Washington's state Senate this week passed legislation that would require the state to permanently observe daylight saving time year-round, The Seattle Times reported. State senators passed the measure in a nearly unanimous vote Tuesday, just days after the House approved a similar bill. ADVERTISEMENT The Senate-passed measure now heads to the House for consideration, since the two bills differ in terms of next steps before implementation. According to The Seattle Times, the Senate bill would require voter approval of the proposal in the next general election. State Rep. Marcus Riccelli (D), one of the House bill’s co-sponsors, told the newspaper he is excited by bipartisan support for making the time change permanent. “We’ve had other bills like this, but this is the farthest it’s ever gone,” he said. State Sen. Jim Honeyford (R), who sponsored the Senate legislation, told the paper, “It’s time to stop switching back and forth.” Lawmakers in several other states, including California, are considering legislation that would bring an end to the biannual time change. President Trump Donald TrumpTrump lashes out after grand jury seated for New York criminal probe Schumer tees up vote on Jan. 6 commission bill Senators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission MORE on Twitter this week threw his support behind efforts to keep the United States permanently on daylight saving time. “Making Daylight Saving Time permanent is O.K. with me!” Trump tweeted. Congress has to approve the switch to permanent daylight saving time, as individual states can only opt in to remaining on standard time permanently.<doc-sep>Washington Senate Passes Bill That Would Keep Trump off Ballot Unless He Releases Tax Returns The Washington state Senate passed legislation on March 12 that would block President Donald Trump from the state ballot in the 2020 presidential election unless he releases his tax returns. Washington state senators voted 28-21 to advance the bill to the state’s House of Representatives, according to CBS News. The legislation would require candidates in the 2020 election to release five years of tax returns in order to appear on primary or general election ballots. The bill also directs Washington’s secretary of state to make the returns public. The move is specifically targeting Trump, according to its sponsor, State Sen. Patty Kuderer (D). Trump exercised a legal right to keep his tax returns private during the 2016 election. “Although releasing tax returns has been the norm for about the last 40 years in presidential elections, unfortunately, we’ve seen that norm broken,” Kuderer said, according to CBS News. She confirmed later that she was referring to Trump in the statement. Kuderer’s bill applies only to candidates for president and vice president. She said the measure is important because voters want to know how a candidate handled his or her finances. “It’s become part of the vetting process,” Kuderer said. Presidents usually release their tax returns either before the election or after winning. Trump explained that his returns cannot be released since they are being audited. Every American citizen has a right to keep his or her tax returns private. Returns can only be released with approval from the commissioner of the IRS. The Washington state bill would likely be challenged in court if it becomes law. Republicans have said that any attempt to force Trump to release his tax returns would be unlawful. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, at least 25 states have proposed similar bills in recent years. The Supreme Court has ruled that states cannot tack on to the requirements for senators and representatives stated in the Constitution. Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson and state Solicitor General Noah Purcell told the sponsors of the bill that it would likely be constitutional but warned that it’s open to to legal challenges because of the wide range of interpretations of the law. Critics cautioned that the legal fight could be costly. “We’re on really risky ground when we’re trying to place conditions on a federal election,” said Sen. Hans Zeiger (R), according to CBS. Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a similar measure in 2017, calling it a political stunt. New Jersey’s Democratic lawmakers are attempting to pass the measure again this year, according to The Hill. The state’s Democrat-controlled Senate passed a bill in February that would require 2020 candidates to release their tax returns. The bill would still need to be approved by the state assembly and signed by Gov. Phil Murphy (D) before becoming law. Similar to the Washington state bill, the New Jersey measure would require candidates to submit five of their most recent tax returns. If it becomes law, the New Jersey measure would instruct the state’s electors to not vote for any candidate who did not release his or her tax returns. Before the midterm election in 2018, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives promised to demand Trump’s tax returns as their first order of business. But Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass. )—the one person with the power to demand the returns—still says he has no timeline for issuing the request.<doc-sep>The Washington state Senate passed a measure this week that would keep President Trump’s name from appearing on the 2020 presidential election ballot until he makes his tax returns available to the public. CBS News reported that the bill, which passed in a 28-21 vote and is headed to the state House for consideration, would require all presidential candidates who wish to appear on the ballot in the state to publicly release five years of tax returns before the state would allow them to appear on a primary or general election ballot. The Democrats supporting the bill argued that the measure is necessary because it forces presidential candidates to release their tax returns. “Although releasing tax returns has been the norm for about the last 40 years in presidential elections, unfortunately we’ve seen that norm broken,” said Sen. Patty Kuderer, the Democrat who sponsored the bill. Republican lawmakers, however, have warned that the state could be putting itself at risk for legal challenges for trying to enact rules “on a federal election.” “We’re on really risky ground when we’re trying to place conditions on a federal election,” said Republican Sen. Hans Zeiger. Other state legislatures have also proposed similar bills calling for candidates to release their tax returns. New Jersey’s state senate passed a similar measure and is currently up for consideration in the state’s general assembly. Democrats have been calling for Trump to release his tax returns since the 2016 election when Trump decided not to release his tax returns. Trump said at the time that he had been under audit by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Since congressional Democrats took back the House, they have vowed to make Trump’s tax returns a subject of scrutiny.<doc-sep>
Washington's state Senate passed a bill this week that would drop President Trump Donald TrumpTrump lashes out after grand jury seated for New York criminal probe Schumer tees up vote on Jan. 6 commission bill Senators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission MORE from the state's 2020 presidential ballot until he releases his tax returns. The bill, which advanced Tuesday to the state's House of Representatives, according to CBS News, would require any candidate on the ballot for president in the state to release five years of tax returns before appearing in a general or primary election. ADVERTISEMENT Senators voted by a 28-21 margin to approve the bill, according to CBS. The state's attorney general and solicitor told lawmakers in a letter this week that the proposal likely was constitutional, but analysts expect the law if passed to be challenged in federal court. "The disclosure requirement you propose is likely Constitutional," the two wrote to lawmakers, according to CBS, adding that the measure "would definitely be challenged in court." Democrats who supported the bill said the provision was necessary to force a return to norms surrounding the release of presidential candidates' tax returns. "Although releasing tax returns has been the norm for about the last 40 years in presidential elections, unfortunately we've seen that norm broken," said Sen. Patty Kuderer (D), who sponsored the bill, according to CBS. Republicans, however, argued that the state was getting into questionable territory by attempting to impose rules on a federal election. "We're on really risky ground when we're trying to place conditions on a federal election," said Sen. Hans Zeiger (R), according to CBS. Trump caused controversy throughout the 2016 campaign with his refusal to release his tax returns, claiming at the time to be under audit by the IRS. In recent weeks, Democrats in the House have indicated that they may pursue Trump's returns in the hopes of investigating the president's finances for criminal activity. A similar bill recently advanced in New Jersey's state Senate and is currently sitting in the state's General Assembly.