In the News

Karen A. Johnson will be the director of the newly created state Office of Equity. Sen. Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond, applauded the appointment, which is effective March 8. “The Office of Equity Task Force benefitted tremendously from the great experience and strong moral force that Dr. Johnson brought to the table,” said Dhingra, who sponsored the Senate companion to the legislation creating the ...

The issue of police accountability has been playing out in the Washington state Legislature over the last two weeks with bills being discussed in the House of Representatives and Senate. Discussions continue Monday, as a bill that would compel officers to intervene and stop excessive force by other officers goes before the Senate Ways & Means Committee. Under new legislation introduced ...

OLYMPIA — Openly carrying firearms or other weapons at public demonstrations and the Capitol Campus could become prohibited if a state Senate bill passes this session. In its first public hearing, the bill received some support from Democratic lawmakers and gun reform advocates, while Republicans and gun rights supporters said it goes too far. “It’s time,” bill sponsor Sen. Patty Kuderer, D-Bellevue, ...

Racial equity is on the docket in state capitols this year. It’s been eight months since Minneapolis police killed George Floyd. Millions marched to declare Black lives matter and demand changes to police accountability, tactics and biases. This anti-racist movement, built over decades, has seeped into state capitols nationwide and promises to bring significant changes to housing, health care access and policing ...

A number of bills concerning firearms are being considered by the Legislature this year as lawmakers in Olympia decide whether to place restrictions on high-capacity magazines, semi-automatic rifles and the open carrying of guns in some public places. Some of the bills have been proposed before, like banning the sale or transfer of high capacity magazines and semi-automatic rifles like AR-15s. ...

Green Lake Strength and Conditioning can offer small classes under the current Phase One of Governor Inslee’s COVID-19 safety orders -- but like most small businesses, it’s been a tough year. “We were basically shut down in April and May. We ran some online classes, but we weren’t collecting any, any membership payments at that time,” said co-owner Nate Mueller. That’s why ...

The 2021 session of the Legislature has kicked off with virtual participation in deference to the coronavirus. Leadership of each legislative session usually comes from the four corners, which are the leaders of each house and party. Democrats include Speaker of the House Laurie Jinkins (D-Tacoma) and Majority Leader Pat Sullivan (D-Covington), and their Republican counterparts, Minority Leader J.T. Wilcox (R-Yelm) ...

Senator Manka Dhingra is the Chair of the Senate Behavioral Health Subcommittee to Health & Long Term Care. Today, the Committee held public hearings for three bills: (Concerning involuntary commitment), SB 5071 (Creating transition teams to assist specified persons under civil commitment), and SB 5074 (Establishing safe station pilot programs). All three bills were scheduled for executive session on January 22nd. Ahead of the public hearings, I ...

OLYMPIA — The Washington State Senate voted Wednesday to extend Gov. Jay Inslee's emergency orders until the COVID-19 state of emergency is over, despite stiff Republican opposition. In the Legislature's first virtual floor debate, Republicans introduced two amendments to the emergency order resolution: one that would extend the proclamations until Jan. 27 and another that would require the entire state to ...