Author Archives: kenf

26 Mar
0

Crosscut: Court’s legalization of drug possession has WA lawmakers scrambling

Lawmakers in Olympia are scrambling to respond to a Washington Supreme Court decision that declared the state’s law criminalizing drug possession unconstitutional because it did not require prosecutors to prove intent. Dueling proposals reflect the range of philosophical beliefs about ...

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26 Mar
0

Standing unanimous against hate crimes

Dear neighbors, We are living through a wave of hate crimes against Asian Americans that we must bring to a halt. Hate crimes are not only horrific acts of violence affecting individual victims and their families—they are a poison in ...

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25 Mar
0

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 drug possession law and effectively decriminalized controlled substances statewide, lawmakers in Olympia have introduced nine pieces of legislation to address the ruling’s major ramifications, which include $100 million tabs from ...

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25 Mar
0

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 understand the decision and strategize next steps. Sen. Manka Dhingra, who works as a Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in King County, has framed the Blake decision as an ...

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23 Mar
0

Redmond Patch: Lawmakers Consider New Drug Possession Statute For Washington

OLYMPIA, WA — State legislators are considering a new legal framework for drug possession, one month after the state’s highest court struck down Washington’s felony drug statute. In February, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the state’s “strict ...

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23 Mar
2

Dhingra proposes treatment-focused legal framework for controlled substances

OLYMPIA – Washington would extend its public-health approach to substance use disorder by establishing a new legal framework for the possession of controlled substances, under a bill introduced today by Sen. Manka Dhingra (D-Redmond). In a Feb. 25 decision in ...

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15 Mar
0

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 that creates a clear standard for when police officers can use physical force, DeVitta Briscoe said it felt like a victory moment in a football game. “Like how ...

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11 Mar
0

Dhingra, Springer, Goodman to hold virtual town hall March 17

Please join your lawmakers from the 45th District for a town hall meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 17. This is their chance to hear from you as well as update you on their work in Olympia on your behalf. ...

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11 Mar
0

45th District Virtual Town Hall

Dear neighbors,  We’re halfway through the 2021 legislative session, and my seatmates and I want to hear from you as well as update you on our work on your behalf.  Please join all three lawmakers from the 45th District—Rep. Larry Springer, Rep. Roger Goodman and me—for ...

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02 Mar
0

Senate passes Dhingra bill to break cycle of poverty

OLYMPIA – Washingtonians caught in the cycle of intergenerational poverty would have greater hope for a pathway to self-sufficiency, under a bill passed by an overwhelming bipartisan majority of the Senate today. “This bill is about changing the manner in ...

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