Rep. Norma Smith's legislative priorities

An optimistic and energetic District 10 State Rep. Norma Smith (R- Clinton) came to the Weekly News office Monday seeking support for her, and her Republican caucus’ agenda for the legislative session opening in Olympia Jan. 13. The six term legislator is hoping that district constituents – you – will embrace the Republican legislators positions and convince majority Democrat legislators to pass their legislation.

Smith is championing three themes: 1. Maintaining the $30 car tabs passed by voters last November, while supporting adequate transportation funding; 2. Find “efficiencies” that protect current level of state services; and 3. Accountability: Legislative transparency and wise use of resources. “Everything we do flows into the area of accountability,” she said.

Governor Inslee called for budget cuts in response to funding lost in the referendum reducing vehicle licenses to $30, Smith said. She advocates, “respecting the will of the people,” while adequately funding highways and transportation programs. Republican leaders are suggesting transferring car sales taxes to the transportation budget from the state’s operating budget. That is being accountable, she said.

Smith, the ranking Republican on the House Innovation, Technology and Economic Development Committee and the assistant ranking member on the House Capital Budget Committee, has long taken a leadership role in advancing mental and behavioral health programs and infrastructure. The $300 million expansion of capital budget for mental health facilities shows “leadership that is focused,” she said. “My job is to look out the next 20 years and answer ‘how will it affect the next generation?’” She writes legislation from a consumer perspective, she said.

She will continue her push for legislation protecting the privacy of citizens’ data, including bio-metrics, from corporate use, including their mining data. Smith will offer legislation that empowers citizens, mandates corporate responsibility and provide strong enforcement. “One of the most important issues we face in society is, will we surrender our liberties?” That is the discussion Smith wants citizens to encourage to take place.

“Big data privacy affects every person in the United States,” she stressed. Her legislation will offer a charter of consumer privacy rights. “The question is, ‘who owns you, owns your unique biometric identifiers?’ I believe you should own them. Corporations don’t believe that.” She would expand the role of data privacy officers.

Smith wants to require data corporations to register with the state of Washington. She seeks to create a statewide elected position for the Office of Privacy and Data Protection, now a governor’s appointment. A person elected to that office would be accountable to citizens.

She criticized Inslee priorities, decrying inadequate funding for Medicaid reimbursements for long term facilities.

Regarding the Democratic majorities in the legislature, she emphasized respectful relationships, saying trust is built from respect.

Smith declined to comment on President Trump’s impeachment, saying she doesn’t have a vote and that she was “focusing on battles I have a role in.”

She also declined to address her 2020 election campaign, saying she was with legislative staff and re-election was separate.

The Republican caucus’ three priorities are safe communities, affordability – reduced tax burdens was her allusion, though she did not state that directly. She did name “having a healthy regulatory system that is not only cumbersome” as part of affordability. Third, her caucus is pushing accountability. Smith means to extend that to big-data tech companies, which mine data and threaten individuals’ privacy.