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New law: Gross misdemeanor for portrayal of fraudulent drop boxes

New law: Gross misdemeanor for portrayal of fraudulent drop boxes

Legislation signed into law by the governor this week makes misrepresentation of an unofficial ballot drop box a gross misdemeanor. Senate Bill 5015, sponsored by Sen. Sam Hunt (D-Olympia), would hold anyone who provides a voter with faulty election equipment or misleading or incorrect information guilty of a gross misdemeanor. The penalty for a gross misdemeanor is a maximum of 364 days in jail and a fine of $5,000.

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Senate Members of Color Caucus reacts to verdict in trial of George Floyd’s killer

Senate Members of Color Caucus reacts to verdict in trial of George Floyd’s killer

Today the Senate Members of Color Caucus issued the following statement in reaction to the verdict of guilty on all counts issued moments ago in Derek Chauvin’s trial. “Words cannot undo the deep wound that George Floyd’s murder left in his family, in his community, in Black communities here in our state and across the nation. They cannot undo the actions of the man who ended his life. They cannot erase the history of racism and racial violence that blinded that man to George Floyd’s humanity, and gave him such a sense of impunity that he believed ...

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Kuderer bill to ban open carry weapons at permitted demonstrations and capitol campus headed to governor’s desk

Kuderer bill to ban open carry weapons at permitted demonstrations and capitol campus headed to governor’s desk

OLYMPIA – Washington state is one step closer to banning open carry weapons within 250 feet of permitted public demonstrations and the state capitol grounds with a bill approved by the Senate on Tuesday. SB 5038, sponsored by Sen. Patty Kuderer (D-Bellevue), would make Washington the ninth state plus D.C. to ban open carry weapons at public demonstrations according to Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

“Every state has laws on the books that limit where you can exercise your Second Amendment rights,” said Kuderer. “You can’t bring a gun into a bar or a courthouse ...

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Senate passes bill to address Supreme Court’s Blake decision

Senate passes bill to address Supreme Court’s Blake decision

Washington would re-establish a statewide legal framework pertaining to controlled substances and expanding behavioral health treatment options, under a bill passed today by the Senate. 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 any state criminal penalties for possession. As amended on the floor today, SB 5476 would make knowing possession of controlled substances a gross misdemeanor and mandate that jurisdictions provide treatment options. The first two times a person is arrested for possession ...

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Governor signs bill to protect homebuyers from faulty electrical work

Governor signs bill to protect homebuyers from faulty electrical work

  OLYMPIAToday, Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law a measure that will protect people who purchase “flipped” homes from damage or injury due to inadequately performed electrical work. Senate Bill 5267, sponsored by Sen. Rebecca Saldaña (D-Seattle), requires electrical work to be performed by a certified electrician or a licensed electrical contractor in homes that are sold within one year of being acquired. Similarly, it requires telecommunications work in such homes to be performed by a licensed telecommunications contractor. “Electrical inspectors are seeing a fairly pervasive problem of people performing inadequate electrical work on property they are ...

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Salomon’s driver’s license suspension reform bill approved by House

Salomon’s driver’s license suspension reform bill approved by House

OLYMPIA – A bill that takes another step toward decriminalizing poverty by removing non-payment of moving violation-based traffic infractions from a list of actions that can lead to criminal enforcement of license suspensions was approved by the House of Representatives on Saturday with a strong bipartisan vote of 80-17. SB 5226, sponsored by Sen. Jesse Salomon (D-Shoreline), would remove criminal penalties for an inability to pay traffic fines.

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Keiser bill to cut $500 million in business taxes passes Senate

Keiser bill to cut $500 million in business taxes passes Senate

OLYMPIA — A bill to provide hard-hit businesses with $500 million from a state funded unemployment relief account to reduce unemployment insurance (UI) premium taxes in 2022 passed the Senate today on a unanimous vote of 49-0. “This awful pandemic has hit some businesses much harder than others,” said Sen. Karen Keiser (D-Des Moines), the bill’s sponsor. “We took urgent action earlier this session to provide immediate relief to all employers in our state. This bill will bring targeted aid to the sectors where pandemic precautions caused the most layoffs.” SB 5478, which is broadly supported by business ...

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Retired public employees protected from pandemic impacts

Retired public employees protected from pandemic impacts

OLYMPIA — Legislation signed into law this week by the governor will protect public employee’s retirement plans from any budget moves because of the pandemic. Average final salary and earned service credits must include any compensation that was forgone as a result of reduced work hours, mandatory leave without pay, temporary layoffs, furloughs, reductions to the current pay, or other similar measures resulting from the COVID-19 budgetary crisis. Senate Bill 5021, sponsored by Sen. Sam Hunt (D-22) contains two overlapping provisions. The first provides that pension plans would continue as if an employee did not have reduction in salary ...

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Governor signs historic police arbitration reform bill into law

Governor signs historic police arbitration reform bill into law

OLYMPIA – Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill into law today that sets in place the most comprehensive standards for police officer arbitration in Washington in decades. Senate Bill 5055, sponsored by Sen. Joe Nguyen (D – West Seattle), increases transparency and reduces the risk of bias in officer appeals of discipline and in the arbitrator selection process. Recent research indicates that in law enforcement arbitration cases across the country, discipline was either reduced or overturned 52% of the time. While the research relied on a sample across 28 states, local and state policy makers have no ...

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Senate passes landmark $59.2 billion budget for state’s recovery

Senate passes landmark $59.2 billion budget for state’s recovery

OLYMPIA – The Washington State Senate passed a $59.2 billion, two-year budget today to boost funding for state services and provide essential support for the state’s pandemic recovery efforts. The 2021-23 operating budget includes an additional $7 billion in one-time federal funds from the American Rescue Plan to bring relief to struggling households, strengthen the state’s safety net, and build a more resilient public health system. “This is an ambitious budget that will touch every community across the state and includes strategic investments to lift up people who have been hit the hardest over the last year,” said Read More