Olympia interns are sometimes saddled with the mundane and routine, but Nate Hauger, legislative intern for Secretary of State Kim Wyman, got a rare front-row seat in seeing how a bill becomes law.

Hauger, a junior political science major at Central Washington University, jumped at the opportunity to help research and draft a bill for Wyman and then help shepherd it through the long and winding legislative process.

House Bill 1639 became the vehicle for the legislation. It would adjust the subsistence allowance and travel reimbursement for the state’s presidential electors, to align with the reimbursement for state officials and employees on official business.

The Office of Secretary of State organizes the Olympia gathering of the Electoral College after each presidential election.  As in most states, the winner of Washington’s popular vote gets the state’s full bloc of electoral votes – currently 12 votes, one for each congressional district and two at-large.  The College met in the State Reception Room last Dec. 17 to cast votes for President Obama and Vice President Biden.  The delegates, chosen at party caucuses and convention by fellow Democrats last summer, came from across the state, some at great distance – and received expenses reimbursement at rates that haven’t been adjusted since 1891 — $5, plus 10 cents a mile.

And so Hauger was assigned by Wyman to take the lead in crafting and promoting a simple little bill – to update the reimbursement amount to align with the rates set by the state budget office for state officials and employees on official business – currently $77 a day for lodging, $46 for meals and 56.5 cents a mile for use of one’s car.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Steve Bergquist, D-Seattle, received strong bipartisan support in the House, passing 78-19 on March 7. The Senate Government Operations Committee then took up the bill in a hearing Tuesday. Hauger, flanked by Wyman and Bergquist, had the privilege of being the “star” witness. Hauger explained that the compensation had not been adjusted for more than a century, and urged lawmakers to update the law to reflect current times. (Go here to watch TVW’s coverage of the committee meeting. The hearing on HB 1639 is at about the 35-minute mark.)

Drawing laughs, he noted that the original law was pegged to “help electors pay for feeding and lodging their horses.”

April 3 is the deadline for the committee to act on the bill. The legislation then would need approval of the Senate Rules Committee and the full Senate, along with House concurrence with any Senate amendments, and the governor’s signature.

Hauger said the work on an actual piece of legislation was fascinating and gave an insider’s look at how much research, drafting and working the legislative process is needed, even on a simple measure like HB 1639.