OLYMPIA – Washington will extend its public-health approach to substance use disorder by establishing a temporary new legal framework the possession of controlled substances and providing nearly $90 million to significantly expand treatment infrastructure, under a bill passed today by the Legislature. In a Feb. 25 decision in the case of State v. Blake, the Washington State Supreme Court struck down the state statute that made possession of controlled substances a class C felony, removing all state criminal penalties for possession. Read More
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About Manka
Manka Dhingra is Deputy Majority Leader of the Washington State Senate. She brings two decades of experience as a prosecutor and behavioral health expert to her roles as chair of the Senate Behavioral Health Subcommittee and vice chair of the Senate Law & Justice Committee. She also serves on the Ways & Means Committee.
Dhingra was first elected to the Senate by the constituents of the 45th Legislative District in November 2017, the first Sikh legislator elected in the nation. Since then, she has sponsored and passed legislation addressing a wide range of issue areas, including: curbing domestic violence and sexual assault, preventing firearm violence, providing property tax relief for seniors and people with disabilities, prosecuting financial fraud, and reforming the criminal justice system with an evidence-based approach.
During her time in the Senate, Dhingra has helped pass legislation and funding to transform the Washington State behavioral health system, reorienting it around prevention rather than crisis response. She continues to strive to ensure that Washingtonians with behavioral health needs get the treatment they need and deserve.
Read Manka’s full biography here.
Manka in the News
CBS This Morning: Washington state lawmakers pushing statewide police training reform
A dozen bills that would reform the way police are trained in ...
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Seattle Times: Police in Washington who see fellow officer using excessive force must intervene, Legislature says
OLYMPIA — The Washington Legislature on Tuesday passed a bill to require ...
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Crosscut: WA may regulate medically necessary abortions at religious hospitals
After years of trying, Washington legislators appear poised to free up doctors ...
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Crosscut: Court’s legalization of drug possession has WA lawmakers scrambling
Lawmakers in Olympia are scrambling to respond to a Washington Supreme Court ...
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The Stranger: Washington Proposes One Bill to End the Drug War and Several Bills to Fire It Back Up Again
About a month after the Washington Supreme Court struck down the state’s ...
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Bellingham Herald: Drug possession bills emerge to address wide-reaching state Supreme Court ruling
A group of Democratic lawmakers have met in recent weeks, attempting to ...
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Redmond Patch: Lawmakers Consider New Drug Possession Statute For Washington
OLYMPIA, WA — State legislators are considering a new legal framework for ...
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Seattle Times: With the Washington Legislature halfway through its session, here’s where policing bills stand
OLYMPIA — When state House lawmakers earlier this month passed a bill ...
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King 5: Washington state justices strike down drug possession law
The Washington Supreme Court has struck down the state’s felony drug possession ...
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AP: Senate OKs bill making police intervene to stop undue force
SEATTLE (AP) — The Washington state Senate on Tuesday approved a measure ...
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