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After last year’s Black Lives Matter protests, Washington state lawmakers set out to enact a sweeping collection of police accountability reforms in 2021.

Some of those measures are advancing swiftly through the Legislature, including a proposal to ban chokeholds and a bill to beef up the state’s system for decertifying police officers.

But other police reform bills have stalled — including a plan to end the qualified immunity that can shield officers from civil lawsuits and a measure to stop arbitrators from reversing police discipline.

(Photo: ERIC J. RICHEY COURTESY TO THE BELLINGHAM HERALD) The role of a prosecuting attorney is to hold individuals accountable for their actions and keep Washingtonians safe. Every day, I and my staff hold individuals accountable for crimes against our state and those within it. It is important that we spend as much of our time and resources as we can on this mission and providing safety and security to victims. However, it is not our desire, nor our job, to punish people for actions outside the public safety sphere. Click here to read more...

The Washington State Senate will honor Washington Kids in Transition 12:30 p.m. Thursday, March 18, with a resolution for the good work it's done in local communities, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

From distributing federal CARES funds from the city of Edmonds to securing an Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction grant and supporting the Edmonds Hub, children and families in the Edmonds School District have benefitted greatly from their dedication.

OLYMPIA – A bill that would provide tax relief to Washington residents when rebuilding homes damaged by natural disasters passed the Senate unanimously.

The bill, sponsored by Ritzville Republican Sen. Mark Schoesler, began as an effort to help Eastern Washington residents whose homes were destroyed in Labor Day fires last year. After the Federal Emergency Management Agency denied individual assistance to Whitman County, Schoesler said he wanted to provide some assistance to people trying to rebuild.

(This article originally appeared on PubliCola and has been reprinted under an agreement.)

For the first time in Washington state history, state legislators had a floor vote on a long-proposed capital gains tax. Even more novel: They passed it.

On Saturday, March 6, the Senate Democrats, led by Sen. June Robinson (D-38, Everett) pushed SB 5096 through the senate. The bill passed 25 to 24 with most of the Democratic majority, including all of Seattle’s delegation, voting for it. The entire Republican caucus, along with moderate Democratic Senators Steve Hobbs (D-44, Lake Stevens), Mark Mullet (D-5, Issaquah), Annette ...

No one would dispute that monetary fines — from a $136 speeding ticket on up to $2.6 million for violating state campaign financing laws — can be effective in keeping everyone in line. We can easily think of plenty we’d rather do with that $136 than send it to the court. Yet, for many, those fines — if they go unpaid and lead to a suspended driver’s license — become more than an annoyance, more than incentive to obey speed limits and other traffic laws. They can force an onerous choice for some between forgoing a paying job ...

Washington State’s 2021 legislative session kicked off on January 11 and it will go for 105 days, until April 25. Between now and then, State senators and representatives will introduce bills to the legislature, refer them to their applicable committees, and consider the bills multiple times and at various stages before a bill is potentially passed into law. This year’s session is entirely virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which makes many legislators think that fewer bills will be passed, but important legislation is still in the works. The Emerald contacted each senator and representative from the state’s 11th, 34th, ...

State Sen. Marko Liias, who represents the 21st District that includes parts of Edmonds and Lynnwood, was unanimously reelected as majority floor leader by his Senate Democratic Caucus peers on Monday, a position he has held since 2017. “It’s an honor to continue as majority floor leader,” said Liias, a Democrat who lives in Lynnwood. “Senate Democrats approach every policy discussion with the philosophy of putting people first, and that’s exactly what we need to do this session to help struggling people and families through the pandemic.” Read more here....

Last year,  a woman in Burien called 911 to report her sister’s boyfriend was holding her and her family hostage. When the 911 operator attempted to gain more information, the woman, sounding panicked, said: “He’s going to take my phone,” then abruptly hung up. 

Police raced to the address provided, but when they arrived, they found no one being held against their will, according to a King County Sheriff's Office report obtained by Crosscut. The couple living there had no idea who had called. 

It wasn't until the next ...

Doctors and medical students performing pelvic exams on unconscious women without permission: It may sound crazy, but it’s actually been a widespread practice across the country for decades. It’s an invasive and personal medical procedure that even in the best of circumstances, can be traumatic for some women, especially survivors of sexual abuse. But if you think that means doctors have to first get a woman’s permission to do such as exam, you’d be wrong. Read more here: https://mynorthwest.com/1739653/pelvic-exams-bill-washington-state/