics was made possible by a group of dedicated and insightful attorneys within our legal community and the reputation of the KCBA. Indeed, the KCBA’s reputation reaches King County, statewide, and even nationally.
Perpetuating the reputation of the KCBA and our members as effective advocates on legislative issues means knowing where and when to exert our influence. To that end, the KCBA Public Policy Committee develops a legislative agenda, which is adopted by the Board of Trustees prior to the upcoming legislative session. Some factors considered by the Board of Trustees in adopting policy positions are whether the issue furthers the mission of KCBA, whether the issue supports or furthers KCBA programs/issues, the particular importance of KCBA advocacy and influence on the issue, and the support and energy from our KCBA members. Leveraging our influence also means the impact of the proposed policy action is weighed against its reach. In some cases, KCBA supports the work of other organizations that are leading on a particular bill, in other cases we are the lead sponsor. The KCBA committee currently has three subcommittees: Barriers to Reentry, Democracy and Technology, and Housing.
We hope you will join us in our continuing efforts to make crucial, policy-relevant information widely available to community members and key audiences influencing public policy. The committee meets at 12:00 PM on the first Monday of every month. The current chair is Rory O’Sullivan of Washington Employment Benefits Advocates PLLC. Rory is a long time KCBA member and active contributor. We hope that you will join the Public Policy Committee. To that end, please reach out to DeAndre Williams, 206.267.7057 or deandrew@kcba.org for more information.
