In the News

LifeWire, a Bellevue, Washington-based organization that helps people impacted by domestic violence build, has presented Washington State Sen. Manka Dhingra with the Norm Maleng Award for her work to end domestic violence. “I am so honored to receive the 2023 Norm Maleng Award,” said Dhingra, chair of the Senate Law & Justice Committee. “I started working on behalf of survivors of ...

In its 50th year of providing services to persons with alcohol and other substance use disorders, Evergreen Recovery Centers was joined by Governor Jay Inslee to celebrate the completion of a new facility on its original campus on Summit Avenue in Everett, WA. The organization purchased a small house on Summit Avenue in 1973 to serve homeless persons beginning recovery ...

Representing two different generations of Cal grads, Keiser and Dhingra feel a kinship when fighting for abortion rights. Keiser completed her undergraduate degree in political science during the tumultuous 1960s, post-free Speech Movement but during the People’s Park era. Dhingra attended during the calmer ‘90s (“I mean, we had the naked man,” she laughed), but still she felt stirred by ...

Gov. Jay Inslee signed five new pieces of legislation into law on Thursday aimed at protecting reproductive health-care rights in the state of Washington. “We are here to proclaim very vocally and very forcefully that we will not allow any state, or any Trump-appointed judge, to jeopardize a woman’s right of choice in the state of Washington,” Inslee said. “We ...

OLYMPIA, Wash. — The manufacture and sale of guns defined as assault weapons would be banned in the state under a bill that passed out of the Senate Law & Justice Committee Tuesday afternoon. House Bill 1240 defines dozens of guns that would qualify, including modifications that would add weapons to the list. “We have to take action,” said committee chair Sen. ...

Use of consumer reproductive health data would be much more restricted under House Bill 1155, the proposed “My Health, My Data Act.” The proposed law requires the consumer’s consent before sharing or collecting personal health data. This prohibits organizations from selling consumer health data not otherwise protected by law. After an extended floor debate over 23 proposed amendments, the bill received a ...

Democrats in the legislature are making procedural moves that will decide what the state’s new drug possession law will look like—an exercise that became necessary after the state supreme court’s 2021 ruling Blake v. State of Washington invalidated existing law.

Pacific Lutheran University Pre-Law Club President Quan Huynh ’25 unexpectedly stepped into the world of state government, with a bold new perspective. A self-described political newcomer, Huynh proudly represents PLU in Olympia as an intern at the Washington State Senate. As a member of Sen. Manka Dhingra’s (D-45) office, Huynh actively participates in the legislative process by meeting with policy ...

Victims of domestic violence will get more protection under a package of bills now moving through the state Legislature. Rep. Lauren Davis, D-Shoreline, is sponsoring House Bill 1715. The bill challenges the idea that domestic violence victims need to go into hiding and it holds the abusers accountable, she said. The law would initiate statewide requirements for electronic monitoring with victim ...

As Washington lawmakers try to reshape how the state deals with substance-use disorder, a Senate bill is advancing that would make most drug possession a gross misdemeanor instead of a felony, while also encouraging substance-use treatment. Lawmakers earlier this month voted Senate Bill 5536 out of the Senate Law & Justice Committee. The proposal – sponsored by Sen. ...